Levansa Trio

Three prominent musicians, cellist Lev Sitkov from Siberia, violinist Andrew Beer from Canada, and Kiwi pianist Sarah Watkins, have combined for a recital tour under the name of Levansa Trio. They will perform in Greytown on Saturday August 17.

Sarah, well known from her years of playing as a founding member of the NZTrio, is now a freelance pianist, enjoying playing with orchestras and with a variety of chamber music combinations. Most recently she has been involved with the Michael Hill International Violin Competition as official pianist.

Andrew has been concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia since 2014 and after growing up in a frosty part of Canada, he is overjoyed to be harvesting fruit and vegetables all year round in his garden in Auckland! 

Those who attended the NZTrio Tapas concert at Featherston in 2017 may remember Andrew’s virtuoso performance when he stood in for the Trio’s usual violinist, Justine Cormack. He has performed extensively throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia, and has been described as possessing a “glorious string tone” by Strad Magazine, as a performer displaying “accuracy and subtle charisma” by the Boston Globe, and as a “ musical gift” by the New York Times.

Lev began to learn cello at the age of 5. He moved to Basel, Switzerland at the age of 16 where he was mentored by NZ Cellist Gillian Harris. He has been involved with Gillian and her family ever since and she has been instrumental in arranging his NZ tour, which includes performances as soloist with Orchestra Wellington and Christchurch Symphony. He is, when at home, principal cellist of the Zurich Opera.

The Trio will play music by Debussy, Martinu, Myaskovsy, and the Beethoven “Archduke” Piano Trio in B flat major. Myaskovsy was a contemporary of Prokofiev and Khachaturian. He wrote his second cello sonata for the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, for which he was awarded a Stalin prize.

The concert will be held at 57 Wood Street Greytown at 4pm Saturday 17 August. Admission is $25 for adults, $10 for students. Contact Ed and Juliet Cooke to reserve a seat – Ph. 06 304 9497 or email efjac@xtra.co.nz