Amerigo Trio:
"Dicterow's sweet, large, tightly focused tone gave the ensemble a rock-solid leading voice. But cellist Inbal Segev matched him with her thrillingly projected, vibrato-rich playing (not to mention a beautifully judged range of color and dynamics), while Karen Dreyfus's lean and throaty viola sound provided piquant contrast. It was in its finely woven blend of timbres and rapport, though, that the trio most deeply satisfied." — The Washington Post
Bernadene Blaha:
"a pianist of integrity, with lovely sonorities and total clarity of line." — Piano & Keyboard "deserves laurels and more for her intense, shapely and technically outrageous playing
of Mendelssohn’s Op. 104 Preludes and Etudes." — The Boston Globe
Sunday, December 2, 2018
3:00 pm /
Logan House
(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023 Detailed map and directions
Program String Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 3 - Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, Op. 25 - Johannes Brahms
New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow formed the Amerigo Trio with violist Karen Dreyfus and cellist Inbal Segev after their successful collaboration at the Bowdoin International Chamber Music Festival, hailed as a "virtuoso performance...an extraordinary interchange of musical thought" by the Maine Sunday Telegram. The Strad has praised Amerigo's “personality, purpose and captivating energy.”
Since the group's founding in the summer of 2009, they have been invited to play at some of the most prestigious concert series in the United States, including Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival in Virginia, The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, the Concord Chamber Music Society in Massachusetts, Tannery Pond Concerts in the Berkshires, the New York Chamber Music Festival at Symphony Space, and Dumbarton Concerts and the Phillips Collection Concert Series, both in Washington, DC.
Of the trio's performance in Washington DC, The Washington Post raved, "Dicterow's sweet, large, tightly focused tone gave the ensemble a rock-solid leading voice. But cellist Inbal Segev matched him with her thrillingly projected, vibrato-rich playing (not to mention a beautifully judged range of color and dynamics), while Karen Dreyfus's lean and throaty viola sound provided piquant contrast. It was in its finely woven blend of timbres and rapport, though, that the trio most deeply satisfied."
The Amerigo released its debut recording of serenades by Dohnányi on the Navona Records label in 2011.
The Amerigo Trio is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian Explorer. The trio is committed to the exploration of the riches of the string trio repertoire, both new and old.
Watch Video
Amerigo Trio performs an excerpt from String Trio, Op. 6 by Leo Weiner (1885-1960)
Bernadene Blaha, Pianist
Photo credit: Karen Knauer
Bernadene Blaha's “brilliant command of the piano”, whether featured as recitalist, concerto soloist or chamber musician, has been heralded in performances throughout North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Mexico. Piano and Keyboard magazine has reviewed her as, “a pianist of integrity, with lovely sonorities and total clarity of line.” Highlights of this season include return engagements at the Piatigorsky Cello Festival, Newport Music Festival, Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Series, Worcester Chamber Music Society as well as performances in Canada, France and Italy.
Originally from Canada, Ms. Blaha first came to international attention as a prizewinner in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition; the Young Keyboard Artists International Piano Competition, Grand Rapids, Michigan; the Masterplayers International Competition, Lugano, Switzerland; and the 11th Annual International Piano Competition, New York City. This latter award resulted in two highly acclaimed recital appearances, at Carnegie Recital Hall and the Lincoln Center Library. Soon afterward, Ms. Blaha was featured in the opening orchestra concert and a solo recital at the XXIX International Chopin Festival in Marianske Lazne, Czechoslovakia, followed by performances at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and Disney Hall in Los Angeles.
Ms. Blaha is a founding member of the piano trio Latitude 41, formed in 2009 with violinist Livia Sohn and cellist Luigi Piovano. Their debut CD of Schubert's monumental "Trio in E flat Major" and "Notturno" was released in 2011 on the Eloquentia label to rave reviews. The group followed this success with a recording of the Saint-Saëns Trios and has a forthcoming CD featuring the Brahms Trios. Ms. Blaha’s discography also includes recordings for the CBC, Centaur and Analekta labels.
Also in demand as a teacher, adjudicator and clinician, Ms. Blaha has received the National Arts Foundation’s Outstanding Teacher Recognition Award. She has been invited to serve on the jury of the Gina Bachauer International Artist Piano Competition, Virginia Waring International Competition and the 2015 International E-Competition.
Currently residing in Los Angeles, Ms. Blaha has been a member of the Keyboard Faculty at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California since 1993 where she is an Associate Professor.
Listen to Audio
Bernadene Blaha, piano | Saint-Saens Piano Trio No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18
Glenn Dicterow
Photo credit: Chris Lee
One of today's most illustrious violinists, Glenn Dicterow is well known to audiences throughout Europe and North America, both as an orchestral soloist and a recitalist. He appears frequently throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Japan, Korea and China with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, National Symphony, San Diego Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony.
Mr. Dicterow has been Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic since 1980 and is a featured soloist on many of its recordings. He has also recorded the Holdridge Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Bernstein Serenade with the New York Philharmonic, and for Cala and EMI, solo works of Korngold, Ives, Bernstein, Martinu and Corigliano.
An active teacher, Glenn Dicterow serves on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and has been appointed to the Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music at USC Thornton School of Music beginning in 2013. A top prizewinner in many international competitions, Mr. Dicterow is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Ivan Galamian. Other teachers include Jascha Heifetz, Henryk Szerying, Manuel Compinsky, Eudice Shapiro and Naoum Blinder. For more information please visit www.glenndicterow.com
Karen Dreyfus
Photo credit: Chris Lee
Violist Karen Dreyfus is a prize-winner, chamber musician, pedagogue and recording artist. A winner of the Naumburg and Washington International Competitions and the National Endowment for the Arts' Solo Recitalists' Award, Ms. Dreyfus concertizes throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Her ensembles have included Musicians From Marlboro, Philomusica, Theater Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center, the New York Philharmonic and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and she has collaborated with Yehudi Menuhin in recital at Carnegie Hall, Rudolf Serkin, Alexander Schneider, Leon Fleisher and Chick Corea.
Ms. Dreyfus has recorded extensively for the Bridge and MMC labels among others. American Record Guide cites Ms. Dreyfus as "a terrific player with impeccable technique and intonation, beautiful tone, and real musicianship," while Fanfare Magazine has called her "a star...superb throughout, a real virtuoso." Ms. Dreyfus has premiered works by Ezra Laderman, Elizabeth Brown and George Tsontakis. In 2002, she and Mr. Dicterow released William Thomas McKinley's "Concert Variations," written expressly for them.
Born into a family of musicians, Ms. Dreyfus decided to pursue a viola career under the tutelage of Leonard Mogill, Heidi Castleman and Martha Katz. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Karen Tuttle and Michael Tree, she is a member of the faculties of the Juilliard, Manhattan and Mannes schools in New York. Karen Dreyfus will join the string faculty at the University of Southern California, the Thornton School of Music in 2013. For more information please visit www.karendreyfusviola.com
Inbal Segev
Photo: Dario Acosta
Inbal Segev's playing has been described as "delivered with impressive fluency and style," by The Strad. Equally committed to new repertoire for the cello and known masterworks, Segev brings interpretations that are both unreservedly natural and insightful to the vast range of solo and chamber music that she performs.
Segev has performed as soloist with many acclaimed orchestras internationally and made debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta, at age 17. She has commissioned new works from composers including Avner Dorman, Timo Andres, Gity Razaz, Dan Visconti and more. In addition to her work as a soloist, she is a founding member of the Amerigo Trio with former New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow and violist Karen Dreyfus.
Segev's discography includes Bach's Cello Suites (Vox) released September 2015, a world premiere recording of works by Lucas Richman with the Pittsburgh Symphony (Albany), Sonatas by Beethoven and Boccherini (Opus One), Nigun (Vox), and Max Schubel's Concerto for Cello (Opus One). With the Amerigo Trio she has recorded serenades by Dohnányi (Navona).
Inbal Segev's many honors include the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship and top prizes at the Pablo Casals, Paulo, and Washington International Competitions. She began playing the cello in Israel at age five and at 16 was invited by Isaac Stern to come to the U.S. to continue her studies. She holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale University.
Inbal Segev lives in New York with her husband and three children. Her cello was made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1673.
Glenn Dicterow
Karen Dreyfus
Inbal Segev
