Advertisement
Take a break from the busy workweek and experience a breathtaking performance of music for cello and piano. This free, 45-minute program is offered in the Sanctuary of First Congregational Church in downtown Columbus.
Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
12 Variations on a Theme from Handel’s Oratorio’s Judas Maccabeus
Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)
Fratres for cello and piano
F. Chopin (1810-1849)
Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65
Nikita Annenkov is a Columbus based cellist, teacher and performer. A first generation American of Russian-Uzbek descent, Nikita grew up and began studying music at the Uspensky Music School in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Columbus has been Nikita’s home since 2007, the year his family immigrated to the United States. Nikita returned to Columbus in 2020 when the pandemic shut down most of music industry, including classical and cross-genre chamber music concerts on board of Holland America Cruise Line, which Nikita was part of through Lincoln Center Stage (NYC). Nikita has participated in Columbus’ own Chamber Music Connection both as a fellow student and a teacher, as well as music festivals such as Interlochen Center for the Arts, Orford Music Academy, Chautauqua Festival and Glenn Korff School of Music Chamber Music Institute and NPR’s From the Top!. Nikita has also participated in numerous masterclasses with world renowned cellists such as Robert DeMaine, Nathaniel Rosen, Alisa Weilerstein and Johannes Moser, as well as chamber music artists such as Chiara, Jupiter, Ying and Cavani Quartets and Claremont Trio. More recent engagements include joining Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2021, Nashville Symphony and Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra in 2024. Together with his wife Nikita regularly performs solo and chamber music concerts and collaborates with local artists and venues in Columbus, including Sunday at Central and Music on the Hill Concert Series. Nikita earned his Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory studying with Amir Eldan, and a Master’s degree from University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana studying with Dmitry Kouzov.
Praised for her “elegant poetic virtuosity” and “subtlety stylishness”(via World Journal Newspaper, LA), pianist Yihan Zhang Annenkova embarked on her piano journey at age three, gave her first public recital the following year. After winning numerous regional junior competitions in China, Yihan was accepted to study with renowned pianist and composer Liu Shi-Kun. At age nine Yihan made her concerto debut with China National Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Li Xiao-Lu, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.17. In 2010, Yihan moved to the United States to continue her pre-college music education at Northwestern University under professor Alan Chow. She holds a Bachelor degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Italian-American virtuoso pianist James Tocco.
Yihan has performed in many prestigious venues, including the National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Beijing Concert Hall (Beijing), Carnegie Hall (New York City), La Maison Française (Washington D.C. ), Zipper Hall (Los Angeles, CA), Nicholas Concert Hall (Chicago, IL), Lewis Center for the Arts (Princeton, NJ). Notable performances include her Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall in 2013, and an all-Liszt concert on Vladimir Horowitz’s Steinway 1940 Model D Piano in New York City, during the 2019 North American Tour of the famed instrument.
Currently residing in Columbus with her husband and two cats, Yihan divides her time between teaching, solo and collaborative performances, and abstract painting, photography and cooking in between.
Free and open to the public | Freewill offering
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
444 E Broad St, Columbus, OH, United States, Ohio 43215
