Four Voices, Four Worlds - In-Person Concert & Live on YouTube
Thu, Nov 05
|Center for Jewish History
Join Phoenix Chamber Ensemble pianists Vassa Shevel and Inessa Zaretsky for an unforgettable evening of Classical, Romantic, and modern music by Schubert, Beethoven, Bach, and Shostakovich, featuring guest violinist Anna Elashvili and cellist Serafim Smigelskiy.
Time & Location
Nov 05, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Center for Jewish History, 15 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011, USA
About the event
Join Phoenix Chamber Ensemble pianists Vassa Shevel and Inessa Zaretsky for an unforgettable evening of Classical, Romantic, and modern music by Schubert, Beethoven, Bach, and Shostakovich, featuring guest violinist Anna Elashvili and cellist Serafim Smigelskiy.
Program:
J.S. Bach
Three Two-Part Inventions, transcribed for violin and cello
C Major • D minor • F Major
Anna Elashvili - violin, Serafim Smigelskiy - cello
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 2
Anna Elashvili - violin, Serafim Smigelskiy - cello, Vassa Shevel - piano
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67
Anna Elashvili - violin, Serafim Smigelskiy - cello, Inessa Zaretsky - piano
Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dances, arranged for violin, cello and piano, 4 hands by F. Hermann
No.1 in G minor • No.2 in D minor • No.3 in F Major • No.4 in F minor • No.5 in F-sharp minor/G minor
Vassa Shevel & Inessa Zaretsky - piano
Founded in 2005 by pianists Vassa Shevel and Inessa Zaretsky, the Phoenix Chamber Ensemble has become a vital part of the New York classical community, presenting more than 70 public concerts at the Center for Jewish History. The ensemble has garnered a devoted following with its innovative programming and sensitive interpretations, earned an international reputation presenting concerts in Russia, Poland, Italy, and other European venues, and collaborated with numerous acclaimed guest artists, including clarinetist David Krakauer, the Grammy-nominated Enso Quartet, the Tesla Quartet, members of the Jasper String Quartet, the New York Little Opera Company, the Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Ballet.
Made possible by the Stravinsky Institute Foundation through the generous support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
Ticket Info:
In-person: $18 general, $10 seniors, $8 membersclick here to register
YouTube: Pay what you wish; click here to register
Presented by:
Upcoming Guest Artists
Anna Elashvili, violin
Violinist Anna Elashvili, hailed as "riveting" by the New York Times, has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster around the world. She has collaborated with renowned artists such as Lynn Harrell, Dawn Upshaw, Daniel Hope, and Maxim Vengerov. Alex Ross in The New Yorker wrote, "Anna Elashvili all but transformed the early, nondescript [Britten] Suite for Violin and Piano, maintaining ferocious accuracy far into the upper register”.
In 2006, Ms. Elashvili was nominated to be a fellow with Ensemble ACJW, a collaborative program of Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School. From the alumni of ACJW, Decoda was born and appointed first Ensemble-in-Residence of Carnegie Hall. Anna has been a core member since its start. She has also performed with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, NOVUS NY, Exponential Ensemble, and was the first violinist of the Bryant Park Quartet, a group for which she wrote arrangements and recorded an album. She has participated in university residencies including Princeton, Vassar, Skidmore, SUNY, Lawrence, and Cornell. Her international travels have included concerts in England, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Israel, Iceland, and Abu Dhabi.
Having studied dance for several years, Anna really enjoys her collaborations with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Wendy Whelan, the Mark Morris Dance Group, and others. She has also integrated her love of tango into her performances by arranging and writing her own tangos. Some crossover collaborations include artists Natalie Merchant, Becca Stevens, and Anthony and the Johnsons. Anna currently teaches at the Special Music School High School. A native of Baltimore, she studied with Klara Berkovich and Violaine Melançon at the Peabody Preparatory and Baltimore School for the Arts. Anna received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from The Juilliard School under the instruction of Prof. Joel Smirnoff and Masao Kawasaki. She has attended Yellow Barn, Perlman Music Program, Tanglewood, and the Verbier Music Festivals.
Serafim Smigelskiy, cello
Praised for his versatility and soulful expressive style, Serafim Smigelskiy actively performs on both baroque and modern cellos.
Serafim has toured four continents as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing with Jupiter Chamber Players, Trinity Baroque, Sebastians, El Mundo, TENET, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and The American Classical Orchestra, among others. He has performed as principal cellist with the Juilliard Orchestra, Pegasus, Experiential Orchestra, and the Kansas City Philharmonic. Between 2014 and 2021, while a member of the Tesla Quartet, Serafim appeared on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including Wigmore Hall, the Esterhazy Palace, and the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival, during which the Quartet released two award-winning albums.
A passionate advocate of new music, Serafim has given numerous world premiere performances guided by composers such as Arvo Pärt, Chaya Czernowin, Georg Friedrich Haas, Mathias Pintscher, Magnus Lindberg, and many others. His love of early music and fascination with historical performance practice led him to study baroque cello with Phoebe Carrai at the Juilliard Historical Performance Department and to perform alongside Robert Mealy, Monica Huggett, Christophe Rousset, William Christie, and Nicholas McGegan. Serafim also produces electronic music as Faremis Sound and creates audio stories with his wife, Sierra Prasada, as HiSierrafim.
Phoenix Chamber Ensemble 2023 ©