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Praised for their “stirring performances of rare repertory” (Fanfare), the husband and wife team of Anna and Dmitri Shelest traces its roots to Ukraine’s prestigious Kharkiv Special Music School. At their Carnegie Hall debut in February, 2018, the duo’s CD release of “Ukrainian Rhapsody” brought renewed international attention to the music of their homeland. Subsequently, that recording has been featured as the Album of the Week on radio stations throughout the United States, including WCRB (Boston) and KUSC (Los Angeles). Having been classmates since middle school, the artists began performing together after their marriage in the United States. Their inventive programs brought them to a broad array of venues from concert stages to state functions, and, in the words of then-Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, “realized diplomacy through music.”
Anna and Dmitri Shelest and their two sons make their home in New York City.
MOZART
Concerto #10 in E-flat for 2 Pianos. K. 365
POULENC
Concerto for 2 Pianos
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“UKRAINIAN RHAPSODY” Lysenko: Suite on Ukrainian Themes, Op. 2 Sorel Classics: SC CD 011 |
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“TUTTI” - SHELEST PIANO DUO Smetana: The Moldau Sorel Classics: SC CD 002 |
A new piano duo on the scene is the Ukrainian-born, and now New York-based couple, Anna and Dmitri Shelest. Shelest Piano Duo have released their first recording, TUTTI, with substantial standard repertoire items. Among the disc’s highlights are Liszt’s own arrangement of his Les Préludes played with consistent brilliance and sensitivity through to its magnificent conclusion. Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony Allegro is an impressive display of melody and countermelody beautifully balanced and phrased. [In Ravel’s La Valse], the Shelests capture the chaos and complexity familiar in the orchestral version and bring it to a stunning finish.
THE WHOLE NOTE MAGAZINE
Anna and Dmitri Shelest make a welcome return to this column with their latest recording, Ukrainian Rhapsody. As a piano duo they occupy less than half the disc, giving the majority of the program to Anna alone for some rarely heard works by Ukrainian composers. This is raw pianism and as thrilling as four hands performance can get. Be warned - it will knock you right off your seat!
THE WHOLE NOTE MAGAZINE
| 9/23/2023 (7:30pm) | MADISON SOUNDS: TOGETHER FOR UKRAINE Madison Avenue Baptist Church (NYC) Skoryk: 3 Extravagant Dances |
| 10/6/2023 (6pm) | COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY (NY) Grace Auditorium Bernstein/Harmon: Overture to Candide |
| 10/10/2023 (6:30pm) | PIANO EVENING WITH DAVID DUBAL Grace & St. Paul’s Church (NYC) Gottschalk: La Jota Aragonesa (Caprice espagnol) |
| 1/29/2024 (7:30pm) | FLORIDA KEYS CONCERT ASSOCIATION Marathon High School Performing Arts Center Lysenko/Revutsky: Overture to the Opera Taras Bulba |
| 1/30/2024 (7:30pm) | FLORIDA KEYS CONCERT ASSOCIATION Coral Shores High School Auditorium (Tavernier) Lysenko/Revutsky: Overture to the Opera Taras Bulba |
| 2/1/2024 (4pm) | MOORINGS PARK (Naples, FL) Bower Chapel Bernstein/Harmon: Candide (overture) |
| 3/26/2024 (5:30pm) | PIANO EVENINGS WITH DAVID DUBAL (NYC) Grace & St. Paul’s Church Franck: Prelude, Fugue & Variation |
| 9/16/2024 (7pm) | KIMBALL FARMS LIFECARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY (Lenox, MA) |
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Bernstein/Harmon: Candide (overture) |
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Copland/Lerner: Variations on a Shaker Melody |
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Poulenc: Concerto for 2 Pianos & Orchestra (mvt. III: Allegro molto) |
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Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue |
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Arensky: Polichinelle |