MUSIC
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Audience Information
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Cover Design: Lisa Baron | Cover Photo: Mark Teague
MUSIC
Elena Cholakova, piano
Miroslav Hristov, violin
Sunday, February 2, 2025, 4:00 p.m.
Emerson Concert Hall
Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
Program
Violin Sonatina No. 3 in G minor, op. 137, D 408 Franz Schubert
I. Allegro giusto (1897–1828)
II. Andante
III. Menuetto
IV. Allegro moderato
Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major, M. 77 Maurice Ravel
I. Allegretto (1875–1937)
II. Blues: Moderato
III. Perpetuum mobile: Allegro
Intermission
Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, op. 45 Edvard Grieg
I. Allegro molto ed appassionato (1843–1907)
II. Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza
III. Allegro animato
Elena Cholakova, piano
Bulgarian pianist Elena Cholakova regularly performs in important musical venues in Eastern and Western Europe, South America, and the United States. She has given solo recitals at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary; the U.S. Embassy; Bulgaria Hall and Sofia Conservatory in Sofia, Bulgaria; Aosta Concert Hall in Aosta, Italy; Fellbach Musicschulle in Fellbach, Germany; and Fazioli Salon in Chicago, Illinois, among others. She has toured the southeast United States as a member of the American Chamber Music Society. Her performances have been broadcast live on NPR, Atlanta’s WABE, Chicago’s classical music radio station WFMT, and Bulgarian television and radio stations.
Cholakova recently performed at the acclaimed Musikverein in Vienna, as well as Bulgaria’s premier international chamber music festival, Balabanov’s House Music Days, and in Bogota, Columbia, with violinist Anyango Yarbo-Davenport. Recognizing the impact of the pandemic on women’s careers in the arts, Cholakova has commissioned an album of all new music written by female identifying composers. The project unfolds as a series of collaborations and culminates in a recording of the pieces commissioned.
Other notable collaborations include Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” with conductor Robert Spano in a multi-media production hailed as “one of the most important collaborations of the year.” As a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players, Cholakova has appeared in the International Chamber Music Festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; has regularly performed in Atlanta’s Spivey Hall; and has premiered commissioned works by leading American composers. Cholakova has been featured in the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival in North Carolina; the International Days of Music Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria; the Sofia Musical Evenings Festival in Sofia; and more.
During the summer, Cholakova serves on the faculty of the Interharmony Music Festival in Italy; the Prague Piano Festival in the Czech Republic; and Solinaria Music Festival in Bulgaria. Cholakova is a recipient of Rislov Foundation Scholarship of the University of Michigan,
awarded to musicians nationwide for their high achievements in the field of music. She is also a recipient of the Vaughan Williams Foundation grant supporting contemporary music written by composers in the United Kingdom.
Specializing in Chopin’s Preludes, op. 28, she presented a lecture recital at the Third World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia, focusing on the different editions of the piece. A dedicated educator, Cholakova holds a special interest in teaching. Her students have won top prizes at numerous national and international competitions.
Cholakova holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from Northwestern University. She serves as Director of Piano Studies at Emory University and Director of the Emory Young Artist Piano Competition.
Miroslav Hristov, violin
Violinist Miroslav Hristov was hailed by Fanfare Magazine for his “razor sharp technique” and a “full palette of tonal colors.” He presents master classes and performs extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in several international festivals and concert series, including the Musical Treasures series in Carnegie Hall, the Interharmony International Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy, the Sofia Music Weeks International Festival, the Balabanov House Music Days, the Big Arts Concert Series in Florida, and the Fredell Lack Series in Houston, Texas. Recent performances include solo and chamber performances in the national recital halls of Taiwan and Singapore. Hristov was First Prize winner of the International Violin Competition “Dobrin Petkov,” and a prizewinner for the MTNA Collegiate String Performance Competition. Hristov has recorded for Centaur Records, Romeo Records, Blue Griffin Records, the Divine Arts Record label, Bulgarian National Radio, and WUOT Knoxville. His recordings are broadcast on NPR stations across the United States and abroad. As part of the internationallyacclaimed Kaleidos Duo with pianist, Vladimir Valjarevic, Hristov’s recordings and performances have received rave reviews from The Strad Magazine, Fanfare, DUMA (Sofia, Bulgaria), and Lucid Culture (New York).
With over twenty years of teaching experience, Hristov has gained recognition as one of the leading violin pedagogues in the country. In the last several years, students from his studio have earned top prizes at national and international competitions, including the American Protégé International Concerto Competition, The ENKOR International Solo Violin Competition, the Music Teachers National Association (National Finalist), the Cleveland Orchestra of Tennessee Aria and Concerto Competition, among many others. Recent teaching awards include the Tennessee Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year, the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts Outstanding Teacher Award, the University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and the University of Tennessee School of Music’s Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award, an award nominated by and voted on by the UT School of Music Student Advisory Board.
Recent graduates from Dr. Hristov’s studio have received full scholarships and assistantships to attend prestigious graduate programs around the country, including Indiana University, Boston Conservatory, University of Houston, Arizona State University, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Appalachian State University, and Columbus State University. Others have secured competitive jobs, including appointments to the violin faculty of the Universidad Pontifica Católica de Puerto Rico, Crown College, as well as performing arts organizations, such as the National Symphony of Ukraine, the Lexington Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, among others. Many of his students participate in prestigious festivals, such as the Aspen Music Festival, Meadowmount Music Festival, Roundtop, and Yo-Yo Ma’s Winter Music in China.
Hristov is Professor of Violin and String Area Coordinator at the University of Tennessee. He is also Founder and Director of the University of Tennessee’s Ready for the World Music Series, which brings renowned artists to perform and talk about musical styles and literature from diverse regions around the world, emphasizing each region’s contribution to western classical music.
Music at Emory brings together students, faculty, and world-class artists to create an exciting and innovative season of performances, lectures, workshops, and master classes. With more than 150 events each year across multiple Emory venues, audiences experience a wide variety of musical offerings.
We hope you enjoy sampling an assortment of work from our student ensembles, community youth ensembles, artists in residence, professional faculty, up-and-coming prodigies, and virtuosos from around the world.
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