Christie Julien, pianist
Alexander Markov, Violin
Internationally renowned concert pianist Christie Julien made her solo debut with National Symphony Orchestra playing Bartok Concerto no.3 under Maestro Leonard Slatkin at the Kennedy Center. She recently performed with Eduardo Marturet and Miami Symphony Orchestra Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini and toured China, Japan, South America and Europe to great public and media acclaim.
Christie Julien has performed at prestigious venues at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, Victoria Hall in Geneva and the Philharmonic Hall in Berlin. In her native France she performed at Theater des Champs Elysaes, Maison Radio France in Paris, the Nouveau Siecle in Lille, Palais des Congress in Nice and does annual
concerts at Salle Gaveau in Paris. She also performed two pianos with Andrei Korobelnikov in Moscow’s legendary Grand Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatory, aired throughout Europe on Medici TV.
A specialist in the French repertoire, Julien’s discography includes recordings of music by Cesar Franck, Jules Massenet, Camille Saint-Saens and Maurice Ravel. In addition, she recorded with violinist Alexis Cardenas Prokofiev, deFalla and Piazzolla.
As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Julien regularly participates at some prestigious music festivals including Salzburg, Santa Fe, La Jolla, Ravinia and Great Lakes and she made successful collaborations with artists such as Renaud Capucon, Alexander Markov, Jean Marc Phillips, Stephanie Degand, Alexander Knyazev, Paul Katz from the Cleveland Quartet, Dimitri Maslennikov, Emmanuelle Bertrand and many others. She is a regular jury member of the International piano competitions including Margarita Long in Paris.
Christie Julien studied piano with the legendary pianist and pedagogue Leon Fleischer at Peabody Conservatory and obtained a prestigious “Artist Diploma”. In addition, she holds Yamaha and Lavoisier scholarships awarded by the French government and multiple prizes in solo piano and chamber music. Julien entered at the age 14 the Conservatoire National Superior de Musique de Paris and was awarded first prizes in both solo and chamber music.
To learn more about Christie Julien, please visit ChristieJulien.com.
Internationally celebrated violinist Alexander Markov has been hailed as one of the world’s most captivating and versatile musicians. Whether performing as a soloist with prestigious orchestras at major concert halls around the world, or in sports arenas to crowds of 25,000 on his gold electric violin, Alexander Markov always makes an instant connection with his audiences.
Lord Yehudi Menuhin has written, “He is without doubt one of the most brilliant and musical of violinists … Alexander Markov will certainly leave his mark on the music lovers of the world and in the annals of the violin virtuosi of our day.”
Awarded a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1987, Markov made his New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall in 1983. A Gold Medal winner at the Paganini International Violin Competition, he has appeared as a soloist with some of the world's most celebrated orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, the Montreal Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and with a prestigious roster of conductors including Lorin Maazel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Franz Welser-Möst and Ivan Fischer, and has shared the stage with Martha Argerich and other luminaries.
Alexander Markov’s recent highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall followed by concerts in Europe, Mexico, South America, Japan, China, and the Middle East. His recent world premiere recording of the short pieces with orchestra by Henry Vieuxtemps made it to the top 5 on NAXOS charts.
Mr. Markov’s reputation in the 19th-century romantic virtuoso repertoire is second-to-none. One of the few violinists in the world who performs the entire set of the 24 Paganini Caprices in a single recital, he is featured in the internationally acclaimed film about great violinists titled The Art of Violin, directed by Bruno Monsaingeon.
Markov's musical journey goes beyond his work as a classical violin soloist. Desiring to reach a broader audience and bridge the gap between classical and rock music lovers, he recently composed a crossover epic “Caesar” featuring a unique “gold” six string electric violin (designed by James V. Remington and built by Barry Lipman) as well as full orchestra and choir.
Alexander Markov was born in Moscow and studied violin with his father, concert violinist Albert Markov. By the time he was eight years old, he was already appearing as a soloist with orchestras and in double concertos with his father. The father and son team still perform together in concert halls worldwide. Markov emigrated to the U.S. with his parents and received his United States citizenship in 1982.
To learn more about Alexander Markov, please visit AlexanderMarkov.com.