Between passion and defiance: Tribute to Schumann and Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Piano Quintet, Op. 57

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Elizabeth Adams, violin

Elizabeth Adams, violin, has performed throughout Europe and North America as violinist, violist, and pianist, from solo to chamber music to orchestra. She is a regular substitute player with the Baltimore Symphony, a member of the Washington Concert Opera orchestra, and plays in symphony orchestras and in period and modern chamber ensembles throughout the Baltimore-Washington region.

Recent performances include Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, Ravel’s Tzigane, and Stravinsky’s l’Histoire du soldat at National Music Festival; Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at Catholic University’s International Piano Series; and chamber concerts at Redpath Hall at McGill, University of Maryland, and the Kreeger Museum. Elizabeth has appeared at the Smithsonian Institution, the embassies of Russia, Austria, and Italy, and the American Consulate in St Petersburg, as well as with orchestras at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, het Concertgebouw, Place des Arts, le Centre Bell, and Jordan Hall, among others.

Elizabeth holds an MM in violin and a BA in Russian studies from Yale. She has studied violin and pedagogy extensively in both Russia and North America and holds a doctorate in violin from l’Université de Montréal. Formerly head of strings at George Mason University, Elizabeth currently teaches at Peabody Preparatory in Baltimore. In the summers she performs as a faculty artist at the National Music Festival in Chestertown, Maryland.

Yonatan Grinberg, violin

International violinist Dr. Yonatan Grinberg creates meaningful and moving concert experiences for audiences across the globe. His artistic integrity, passionate delivery and unabashed idealism coupled with vast musical knowledge and devotion to world class performance make Grinberg a favorite of both frequent and first-time concert goers.

Committed to musical performance in different forms, Grinberg has performed as soloist, concertmaster and chamber musician in halls around the world including Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam, the Israeli Opera Hall in Tel Aviv, and the Philharmonic Hall in Zagreb. He has collaborated with artists such as Alexander Pavlovsky (Jerusalem Quartet), Violaine Melancon and Dr. David Schrader and on various projects with composers such as Aviya Kopelman, Dr. Wissam Gibran, and Jonathan Leshnoff. Dr. Grinberg’s performances have been aired on Israeli TV and Radio, as well as Slovenian Radio, and some of his notable chamber performances include a guest performance at a faculty concert in Towson University, the Jerusalem Music Center and a tour of chamber concerts in Holland as part of the Zeist Music Days festival. As a concertmaster Grinberg has performed with the Perlman Music Program, the Jerusalem Academy Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and has led no-conductor ensembles in concerts in Hebrew University and Tel Aviv with soloists such as Vadim Gluzman, Dr. Ron Regev and Dr. Asaf Zohar.

For eight years Grinberg toured and performed with the Arab-Jewish Youth Orchestra both as soloist and concertmaster in Israel and Europe. The experience of seeing first hand how the music acted as a healing power in areas of harsh conflict, between both musicians and audiences, has affected him deeply as a musician and as human being, devoting himself to using music to mend hearts and make the world a better place.

Since 2015 Grinberg has been the founder and musical director of the Chamber Encounters concert series in the Gordon Center for Performing Arts in the Greater Baltimore area, which has been hailed in its first year by Baltimore Style Magazine as Baltimore’s 3rd most exciting musicians crossing all genres. These concerts are artfully constructed by diverse programming, round theater seating and interaction between the performers and the audience to create a lively and dynamic experience for different audiences.

Dr. Grinberg’s devotion to using music to improve lives goes far beyond the concert hall. As a teacher, Yonatan has taught in El- Sistema and other community engagement programs in Chicago and Baltimore, and directed a summer orchestra program for the People’s Music School in Chicago, which served over a hundred inner city children. In 2014 he started a new string program “The Baltimore Bows” which has been an immediate success, and has been featured on a number of local and national media including NPR and the Baltimore Jewish Times. Yonatan has worked as an assistant violin teacher in the studio of Violaine Melancon at the Peabody Conservatory.

Alongside his classical career Dr. Grinberg performs regularly with some of the biggest names in the world of Jewish music, including Abie Rotenberg, Yonatan Razel, and Yosef Karduner. Grinberg is currently touring with a unique program of his original arrangements, bringing together the musical worlds of virtuoso violin playing with the heartfelt melodies of the Synagogue.

Yonatan is the recipient of several awards, including accolades from the America-Israel

Cultural Foundation, The Lurie Foundation, and Johns Hopkins University, has been signed on a record contract with the KNS Classical label.. He earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University with Violaine Melancon, Master of Music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts with Vadim Gluzman, and a Bachelor of Music from the Jerusalem Academy of Music with Matvei Lieberman. Yonatan has participated in festivals such as Keshet Eilon and the Perlman Music Program, and in masterclasses with Ivry Gitlis, Shmuel Askenasi, Shlomo Mintz and other prominent musicians. Yonatan enjoys spending time with his wife Hadassah and his four sweet children Shalomy, Yehuda, Simcha, and Noam.

Renate Falkner, viola
Praised for her versatility and creativity, American violist Renate Falkner leads an active career as an educator, recitalist, and orchestral and chamber musician,performing across the U.S. and abroad. Equally at home on both modern and baroque viola, she performs regularly with groups such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (at home and on international tours), Cincinnati Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Artis-Naples, and is a former member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. As a baroque violist, she has performed with Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik, the Yale Collegium Players, Baltimore’s Pro Musica Rara and Quartetto Antico.

A frequent chamber music collaborator, Renate is Artistic Director of the Charm City Chamber Players and the violist of the international Embassy String Quartet. She collaborates regularly with colleagues from the Peabody Institute, the BSO, and in Washington D.C. She has been heard in venues as diverse as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale's Beinecke Rare Book Library, and in orchestras at Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, and London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Proms.

Summer appearances have included the Verbier Festival, Switzerland, the Spoleto Festival, Italy, the Bellingham Festival of Music, WA, on international tours with the BSO, and faculty appointments at the Carvalho Festival of Music, Brazil, the Orfeo

Music Festival, Italy, and the National Music Festival in Maryland. She has recorded for the Chandos, Nimbus, and Rezound music labels. Renate received her undergraduate training at the Oberlin College and Conservatory, earning degrees in both viola and Ancient Greek, completed graduate studies at the Yale School of Music, and holds a doctorate from the Florida State University.

She is on faculty of the Peabody Institute and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), where she teaches viola and coaches chamber music

Natalia Vilchis, cello

Natalia Vilchis is a Mexican cellist recognized for her expressive artistry and distinguished work as a soloist, orchestral leader, chamber musician, and educator. She currently serves as Principal Cellist of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Guest Principal Cellist of the Amarillo Symphony, and is a member of the Baltimore Chamber Players. She has also served as Principal Cellist of the Mount Vernon Virtuosi Orchestra and continues to serve as Cellist of the Mount Vernon Virtuosi Cello Ensemble.
Natalia has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician with leading ensembles in Mexico and the United States, including the UANL Symphony Orchestra, the National Mexican Baroque Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of ESMDM, and the Columbia Orchestra. She has performed in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Strathmore, the Liederkranz Concert Hall, the Howland Cultural Center, the Blas Galindo Hall, and other prominent concert halls throughout Monterrey, Mexico City, Washington DC, and Baltimore. Her festival appearances as a soloist include the Festival Internacional de Música de Cámara de San Miguel de Allende, Keshet Eilon International Mastercourse, Haus der Musik Chamber Music Festival, and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana.
In May 2025, Natalia was featured in The Strad magazine. Her performance of Piazzolla’s Autumn with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra received critical acclaim from Washington Classical Review:
“Piazzolla’s ‘Autumn’ featured a poised, rapturous cello solo from FSO principal Natalia, while Chee-Yun delivered a tango with fine shades of color as the orchestra and Zimmerman provided supple support.”
Her discography includes Bach 6 with 4 (CTM Classics) with Amit Peled and the Mount Vernon Virtuosi Cello Gang, recordings with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra for the NAXOS American Classics Series, and an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk with Rubio.
An award-winning artist, Natalia has earned First Prize at the National Violoncello Competition of Mexico on three occasions, Second Prize at the Forte International Music Competition in New York, and Second Prize at the Mount Vernon Virtuosi Cello Competition. She is also a recipient of the James Winship Lewis Memorial Prize, and the Olga Owens Award in Performance.
Equally committed to education, Natalia is currently Cello Faculty at the Lyra Music Festival, the Bethany Music Center and the Howard Music School, while maintaining her private cello studio in Baltimore. She has also served as Guest Cello Professor at Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey and the community outreach initiative Every Child Deserves a Voice in Baltimore. In addition, she works as a Research Editor for Répertoire International de la Presse Musicale.
Through her work with Mount Vernon Virtuosi, Natalia performs on a Parisian cello generously donated by Rhonda Stoffel, formerly played by her late husband, Peter Rudolfi.
Natalia holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she studied with Professor Amit Peled.

Teodora Adzharova, piano

Described as a “true musician” with “electrifying energy” and “limitless emotional and dynamic range” (NYCR), the Bulgarian pianist Dr. Teodora Adzharova’s performances have graced prestigious venues in the United States, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Macedonia, Serbia, and the Czech Republic. Laureate of numerous national and international competitions, she has established herself as one of the most sought-after musicians in the Baltimore, MD-Washington, D.C. region, frequently collaborating with musicians from both the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Some of Dr. Adzharova’s recent performances include appearances University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Goucher College, Catholic

University of America, New York’s DiMenna Center, the Bulgarian Embassy in D.C., the Washington Arts Club, and Silo Hill. Dr. Adzharova’s 2026-2027 season features the release of her debut solo album dedicated to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, including the composer’s Preludes, Op. 34 and Piano Sonata, Op. 61. One of the few pianists who performs both of Shostakovich’s piano sonatas in a single program, Dr. Adzharova has presented lecture-recitals of the repertoire at Peabody (2025), UMBC (2022), the World Piano Conference (Serbia, 2023), and the DiMenna Center (2024). Her interest in the legacy of Shostakovich has garnered the recognition of Alan Mercer, editor-in-chief of the international DSCH Journal , leading to collaborations and the publication of Dr. Adzharova's writings.

As a passionate educator, Adzharova teaches at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Preparatory division, where she also coordinates the Musicianship for Pianists program.

Her previous faculty appointments include the Peabody Conservatory, UMBC, Community College of Baltimore County and the Leon Fleisher Academy. Dr. Adzharova is a board member of the Greater Baltimore Music Teacher Association and is a sought-after adjudicator for numerous regional and state competitions and recitals.mIn 2019, Dr. Adzharova’s dedication to chamber music and community engagement led to her appointment as the Co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Annunciation Cathedral Concert Series. Each season, the series offers inventive and accessible classical music programming to the Baltimore community, promoting high-caliber artists from the region and beyond. She has also served as an organist for the cathedral since 2015. Dr. Adzharova holds piano performance degrees from the Peabody Institute (DMA, 2020; Performance Diploma, 2013; MM, 2011), where she studied with Ellen Mack.

Event venue & nearby stays

Preston Hall, 25 W Preston St., Baltimore, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

Get the app →