Cellist Inbal Segev Comes to Carnegie Hall, 10/12

Cellist Inbal Segev, known for her "warm, pure and beautiful" tone (Strings Magazine) will perform at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (881 Seventh Avenue) on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 7:30pm for the Opening Night Gala of Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York (BCENY). Sponsored by the American Foundation for Bulgaria, the program includes Martin?'s Bergerettes for piano, violin and cello, Ravel's Sonata for violin and cello, and Dvo?ák's Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major. Segev joins an outstanding lineup of musicians including: violinists Joanna Maurer, Jesse Mills, and Georgy Valtchev; violist Maurycy Banaszek; cellist Edward Arron; and pianists Anna Stoytcheva and Lora Tchekoratova.

Now in its seventh season, BCENY is the only concert series in the United States devoted exclusively to the presentation of classical musicians and composers from Bulgaria and their collaboration with artists of international acclaim. This festive opening night gala concert features a decidedly Eastern European flair, featuring two of the Czech Republic's most renowned composers, Dvo?ák and Martin?, while Ravel's virtuosic Sonata employs and imitates Hungarian folk music. This evening's Bulgarian musicians and co-founders of BCENY include pianists Anna Stoytcheva and Lora Tchekoratova, and violinist Georgy Valtchev.

Segev's playing has been described as "characterized by a strong and warm tone . . . delivered with impressive fluency and style," by The Strad and "first class," "richly inspired," and "very moving indeed," by Gramophone. Equally committed to new repertoire for the cello and known masterworks, Segev brings interpretations that are both unreservedly natural and insightful to the vast range of solo and chamber music that she performs. She has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Helsinki Philharmonic, Radio Symphony of Helsinki, Reutlingen Symphony, Dortmund Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Bangkok Symphony, and with all the major orchestras of her native Israel. She made debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta, at age 17.

More About Inbal Segev: Inbal Segev's discography includes two solo albums - Sonatas by Beethoven and Boccherini (Opus One, 2001); and Nigun, a compilation of Jewish music (Vox, 2005). She has also recorded Max Schubel's Concerto for Cello (Opus One, 2001). With the Amerigo Trio she has recorded serenades by Dohnányi for Navona Records.

Segev's repertoire includes all of the standard concerti and solo works for cello, as well as new pieces and rarely performed gems. She gave the U.S. premiere of English composer Sir Arthur Sullivan's Cello Concerto in D Major, which was written in 1866 but was never published. She performed jazz musician and composer David Baker's cello concerto at Town Hall in New York, and was the first cellist to perform Henri Dutilleux's challenging Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher for solo cello at Carnegie Hall. She also gave the world premiere of Max Schubel's Concerto for Cello, which was written for her (available on the Opus One label). Currently, Grammy-nominated composer Avner Dorman (and fellow Israeli-American) is at work on a new concerto for Segev, and Argentinean pianist and Grammy-winning composer Fernando Otero is writing a Tango-inspired concerto for her.

Segev is a founding member of the Amerigo Trio with New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow and violist Karen Dreyfus. The three first performed together at the Bowdoin International Chamber Music Festival in 2007, and came together formally in 2009 as the Amerigo Trio. Since then they have been invited to play at some of the most prestigious concert series in the country, including Lorin Maazel's Castelon Festival in Virginia, The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, the Concord Chamber Music Society in Massachusetts, Tannery Pond Concerts in the Berkshires, and Dumbarton concerts in Washington, DC. The ensemble is named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

In addition to her work with the Amerigo Trio, Segev regularly performs chamber music with artists including Emanuel Ax, Agustin Dumay, Pamela Frank, Gilbert Kalish, Michael Tree, and the Vogler Quartet at venues and festivals including Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, Bargemusic, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York; the Banff, Ravinia, Olympic, Cape & Islands festivals in North America; the Sienna, Rolandseck, and Montpelier festivals in Europe; and the Mishkenot Sha'ananim and Upper Galilee festivals in Israel. She has played with the Jupiter Chamber Players since 2005 and previously toured the U.S. with the American Chamber Players.

Segev's many honors include the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship (which she began receiving at the age of seven), and top prizes at the Pablo Casals International Competition, the Paulo International Competition, and the Washington International Competition. She began playing the cello in Israel at age five and at 16 was invited by Isaac Stern to come to the U.S. to continue her studies. Segev earned a Bachelor's degree from The Juilliard School and a Master's degree from Yale University, studying with noted masters Joel Krosnick, Harvey Shapiro, Aldo Parisot, and Bernhard Greenhouse, cellist and founder of the Beaux Arts Trio.

Inbal Segev (pronounced Inn-BAHL SEH-gehv) lives in New York with her husband, and three young children - twins Joseph and Shira, and Ariel.

Segev performs on a cello made by Francesco Rugeri in 1673. She is managed by Barrett Vantage Artists. For more information, visit www.inbalsegev.com.