Christina Petrowska-Quilico
Encyclopedia
Christina Petrowska-Quilico (born December 30, 1948, Ottawa
, Ontario
) is a Canadian
pianist
. She is the second wife of Canadian baritone
Louis Quilico
.
and the Canadian League of Composers
announced on May 29, 2008 that Christina Petrowska Quilico was the recipient of the 2007 Friends of Canadian Music Award. This award honors those who have demonstrated a commitment to Canadian composers and their music. Petrowska-Quilico and composer Constantine Caravassilis have recently been named winners of the 2010 Harry Freedman Recording Award from the Canadian Music Centre. Their prize will go toward recording a two-CD set, for which they have also received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council.
Over the course of her career, Petrowska-Quilico has collaborated with a long list of international and Canadian composers, including Violet Archer, Pierre Boulez
, Glenn Buhr, Michael Bussiere
, John Cage, Christos Hatzis, Lowell Liebermann, Alexina Louie
, R. Murray Schafter, Krzysztof Penderecki, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Claude Vivier,John Weinzweig and Michel-Georges Bregent, her first husband (died 1993). She has performed with most new music groups and chamber ensembles in Canada, as well as orchestras like the Toronto Symphony and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
s , National Arts Centre Orchestra
, Esprit Orchestra and Vancouver Chamber Orchestra. Her concert tours, both as soloist and with her late husband, the Metropolitan Opera baritone Louis Quilico
, have taken her across four continents. On the recital stage, her appearances include New York City venues such as Carnegie Hall
, Alice Tully Hall
and Merkin Concert Hall
.
Petrowska-Quilico's has more than 26 recordings of classical, romantic, new and world music, including a Juno-nominated CD with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and four CDs with Louis Quilico. Quilico's CD Virtuoso Piano Music of Our Time made its debut on the Space Shuttle Columbia
with Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean
. In September 2006, her recording of David Mott’s piano concerto “Eclipse” (which she premiered earlier in the year in a gala concert inaugurating the Recital Hall in York University’s Accolade Project) accompanied MacLean on the Space Shuttle Atlantis
. Her latest recordings include the world premiere performances of the three-CD set of “Rivers” by Ann Southam as part of the Canadian Composer Portraits series, and the world premiere of a two-CD set of “16 Portraits – Romantic Etudes” by Michel-Georges Brégent, both on the Centrediscs label and most recently a 2 CD set of contemporary music called "Ings" the world premiere recording of "Pond Life" a 2 CD set by Ann Southam for Centrediscs and "Glass Houses Revisited" by Ann Southam. Her CD "3 Concerti" with the Toronto Symphony, National Arts Orchestra and Vancouver CBC Symphony in concerti by Alexina Louie, Larysa Kuzmenko and Violet Archer was nominated for a 2011 Juno in the category of Best Classical Composition for the Kuzmenko Concerto. Her 25th CD "The Liszt Anniversary Collection" was released in March 2011 and "Tapestries" another concerto CD will be released in the fall of 2011.
Petrowska-Quilico studied with Boris Berlin
at the Royal Conservatory of Music, where she made her debut, with orchestra, at the age of 10. She studied at New York’s Juilliard School
with Rosina Lhévinne
, Jeaneane Dowis and Irwin Freundlich. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music (1968) and Master of Science (1970). At 14, she made her New York concert debut with the Municipal Arts Orchestra at Town Hall as a co-winner with fellow student Murray Perahia
of the High School of the Performing Arts Concerto Competition. After graduation, she extended her doctoral studies at the Sorbonne
in Paris having won a Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship and a French Government Grant, and later in Darmstadt and Berlin with Karlheinz Stockhausen and György Ligeti
. She received nine grants from the Canada Council
between 1964 and 1985. In 1978 she won a prize at the first international piano competition of the J.F.Kennedy -Rockefeller Foundation at the Kennedy Center in Washington. During the summer of 1985 under the auspices of the Department of External Affairs of Canada, she participated in eleven recitals in four countries in the Middle East. With the support of the Greek government she made two tours of Greece in 1988 and 1991.
1979-82, at Carleton University
1982-87 and at York University
starting in 1987 where she is a Full Professor of Piano Performance and Musicology. She adjudicated at the Winnipeg New Music Festival and the Eckhardt-Grammattee international competition. Several exhibitions of her graphic art, including her 'musicolgraphical'poems on Boulez's Sonate No.3 (which were approved by the composer) were held in Canada, the USA and France. Her poems have been published in several journals and newspapers. She has published 3 books. Mr. Rigoletto: In Conversation with Louis Quilico Captus Press, Opera Illustrated: An Artistic Odyssey Captus Press and Go Away Sisyphus a collection of poems.
Petrowska-Quilico is the author and artist of three published books, including Opera Illustrated: An Artistic Odyssey and Mr. Rigoletto: In Conversation with Louis Quilico. She is professor of piano and musicology in the Department of Music at York University
.
Discography
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. She is the second wife of Canadian baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
Louis Quilico
Louis Quilico
Louis Quilico, CC was a Canadian opera singer. One of the leading dramatic baritones of his day, he was an ideal interpreter of the great Italian and French composers, especially Giuseppe Verdi. He was often referred to as "Mr Rigoletto" in reference to the Verdi opera...
.
Career
The Canadian Music CentreCanadian Music Centre
The Canadian Music Centre holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music. The CMC exists to promote the works of its Associate Composers in Canada and around the world....
and the Canadian League of Composers
Canadian League of Composers
The Canadian League of Composers is an organization formed in 1951 of Canadian composers primarily interested in raising awareness and acceptance of Canadian music. The activities of the League are overseen and directed by an executive and a National Council...
announced on May 29, 2008 that Christina Petrowska Quilico was the recipient of the 2007 Friends of Canadian Music Award. This award honors those who have demonstrated a commitment to Canadian composers and their music. Petrowska-Quilico and composer Constantine Caravassilis have recently been named winners of the 2010 Harry Freedman Recording Award from the Canadian Music Centre. Their prize will go toward recording a two-CD set, for which they have also received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council.
Over the course of her career, Petrowska-Quilico has collaborated with a long list of international and Canadian composers, including Violet Archer, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Glenn Buhr, Michael Bussiere
Michael Bussiere
Michael Bussière has been producing new media experiments since 1987 when he shared the stage of Toronto’s Dumaurier Theatre Centre with Australian performance artist Stelarc. Bussière has become one of Canada's leading experts on telematic practices in the classroom and in performance.Michael ...
, John Cage, Christos Hatzis, Lowell Liebermann, Alexina Louie
Alexina Louie
Alexina Louie, OC, FRSC is a Canadian composer of Chinese descent who has written many pieces for orchestra, as well as pieces for solo piano.-Biography:Alexina Louie was born in Vancouver and received an...
, R. Murray Schafter, Krzysztof Penderecki, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Claude Vivier,John Weinzweig and Michel-Georges Bregent, her first husband (died 1993). She has performed with most new music groups and chamber ensembles in Canada, as well as orchestras like the Toronto Symphony and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba.-History:...
s , National Arts Centre Orchestra
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
, Esprit Orchestra and Vancouver Chamber Orchestra. Her concert tours, both as soloist and with her late husband, the Metropolitan Opera baritone Louis Quilico
Louis Quilico
Louis Quilico, CC was a Canadian opera singer. One of the leading dramatic baritones of his day, he was an ideal interpreter of the great Italian and French composers, especially Giuseppe Verdi. He was often referred to as "Mr Rigoletto" in reference to the Verdi opera...
, have taken her across four continents. On the recital stage, her appearances include New York City venues such as Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
and Merkin Concert Hall
Merkin Concert Hall
Merkin Concert Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Special Music School , a New York City public school for...
.
Petrowska-Quilico's has more than 26 recordings of classical, romantic, new and world music, including a Juno-nominated CD with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and four CDs with Louis Quilico. Quilico's CD Virtuoso Piano Music of Our Time made its debut on the Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
with Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean
Steven MacLean (astronaut)
Steven Glenwood MacLean is a Canadian astronaut. He is the current President of the Canadian Space Agency, appointed on September 1, 2008....
. In September 2006, her recording of David Mott’s piano concerto “Eclipse” (which she premiered earlier in the year in a gala concert inaugurating the Recital Hall in York University’s Accolade Project) accompanied MacLean on the Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States...
. Her latest recordings include the world premiere performances of the three-CD set of “Rivers” by Ann Southam as part of the Canadian Composer Portraits series, and the world premiere of a two-CD set of “16 Portraits – Romantic Etudes” by Michel-Georges Brégent, both on the Centrediscs label and most recently a 2 CD set of contemporary music called "Ings" the world premiere recording of "Pond Life" a 2 CD set by Ann Southam for Centrediscs and "Glass Houses Revisited" by Ann Southam. Her CD "3 Concerti" with the Toronto Symphony, National Arts Orchestra and Vancouver CBC Symphony in concerti by Alexina Louie, Larysa Kuzmenko and Violet Archer was nominated for a 2011 Juno in the category of Best Classical Composition for the Kuzmenko Concerto. Her 25th CD "The Liszt Anniversary Collection" was released in March 2011 and "Tapestries" another concerto CD will be released in the fall of 2011.
Petrowska-Quilico studied with Boris Berlin
Boris Berlin
Boris Berlin was a Canadian pianist, music educator, arranger, and composer of Russian birth. He is primarily remembered for his work within the field of piano pedagogy, having published an extensive amount of material in that area and teaching a large number of notable pianists...
at the Royal Conservatory of Music, where she made her debut, with orchestra, at the age of 10. She studied at New York’s Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
with Rosina Lhévinne
Rosina Lhévinne
Rosina Bessie Lhévinne was a Russian American pianist and famed pedagogue....
, Jeaneane Dowis and Irwin Freundlich. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music (1968) and Master of Science (1970). At 14, she made her New York concert debut with the Municipal Arts Orchestra at Town Hall as a co-winner with fellow student Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia KBE is an American concert pianist and conductor.-Early life:Murray Perahia was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin. According to the biography on his Mozart piano sonatas CD, his first language was Judaeo-Spanish or, Ladino. The family...
of the High School of the Performing Arts Concerto Competition. After graduation, she extended her doctoral studies at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris having won a Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship and a French Government Grant, and later in Darmstadt and Berlin with Karlheinz Stockhausen and György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
. She received nine grants from the Canada Council
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...
between 1964 and 1985. In 1978 she won a prize at the first international piano competition of the J.F.Kennedy -Rockefeller Foundation at the Kennedy Center in Washington. During the summer of 1985 under the auspices of the Department of External Affairs of Canada, she participated in eleven recitals in four countries in the Middle East. With the support of the Greek government she made two tours of Greece in 1988 and 1991.
Administration, Teaching, Art
She was music director of the Ottawa concert society Espace Musique 1985-89, for which she gave many solo and chamber music recitals and she served on the board of Opera Lyra1985-85. She was a member of the Canada Council's planning committee for new music 1996-98. She taught at the Royal Conservatory of MusicRoyal Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music is a music school and performance venue in Toronto, Canada. Other uses of the term include:*The Madrid Royal Conservatory, Spain*The Royal Academy of Music, London, United Kingdom...
1979-82, at Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
1982-87 and at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
starting in 1987 where she is a Full Professor of Piano Performance and Musicology. She adjudicated at the Winnipeg New Music Festival and the Eckhardt-Grammattee international competition. Several exhibitions of her graphic art, including her 'musicolgraphical'poems on Boulez's Sonate No.3 (which were approved by the composer) were held in Canada, the USA and France. Her poems have been published in several journals and newspapers. She has published 3 books. Mr. Rigoletto: In Conversation with Louis Quilico Captus Press, Opera Illustrated: An Artistic Odyssey Captus Press and Go Away Sisyphus a collection of poems.
Petrowska-Quilico is the author and artist of three published books, including Opera Illustrated: An Artistic Odyssey and Mr. Rigoletto: In Conversation with Louis Quilico. She is professor of piano and musicology in the Department of Music at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
.
Discography
- Ings CBC/Welspringe Productions 2 CD set of 15 international, Canadian and American works
- EclipseEclipseAn eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer...
Centrediscs (music of David Mott) - Portraits: 16 Romantic Etudes Centrediscs (2CD set) music of Michel-Georges Bregent
- Canadian Composers Portraits Centrediscs (2CD set) "Rivers" by Ann Southam
- So You Want to Write a Fugue Centrediscs (Kati AgócsKati AgócsKati Ilona Agócs is a composer of contemporary classical music and faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.-Early life:...
, Ana Sokolovic) - Chris Paul Harman Centrediscs music of Harman
- Contemporary Piano Concerti CBC Records, Glenn Buhr piano concerto with the Winnipeg Symphony(nominated for a Juno for Best Classical Composition)
- True North Gestival Healey Willan piano concerto with the Tai Pei Symphony]
- Romantic Gems Welspringe Romantic piano music
- Chopin & Liszt Welspringe Romantic piano music
- Debussy Welspringe piano music of Claude Debussy
- Vocal Gems Welspringe New York recital with baritone, Louis Quilico
- Two of a KindTwo of a KindTwo of a Kind may refer to:*Two of a Kind , a 1951 film starring Lizabeth Scott*Two of a Kind , a 1983 film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John* Two of a Kind , soundtrack of the 1983 film...
York Fine Arts, recital with baritone Louis Quilico - Chants Francais et Russes Welspringe, recital with baritone Louis Quilico
- Mr. Rigoletto: My Life in Music Analekta, recital excerpts with Louis Quilico
- Gems with an Edge CBC/Welspringe 20th century piano music
- Mystic Streams CBC/Welspringe 20th century piano music
- Northern Sirens York Fine Arts Canadian women composers
- Virtuoso Piano Music of Our Own Time JLH Lasersound virtuoso piano music
- Catbird Seat Trappist Recording with the Canadian Electronic EnsembleCanadian Electronic EnsembleThe Canadian Electronic Ensemble is a Canadian electronic music ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1971 by David Grimes, David Jaeger, Larry Lake and James Montgomery, it is the oldest continuously active live-electronic performing group in the world. In 1984 they performed at the...
- Gems CBC/Conacord with Joseph Petric accordion
- Pond Life music by Ann Southam on Centrediscs
- 3 Concerti on Centrediscs. Piano concerti by Alexina Louie, Violet Archer and Larysa Kuzmenko with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Alex Pauk, conductor, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner, conductor, the Toronto Symphony, Jukka Pekka Saraste, conductor (nominated for a Juno for Best Classical Composition Larysa Kuzmenko concerto)
- 24 Glass Houses Revisited by Ann Southam, revised, edited and performed by Christina Petrowska Quilico, Centrediscs 2011
- 25 The Liszt Anniversary Collection performed by Christina Petrowska Quilico Welspringe Productions 2011
- 26 Tapestries with Christina Petrowska Quilico, piano soloist and the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Chorus and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra in works by George Fiala and Heather Schmidt (Centrediscs)
External links
- Official site
- Christina Petrowska-Quilico at The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...
- Faculty page at York