Tatiana Roitman (Piano) & Jeffrey Zehngut (Violin) performing Mozart on March 28th, 2013 at the University of Central Arkansas. 

Pianist Tatiana Roitman has appeared as a soloist and recitalist across North America and Europe. The BBC hailed her performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as “formidable…both accurate and with rarely seen joy.” Her recording of the original, big band version of the work was released by Naxos Records in the album Jazz Nocturne - American Concertos of the Jazz Age. Roitman’s radio broadcasts include H.Villa-Lobos’ Mystic Sextet on NPR’s Performance Today, and B.Bartok’s Contrasts on New York’s classical music station, WQXR.

Jeffrey Zehngut joined the second violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra in August 2011. Mr. Zehngut previously served as associate principal second violin of the San Diego Symphony 2005-11 and as principal second of the Canton Symphony Orchestra 2002-05. He holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with William Preucil and Paul Kantor.

From UCA student newspaper, The Echo:

The College of Fine Arts and Communication and the music department sponsored performances by Jeffery Zehngut and Tatiana Roitman Mann. Zehngut and Mann performed at 7:30 p.m. March 28 at the Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall. Zehngut, violinist, and Roitman Mann, pianist, performed pieces for their audience. Presenting themselves on stage in all-black attire, a large black piano and a brown violin, Zehngut and Mann lit up the room with their distinctive sounds.

After the duo took the audience to different heights with the many pitches and paces of their instruments, they would leave the stage, gathering applause, and would return shortly to perform their next pieces. Their performances featured pieces by Dmitri Shostakovich, Johannes Brahms, W. A. Mozart, and Sergie Prokofiev. Sophomore Kendle Carter said she enjoyed the performance. “The violinist and pianist were very good at juxtaposing between slow and fast, playful and serious, melancholy and happy rhythms,” she said. “It created an exciting and beautiful work of art. I really enjoyed it because it kept me eager for their next pieces.”

The show’s program states that Tatiana’s interpretations of solo, concerto and chamber repertoire are characterized by their warmth and emotional intensity. Sophomore Nathaniel Trent said he was impressed by the act. “The performance went well,” he said. “Using not only the piano, but also the violin, they were able to portray happy and sad sounds. In every piece, I could relate a background story to go with it. Both instruments were able to come together to form a beautiful sound. I enjoyed it.”

The program provided background coverage on the two musicians. Zehngut, for the past few years, has gone on tour throughout the United States and Europe. He performs regularly as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He has positions with the Orchestra Nova and California Chamber Orchestras. Tatiana Roitman Mann has traveled across North America and Europe. She is currently an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

The crowd stood in ovation as the two musicians bowed after their performance, showing its appreciation.

Mozart Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K.304, II. Tempo di minuetto

Pianist Tatiana Roitman has appeared as a soloist and recitalist across North America and Europe. The BBC hailed her performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as “formidable…both accurate and with rarely seen joy.” Her recording of the original, big band version of the work was released by Naxos Records in the album Jazz Nocturne - American Concertos of the Jazz Age. Roitman’s radio broadcasts include H.Villa-Lobos’ Mystic Sextet on NPR’s Performance Today, and B.Bartok’s Contrasts on New York’s classical music station, WQXR.

Roitman’s interpretations have been characterized by their warmth and emotional intensity. As a versatile artist whose engagements include solo, concerto and chamber repertoire, she believes strongly the only way that “art music” can remain pertinent in the 21st century is by conveying and elevating its emotional quintessence. As a performer of contemporary works, she’s premiered works at the American Composer’s Forum and performed For Don by Milton Babbitt, with the composer in attendance in celebration of his 90th birthday at Tanglewood’s Contemporary Music Festival. She’s performed regularly with the San Diego Symphony, and has been featured as a soloist in Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and on SDSO’s innovative Symphony Exposed Series.

As the recipient of the Peggy Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship at Tanglewood, she worked with James Levine, Dawn Upshaw, Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Rosen and Claude Frank. Roitman holds a PGDip. in Performance and a Licentiate in Pedagogy from the Royal Academy of Music in London, an M.Mus. in Performance from Manhattan School of Music, and a DMA from the University of Minnesota, USA. Her principal teachers include Prof. Tatiana Sarkissova, Dr. Marc Silverman, and Prof. Alexander Braginsky.

Mozart Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K.304, II. Tempo di minuetto

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