Piano-Cello Duo Katya Grineva and Byron Duckwall Perform a Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall to Help Increase Children’s Access to Classical Music

When: Sunday, September 29, 2019, 2:00 p.m.

Where: Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Corner of 57th Street/7th Avenue,

Train N/Q/R/W 57th St

Tickets: $65 and Up. All proceeds benefit We’ve Got Rhythm. To purchase,

visit carnegiehall.org or call CarnegieCharge 212.247.7800 or

visit Box Office at 57th Street/7th Avenue.

Media Contact: April Thibeault, AMT PR, 212.861.0990, april@amtpublicrelations.com

New York, NY (For Release 07.22.19) — Described by The New York Times as “liquid…dreamlike,” acclaimed Russian pianist Katya Grineva returns to Carnegie Hall with a special benefit concert featuring renowned cellist/Juilliard professor Byron Duckwall. In partnership with the non-profit organization We’ve Got Rhythm, 100% of the concert’s profits will be dedicated to bringing underserved children to Katya’s holiday concert at Carnegie Hall, December 27, 2019. Marking the duo’s fourth consecutive Carnegie Hall concert, the program includes works inspired by nature written by Liszt, Debussy, Schubert, and more. (Program details are below.) 

A lifelong advocate for making musical accessible to children, Grineva performs concerts year-round in schools and hospitals throughout the tri-state region. In addition, she welcomes hundreds of underprivileged children, some from orphanages and others from community schools, to attend her Carnegie Hall concerts as her guests. Grineva’s 2018 holiday concert hosted approximately 250 children from a variety of community centers and schools including The Paterson Music Project, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Red Bank Regional High School, Girl Scouts, The Educational Arts Team, Dr. Lena Edwards School, and more. 

“Thanks to my recent collaboration with We’ve Got Rhythm, I am able to share classical music with more children than ever before,” says Grineva. Her upcoming 2019 holiday concert marks her 19^th consecutive Stern appearance—the most by any woman in the history of Carnegie Hall. “We hope to raise enough funds from our September concert to offer more than 500 complimentary tickets to my holiday concert. We encourage audiences to help us increase accessibility of the arts to all children.”

The Grineva-Duckwall duo celebrated the release of their Soiree…French Masterpieces album at Weill Recital Hall last year to much acclaim. According to Roberta on the Arts, “they create gorgeous music together…both of whom bring musical mastery and sensuality to the luxurious tones of Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Fauré, Massenet, and Saint-Saëns.”

About Katya Grineva

Katya, known for her romantic piano, has played throughout the United States, Guam, Europe, South America, Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines.   She is the only female solo pianist to have performed in the distinguished Carnegie Hall Isaac Stern auditorium a record 17 times. A “noted exponent of Romantic repertoire (WNYC Radio),” Katya captures audiences with her breathless, ethereal concerts.

Born in Moscow, she studied piano at the Moscow Music School, and then the School of Music at the Moscow Conservatory, where she studied with Professor Pavel Messner. She moved to New York in 1989 and received a scholarship to enter the Mannes School of Music graduate program, studying with Nina Svetlanova, followed by private coaching with Vladja Mashke, who played a key role in the young pianist’s development.

Katya made her American debut in 1993 with a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto, No. 27 in B-flat, K.595 accompanied by the Baltimore Symphony. In 1998, she made her Carnegie Hall debut. She has been a guest performer in Ecuador with the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra and performed for the Fillipino President Gloria Macapagal and does many charity concerts throughout the country. In 2006, she was chosen to exclusively perform and record the world premieres of piano sonatas by romantic Viennese composer Marcel Tyberg. At the Australian concerts in Melbourne and in Sydney, the audience heard for the first time in Australia two compositions from Tyberg’s “Lost” piano sonatas. 

She has been awarded the honorable title of Steinway Artist, a special honor from the New York State Shields, and recognition from the government of Guam for her special achievements. Her philanthropic work garnered her accolades, including recipient of the Gusi Peace Prize from Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Outstanding Women Award from Ercolano Italy. 

She has released nine CDs, the latest one being The Complete Chopin Nocturnes. Katya recently completed a tour of Africa as a guest of the Russian Embassy. For more information, visit katyagrineva.com.     

About Byron Duckwall

Former principal cellist, Byron Duckwall is the son of a conductor. He played his first recital at the age of eight and has played for the Metropolitan Opera Association in New York City. He was praised by The New York Times…"a luscious sound tempered by a sensitive feeling for the music's rhythmic lilt and subtly shifting colors.” Recently Byron has conducted “Advanced Techniques” classes at Juilliard and at the NYC Violin Studio in Midtown. He also founded the The Dounis School NYC and will be giving classes at Bard College in early October. He recently completed a book on legendary string D.C. Dounis with esteemed cellist George Neikrug and is currently working on a new text on the methods and secret techniques employed by the great master. 

Katya Grineva Byron Duckwall | Soirée…Themes From Nature
program subject to change?

Pieces for solo piano:

Swan Song (Schubert-Liszt)

Sounds of the Forest (Liszt)

Romance (Clara Schumann)

Claire de Lune (Debussy)

Island of Joy (Debussy)

Pieces for cello and piano:

Cello Sonata, Opus 19 – Andante (Rachmaninoff)

Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Silent Woods (Dvorák)

The Swan (Saint Saëns)

“Arpeggione” Sonata (Schubert)

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