Cerdanyenca Mark Prihodko & Viktoria Korolionok

• Marc Migó (b .1993): Sonata Cerdanyenca:
• 1Migó: Sonata Cerdanyenca: I. Al Cap del Ras05:45
• 2Migó: Sonata Cerdanyenca: II. Aloja06:57
• 3Migó: Sonata Cerdanyenca: III. Intermezzo i Cadència07:50
• 4Migó: Sonata Cerdanyenca: IV. Excursions05:55
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): Romance:
• 5Rachmaninoff: Romance06:33
• Hungarian Dance:
• 6Rachmaninoff: Hungarian Dance05:16
• Marc Migó: Romança Melòdica:
• 7Migó: Romança Melòdica02:42
• Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 - 1931): Sonata Op.28:
• 8Ysaÿe: Sonata Op.28: I. Grave - Lento e molto sostenuto04:34
• 9Ysaÿe: Sonata Op.28: II. Intermezzo - Poco allegretto e grazioso04:00
• 10Ysaÿe: Sonata Op.28: III. In modo di recitativo - Adagio01:55
• 11Ysaÿe: Sonata Op.28: IV. Finale con brio - Allegro tempo fermo03:43
• George Gershwin (1898 - 1937): Three Preludes:
• 12Gershwin: Three Preludes: I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso01:47
• 13Gershwin: Three Preludes: II. Andante con moto e poco rubato04:07
• 14Gershwin: Three Preludes: III. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso01:21
• Total Runtime01:02:25

Info for Cerdanyenca

Cerdanyenca takes its title from the eponymous sonata, written by Catalan composer Marc Migo Cortes, who dedicated this masterwork to Prihodko, his great friend. Conceived at the Juilliard School in New York, where Prihodko held the prestigious Kovner Fellowship while completing his Bachelor’s Degree in the studio of Richard Aaron, and Migo Cortes was completing his Ph.D. in the studio of John Corigliano, Sonata Cerdanyenca continues the tradition of the grandiose twentieth-century masterworks for cello and piano. Cultivating the lifetime synergy between composer and cellist, Prihodko and Migo specifically drew inspiration from the artistic collaborations between Rostropovich and Britten, and Piatigorsky and Strauss. The newly commissioned and internationally premiered Sonata has won the prestigious Pau Casals Festival International Award in 2019. In this extremely demanding monumental piece, the composer portrays the legends of his home region of La Cerdanya, from the tales of La dona d’aigua (the seducing water-woman) to the echoing Sardana Dances of Catalonia. His use of folkloric elements contextualizes hundreds of years of storytelling in an engaging acoustical play, expertly guided by Korolionok and Prihodko.

In a note to his Sonata per a violoncel i piano “Cerdanyenca,” Marc Migó briefly explains that the work―ambitious, as I said, long, and relentlessly chuck-full of virtuosity―was commissioned by cellist Philip Shegog, whose only special request from the composer was to find inspiration in his heritage. Migó wrote the first movement, “Al Cap del Ras,” (At the Cap del Ras) moved by that flabbergasting natural lookout (Cap del Ras) with panoramic views of the Pyrenees mountains. The second movement, “La dona de l’aigua” refers to another natural site in the Pyrenees named after the legend of The Waterwoman, a mysterious beautiful woman, a creature of the water, who eventually marries a man on the condition that her origins should never be revealed… well, no spoilers here, suffice it to say that Migó’s music does reflect the fairytale, supernatural quality of the story. After an “Intermezzo and Cadenza”, the third movement, where unabashed virtuoso Mark Prihodko in this recording shows an absolute command of his technique, the final movement, “Excursions” returns to the evocation of the landscape of Northern Catalonia and the Pyrenees, and more specifically the region of La Cerdanya. Hence the subtitle “Sonata Cerdanyenca.” ...

Mark Prihodko, cello
Viktoria Korolionok, piano

Mark Prihodko
Proclaimed by the press as “a true Russian powerhouse” – LaCross Tribune, Mark Prihodko is Belarusian- American cellist that rapidly captures the undivided attention of the audience with a fearless dedication to music-making.

His debut at the age of 9 at the Musica Mundi festival in Belgium and Chat el Ro concert series in France was quickly followed by engagements with Moscow and Minsk Philharmonics. Prior to becoming a part of elite Kovner Fellowship at the Juilliard School, Mark makes the United States his home at the age of 14 and immediately captures the attention of the American audience for his “astonishing virtuosic and spellbinding lyrical command over the instrument” – Pioneer Press. Upon receiving a prestigious Best Recital Of The Year award by Salon Se Leve Concert Series in 2015, Mr. Prihodko was already a winner of Mary West, Schubert Club, Rochester Guild, Rotary, YPSCA, and First Manhattan international competitions.

Known for his rigorous programming and dedication to the contemporary and romantic repertoire, Mr. Prihodko has given solo and chamber music recitals in Europe, Middle East, Asia, and the United States on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Moscow Philharmonic Hall, Concertgebouw, Bolshoi Theater, Alice Tully Hall. The Cerdanyenca recital tour in the summer of 2019 featuring the world premiere of the cello sonata by Marc Migo was called “a sensational program that showcases the highest level of music-making” – Revista Musical Catalana.

His list of artistic collaborations includes engagements with renowned musicians, such as Barbara Hannigan, Sarah Chang, Gavriel Lipkind, Tatiana Goncharova and Mahan Esfahani. Mr. Prihodko has given masterclasses at the ESMUC Conservatory (Barcelona), Bilkent University (Ankara), and the Republican Music College of Belarus.

Mark combines a vigorous performing schedule with a production of cultural projects in Belarus, Turkey, Netherlands and the United States as a co-founder of Artemp Inc. The Collaborative Contemporary Art Festival ARTEMP (Minsk, Belarus), under Mark’s leadership “has pushed the boundaries of Belarusian Contemporary art by uniting the artists from all over the world” – Mastatsvo Magazine

Booklet for Cerdanyenca