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Song: Cantata Dalla Guerra Amorosa Composed By: Frederic Handel Sung By: Mark Winkler Accompanied By: Yakov Kreizberg Date Recorded: 1982 |
This was the second song
listed in my jury recital. My accompanist was a student named Yakov Kreizberg,
a Russian Jew who was at Michigan studying conducting. Last year I googled his
name and found out he is one of the top 3 conductors living today. He was
conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic taking over for Von Karajan. I made contact
with him last year briefly and it was very nostalgic. His support for me in my
jury recital was the only way I got through it ... he was an incredible
musician.
I say "was" because when I looked up his correct spelling I discovered he died of cancer on March 15th, 2011. He was exactly my age. This was a shock to me... hitting so close to home as you can understand.
So I post this recording in memory of Yakov and though I am far from perfect in it (but I didn’t drop a beat), I can tell you it was one of the greatest moments of my life to have him accompany me.