Faculty Artist Series: Levon Ambartsumian, violin

University of Georgia Franklin Professor of Violin, Levon Ambartsumian, will be performing his Faculty Artist Series concert Mar. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Ramsey Hall. His program features works of the Schumanns and their circle.



Joining him on the stage will be professor of piano Evgeny Rivkin, who is Ambartsumian’s life-long friend and music partner. Included in their program is a selection of short pieces composed for different instruments performed on violin, most famously Schumann's “Violin Sonata.”



“Marchenbilder (Fairy Tale Pictures) Op. 113” was originally composed for viola and piano. “Fantasie – Stucke Op. 73” were pieces intended for clarinet, but later became an important part of viola and cello repertoire, is very rarely performed on violin. “Drei Romanzen Op. 94,” also known as the “Three Romances” was originally written for oboe and piano, and is the only violin composition in existence in performance these days. It was the only piece Robert Schumann ever wrote for oboe.



What makes this program really unique is a combination of well-known compositions, almost unknown as violin works, and Brahms’ “Adagio” from a clarinet quintet. Ambartsumian’s friend, the famous Russian composer Efrem Podgaits, composed this arrangement of the “Adagio’ for him. It will be the American premiere of Podgait’s transcription for violin and piano.



Ambartsumian and Rivkin will be taking the same program to Moscow soon, and have also recently released a CD with music by Mendelssohn and Chausson on Centaur label.



Tickets for the performance are $12 for adults and $3 for students and children, and are available through the Performing Arts Center. They can be purchased online at pac.uga.edu, by calling 706-542-4400 or in person at the Box Office.