Pianist Andrius Žlabys and cellist Ashley Bathgate pair up to present a program solo and duo works, including Brahms’ Sonata for Cello & Piano in E minor.

Andrius Žlabys, pianist

Born in Lithuania and trained at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Andrius Žlabys was 18 years old when the Chicago Tribune wrote: “Pianist-composer Andrius Žlabys is one of the most gifted young keyboard artists to emerge in years.” He was also heralded by The New York Sun in a review titled “A Shining Hope of Pianists” after his recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Žlabys made his Carnegie Hall debut at the Isaac Stern Auditorium with the New York Youth Symphony conducted by Misha Santora in 2001 in a performance of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto. He has since appeared on many of the world’s leading stages, such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. A winner of the 2000 Astral Artists Andrius began piano studies at the age of six in his native Lithuania with Laima Jakniuniene at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, and continued his studies in the U.S. with Victoria Mushkatkol, Seymour Lipkin, Sergei Babayan, and Claude Frank.

Ashley Bathgate, cellist

American cellist Ashley Bathgate has been described as an “eloquent new music interpreter” (New York Times) and “a glorious cellist”(The Washington Post) who combines “bittersweet lyricism along with ferocious chops”(New York Magazine). Her “impish ferocity”, “rich tone” and “imaginative phrasing” (New York Times) have made her one of the most sought after performers of her time. The desire to create a dynamic energy exchange with her audience and build upon the ensuing chemistry is a pillar of Bathgate's philosophy as a performer. Dynamism drives her to venture into previously uncharted areas of ground-breaking sounds and techniques, breaking the mold of a cello's traditionally perceived voice.

For ten years Bathgate was a member of the acclaimed sextet Bang on a Can All-Stars. She also served as the cellist of the GRAMMY winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird for several years, and is currently a member of the chamber ensemble HOWL; TwoSense with pianist Lisa Moore; Bonjour, a low-strung, percussive quintet.; and the Anzu Quartet. She serves as the Artistic and Executive Director of Avaloch Farm Music Institute.

Violinist Jessica Tong, cellist Ashley Bathgate and violist Ken Hamao present Bach’s seminal work, Goldberg Variations, arranged by Dmitry Sitkovetsky for string trio.

Bach’s Goldberg Variations, originally written for keyboard, take on a remarkable new character when arranged for string trio. Dividing Bach’s intricate lines among violin, viola, and cello brings the music’s counterpoint into vivid relief: voices that intertwine on a single keyboard become a conversation between three distinct instruments, each with its own color, weight, and personality.

At the heart of the work is a simple, graceful Aria, followed by thirty variations of extraordinary variety—from intimate and lyrical passages to brilliant displays of virtuosity and rhythmic energy. In a string trio arrangement, the Goldberg Variations can feel at once more conversational and more human, revealing the warmth and expressive depth within Bach’s astonishingly precise musical architecture.

Artistic Director Emerita and violinist, Jill Levy, partners with pianist and composer, Andrius Žlabys, to present a program featuring beloved masterworks from the rich canon of violin and piano repertoire, including Schubert Fantasie in C major, Prokofiev Sonata No. 1 in f minor, and works by Fritz Kreisler. 

Jill Levy, violinist

Violinist Jill Levy served as Artistic Director and violinist of the Saratoga Chamber Players for 30 years. She recently retired as concertmaster of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, having joined them in 1993. Her numerous solo performances with them include the performance with Jaime Laredo of Bach’s “Double Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra,” and the premiere and recording of Evan Chambers’ “Concerto for Irish Fiddle and Violin.” As a winner of competitions, she twice performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has performed at the Blossom, Sebago-Long Lake Festivals, with the Pittsburgh Chamber Soloists, the Williams Chamber Players (Williams College), and North Country Chamber Players. She has been a member of the Sherman Chamber Ensemble in Sherman, CT. since 1993. She is a former member of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy. Ms. Levy is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Jascha Brodsky and Arnold Steinhardt. She has also worked with Franco Gulli at the Academia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy.

Andrius Žlabys, pianist

Born in Lithuania and trained at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Andrius Žlabys was 18 years old when the Chicago Tribune wrote: “Pianist-composer Andrius Žlabys is one of the most gifted young keyboard artists to emerge in years.” He was also heralded by The New York Sun in a review titled “A Shining Hope of Pianists” after his recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Žlabys made his Carnegie Hall debut at the Isaac Stern Auditorium with the New York Youth Symphony conducted by Misha Santora in 2001 in a performance of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto. He has since appeared on many of the world’s leading stages, such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. A winner of the 2000 Astral Artists Andrius began piano studies at the age of six in his native Lithuania with Laima Jakniuniene at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, and continued his studies in the U.S. with Victoria Mushkatkol, Seymour Lipkin, Sergei Babayan, and Claude Frank.