Concert Piano Series - Faina Lushtak with Julian Milkis

Faina Lushtak was born and raised in the Soviet Union. She began her piano and composition studies at the age of six, taught by her mother, Evgenia Lushtak. She went on to study at the Stoliarsky School for Musically Gifted Children in Odessa under the tutelage of Eleonora Levinson, followed by the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she was taught by Genrietta Mirvis, Yakov Zak and Tikhon Khrennikov, and earned degrees in piano performance and composition.

She was a faculty member at the Moscow Conservatory, performing throughout the Soviet Union until immigrating to the United States in 1978. Ms. Lushtak’s performances have inspired audiences in Russia, Western Europe, Canada and the United States. She has appeared with orchestras under many conductors, including Klauspeter Seibel, William Henry Curry, Maxim Shostakovich and Alfred Savia. She has performed as a solo recitalist in major venues throughout the United States, including Lincoln Center. Ms. Lushtak has made frequent guest artist appearances and conducted master classes at university campuses, including at Emory University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Texas Christian University. She has repeatedly served as director of the Brandywine International Masterclasses at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. She has also been a guest artist and judge at international competitions and festivals, including the Wideman International Piano Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the Canadian National Music Competition, the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition, the Cleveland International Piano Competition, and the New Orleans International Piano Competition.

Her performances have earned widespread critical acclaim. At her debut at Alice Tully Hall, The New York Times wrote, “The qualities she prizes most are clarity of line and transparency of texture. Incisive clarity remained her hallmark.” The Times-Picayune wrote that “her technique is sure and ample” and spoke of her “beautiful, singing lyricism.” At the Bachauer Festival, The Salt Lake Tribune commented that “two hours spent basking in her glorious music wasn’t enough.”

Ms. Lushtak is the Downman Professor of Music at Tulane University, where she heads the piano division. She also serves on the faculty of the Orfeo International Music Festival in Italy. She is a Steinway Artist. Ms. Lushtak’s performance of works by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin was recorded on the Centaur label, as was her performance of Chopin Mazurkas. Ms. Lushtak’s recording entitled “La Poésie de la Vie”, produced by E.F. Virgin records, features some of her favorite pieces by various composers from Bach to Débussy. Her most recent CD showcases her own piano compositions, ranging from simple pieces for children to works for musically sophisticated audiences.

Ms. Lushtak’s compositions for piano have been published by Willis Music, and by the British music publisher Boosey & Hawkes.

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A true “cross-over artist” and Benny Goodman’s only student, Julian Milkis is an internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, and jazz clarinetist. The Hamburg Abendblatt praised his “Beautiful sustaining sound and great virtuosity”; the Edmond Journal called his performance of the Nielson Clarinet Concerto a “triumph”, while Moscow’s Nezavisimaya Gazyeta wrote, “simply the best clarinetist in the world!”

Mr. Milkis has appeared on major world stages throughout the Far East, Europe, and the Americas: New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center; the Salles Pleyel and Gaveau, Paris; the Great Halls of the Moscow Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall and Weston Recital Hall; and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, among others.

He has been soloist with the Toronto Symphony, State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Vivaldi Chamber Orchestra, Hamburg Mozarteum, Edmonton Symphony, L'Orchestre Nationale de Lyon, L'Orchestre Symphonique Française, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Divertissement Chamber Orchestra, Hermitage Chamber Orchestra, and Musica Viva.

Mr. Milkis has performed chamber music with Valery Afanasiev, Yuri Bashmet, Gérard Causse, Alexander Kniazev, Misha Maisky, Alexander Rudin, the Borodin String Quartet, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, and the St. Peter's Trio. A participant in prominent music festivals in France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Turkey, New York, and Canada, Mr. Milkis has performed for radio and tele-vision broadcast throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Since 1991, he has performed regularly by invitation at Sviatoslav's Richter's December Evenings chamber music festival in Moscow.

A proponent of the jazz clarinet, as well, Mr. Milkis is dedicated to promoting today's music and expanding the clarinet repertoire. Works written for him include concertos by Moravetz, Petrova, Tishenko, Weinberg, and others. He has worked closely with Giya Kancheli and Olivier Messiaen.

Mr. Milkis has recorded for Warner Classics' Lontano, the French Suoni e Colori, Sony's Russian division CEAUX, Melodiya, and Russian Season.

As a full scholarship student at the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, Julian Milkis studied with Leon Russianoff. A Canadian citizen, he won the Canada Council and Floyd Chalmers awards for four consecutive years.

Mr. Milkis holds a Masters's Degree in Russian Literature from Norwich University, Vermont, and is keenly interested in all aspects of the fine arts.