Xenia Jankovic

Last updated

Xenia Jankovic
Birth nameKsenija Janković
Born (1958-10-26) 26 October 1958 (age 64)
Niš, Serbia
Origin Serbian and Russian
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)Cello

Xenia Jankovic (born 26 October 1958) is a Serbian-Russian cellist.

Contents

Biography

Jankovic was born in Niš Serbia into a Serbian–Russian family of musicians. The cello soon became her instrument of choice and she made her debut with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of nine. A government scholarship allowed her to study at the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory with Stefan Kalianov and Mstislav Rostropovich. She then went on to study with Pierre Fournier and Guy Fallot in Geneva and with André Navarra in Detmold. Later on, intensive work with Sandor Végh and György Sebők led to a deepening of both her musical ideas and her artistic ideal.

Career

In 1981 Xenia Jankovic gained proper international acclaim when she became first prize winner at the prestigious Gaspar Cassado[3] competition in Florence (Italy). At the same time she won the Lino Filippini prize for the best interpretation of Brahms. In addition to her recitals all over Europe, Xenia Jankovic has performed as soloist with prestigious orchestras, including Philharmonia Orchestra (London) and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Madrid Philharmonic Orchestra and Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. As one of the most interesting cellists of our time, Xenia Jankovic's recitals have been many times described as deeply moving, unforgettable and sensitive. The Times (London) magazine described Xenia Jankovic's performance of Variations on a Rococo Theme (Tchaikovsky) as "She shoved to be one with the music".[4] Being an active musician, she has worked closely with Gidon Kremer, András Schiff and Tabea Zimmermann.

Over the last decade she has made a number of recordings including Bach ́s Cello Suites, integral works for cello and piano by Beethoven (played on the period instruments), sonatas and pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Frank, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Jevtic and concertos by Haydn, Dvorak, Elgar, Prokofiev, Khachaturian and Shostakovich. An active chamber music player and regular participant at many chamber music festivals, she is a member of the Hamlet Piano Trio, which performs on both modern and period instruments and has made recordings of Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Schubert Piano Trios. Jankovic was the artistic director of the chamber music festval Musikdorf Ernen from 2006 to 2017.

In 2018 she founded the Inspirimus project as a reflecton of her artistic, pedagogical and spiritual work. This project is inspired by the desire to engage more profoundly and responsibly with art and life in general. Recently, Jankovic has been arranging and playing with smaller ensembles, in particular the Ensemble Inspirimus, which she founded in 2020.

Teaching

Xenia worked closely with young musicians over the past 35 years. She was a cello professor at the Zagreb Music Academy from 1985 to 1987, Belgrade Music Academy from 1987 to 1989 and Hochschule für Musik Würzburg from 1990 to 2004. She currently teaches at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold Germany. Some of her disciples were Susanne Beer, Bridget Mac Rae, Sebastian Jolles, Vanda Djanic, Ulf Shade, Dirk Wietheger and Gernot Nutzenberger.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Geringas</span> Lithuanian cellist and conductor

David Geringas is a Lithuanian cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He also plays the baryton, a rare instrument associated with music of Joseph Haydn.

Daniel Müller-Schott is a German cellist.

James Zuill Bailey, better known as Zuill Bailey is a Grammy Award-winning American cellist, chamber musician, and artistic director. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the Juilliard School, he has appeared with major orchestras internationally. He is a professor of cello at the University of Texas at El Paso. Bailey has an exclusive international recording contract with the Telarc label.

Ralph Henry Kirshbaum is an American cellist. His award-winning career combines the worlds of solo performance, chamber music, recording and pedagogy.

Igor Lazko, , is a Russian classical pianist who has made a distinguished international career as performer, recording artist and teacher of other pianists.

Aleksandar Madžar is a Serbian pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Moull</span> Canadian professional conductor

Geoffrey Moull is a Canadian professional conductor. He was principal conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.

The Russian-born British/German cellist Leonid Gorokhov studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire with Anatoli Nikitin and took part in masterclasses with Daniil Shafran. Winner of Concertino Praga and Paris Chamber Music Competition, Leonid Gorokhov is the only Russian cellist to be awarded the Grand Prix and the First Prize of the Geneva Concours (1986). In 1995 the European Association for Encouragement of the Arts awarded the Cultural Achievement Prize to Leonid Gorokhov for exceptional talent and outstanding artistic accomplishment.

James Barralet is a British cellist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Finckel</span> American musician

David Finckel is an American cellist and influential figure in the classical music world. The cellist for the Emerson String Quartet from 1979 to 2013, Finckel is currently the co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York, co-founder of the independent record label ArtistLed, co-artistic director and co-founder of Music@Menlo in Silicon Valley, producer of Cello Talks, professor of cello at the Juilliard School, and visiting professor of music at Stony Brook University.

Nicolas Altstaedt is a German-French cellist. His versatile career incorporates solo performance, chamber music, conducting, and artistic programming, with a repertoire spanning from early music to the contemporary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li-Wei Qin</span> Chinese-Australian cellist (born 1976)

Li-Wei Qin is a Chinese-Australian cellist. He won the Silver Medal at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1998, and First Prize at the 2001 International Naumburg Competition in New York.

Kristin Merscher is a German classical pianist and professor at the Hochschule für Musik Saar in Saarbrücken, Germany.

Peter Bruns is a German cellist and university professor.

Gustav Rivinius is a German cellist and professor for cello at the Hochschule für Musik Saar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antje Weithaas</span> German violinist

Antje Weithaas is a German classical violinist. Apart from solo recitals and chamber music performances, she has played with leading orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanja Tetzlaff</span> German cellist

Tanja Tetzlaff is a German cellist. She played first as an orchestra member, but then as a soloist, a founding member of the Tetzlaff Quartet, a string quartet led by her brother Christian Tetzlaff, and as a chamber musician. She has recorded cello concertos and chamber music, including contemporary music, and has appeared internationally.

Leslie Parnas was an American classical cellist. A prize winner at several international music competitions, he appeared as a soloist with orchestras around the world and performed and recorded a number of chamber works. His playing has been described as "characterized by a sure technique and an aggressive approach to phrasing". For a number of years, he taught at the Boston University School of Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalia Khoma</span> Ukrainian-born cellist

Natalia Khoma is a Ukrainian-born cellist. She is the first and only Ukrainian cellist to become a laureate of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia.

Leonora Armellini is an Italian pianist.

References