Arts Alive San Antonio

BY JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

During its 24^th season, Musical Bridges Around the World will, once again, showcase talented musicians and vocalists from around the world, and the concerts will, once again, take place live and in-person at the beautiful San Fernando Cathedral downtown, like – you know! – before the pandemic.

“I am very excited about it,” said MBAW founder and artistic director Anya Grokhovski. “Just to return to normal life is exciting. I miss live performances. It’s a big part of the human experience to listen to music played live.”

The upcoming “human experience” that Grokhovski and her team have planned for you will take you on a journey through several musical styles and cultures, starting with the culture and sounds of tango “that everyone loves.” Named “Don’t’ Cry for Me Argentina, the concert will be performed by outstanding Argentinian-born artists who now live in New York City –singer Sofia Tosello and bandoneon player JP Jofre and his Hard Tango Chamber Band. Jofre is an artist with international reputation who has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Umbria (Italy) Jazz Festival, the Beijing National Theater and other similar places. The instrument he plays is similar to the accordion but the sound is different, with a larger expressive range. Just watching him play will be fun. (Sunday Oct. 3, 2021, 7 p.m.)

Grokhovski noted that plans for the November concert, “From Vienna with Love” had to be changed recently when it turned out that the Vienna-based Janoska Ensemble, which was scheduled to perform “a smashing ‘Baroque Groove’ program” could not travel from Austria to the United States this fall. So, she had to think fast to find artists to replace them.

“It’s not easy to replace performers on a short notice,” she said “So, I turned to my family for help.”

Renamed “In the Style of Jazz,” the evening will feature her brother, violinist Mark Cheikhet, her former husband, pianist Valeri Grokhovski, who will fly in from Russia, drummer Darren Kuper, and bass player and San Antonio Symphony member, Zlatan Redzic. (Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, 7 p.m.)

In January, MBAW will shift its focus closer to home with “The Quilt: A Living History of African-American Music,” a celebration of Black culture through music. Featuring San Antonio artists, this concert will showcase the same musicians who performed for MBAW’s first ever film venture also titled “The Quilt.” (The film will be released next March) Performing artists include vocalist Beverly Houston, mezzo-soprano Veronica Williams, trombonist Ron Wilkins, pianist Aaron Prado, and San Antonio poet laureate who is also a singer, Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson. The program will cover a lot of territory, from old spirituals to contemporary music. (January 23, 2022, 7 p.m.)

Then there will be a return to classical tradition in April when the Atrium String Quartet gets here to “sing” “Happy Birthday, Schubert!” The well-known group will travel from Germany to celebrate with us the 225^th birthday of one of the most admired composers in history, Franz Schubert. Founded in St. Petersburg in 2000, the Atrium is the winner of two of the most prestigious international competitions for string quartets: First Prize and Audience Prize at the 9^th London International String Quartet Competition in 2003, and Grand Prix at the 5^th International String Quartet Competition in Bordeaux (France), in 2007. No program details are available for their San Antonio showcase, but it will be an all-Schubert night, we assume. ((Sunday, April 10, 7 p.m.)

For the season finale, MBAW is bringing back the first-place winner of the Gurwitz 2020 International Piano Competition, Chinese pianist, Jiale Li, who will play with the Russian String Orchestra.  For Li, a Shangai resident, it will be the first trip back to San Antonio since his big win.  He and the orchestra will perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1, conducted by the string orchestra’s music director Misha Rachlevsky.  (Sunday, May 8, 7 p.m.)

All concerts are free and open to the public but registration is required: www.mbaw.org. Grokhovski emphasized that all CDC rules will be followed and masks will be available for those who want them.

“Also, all our guest artists have been vaccinated and everybody on our staff has been vaccinated, too.  We are doing our part to make sure everybody stays safe,” she said.

So, what is she personally most looking forward to? We asked.

“Live concerts! To see audiences and interact with musicians, and see, us humans, communicate with each other live, in person. Probably everyone feels the same way,” she said with a chuckle.

In addition to the concert season, MBAW also organizes an annual International Music Festival in March but the 2022 dates have not yet been announced.