The Faculty Artist Series Presents: Mikhail Kopelman, violin

The Faculty Artist Series presents Eastman Professor of Violin Mikhail Kopelman at the Eastman School of Music, Sunday, April 7 at 3:00 p.m., in Kilbourn Hall. The program consists Smetana’s From the Homeland, Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello, and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio, Op. 67. This program also features Steven Doane, cello, Anna Gourfinkel, piano, and Elizaveta Kopelman, piano.

Mikhail Kopelman graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with Maya Glezarova and Yuri Yankelevich. In 1973 he won second prize in the Jacques Thibaud International Competition in Paris. A former member of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kopelman was appointed first violin of the Borodin String Quartet in 1976 and played with the ensemble for two decades. As a member of the Borodin Quartet, he has been awarded the state prize of the U.S.S.R. and he has been named People’s Artist of the Russian Federation.

From 1980-1993 Kopelman was on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, teaching both solo violin and string quartet. He has given master classes at the Guildhall School of Music in London, the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, UK, in Tour (France), Rome, Florence, Turku (Finland), Stockholm, the Hochschule in Hamburg, and the Hochschule in Vienna.

Since 1993, Kopelman and his family have lived in the United States. In 1995, he received the Royal Philharmonic Society Award and the Concertgebouw Silver Medal of Honour. He was first violinist for the Tokyo String Quartet from 1996-2002 and formed the Kopelman Quartet in 2002. From 1996-2002, he was also professor at the Yale School of Music, coaching chamber music.

Kopelman has made numerous recordings for the Melodia, EMI, Virgin Classics, Teldec, Philips, Nimbus, and Wigmore Live labels.

In 2002, with the purpose of continuing the rich traditions of the Russian School of quartet playing, he founded the Kopelman Quartet, together with some of his contemporaries from the Moscow Conservatory.

Kopelman has been professor of violin at Eastman since 2002.

The Faculty Artist Series is generously supported by Patricia Ward-Baker. 

Tickets for Eastman’s Faculty Artist Series are $10 for the general public and free to current Season Subscribers and UR ID holders. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 26 Gibbs Street, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m., Monday-Friday; by phone (585) 274-3000; or online at http://eastmantheatre.org

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About Eastman School of Music:

The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training. The current dean is Jamal Rossi, appointed in 2014.

About 900 students are enrolled in Eastman’s Collegiate Division—about 550 undergraduate and 350 graduate students. Students come from almost every state, and approximately 20 percent are from other countries. They are guided by more than 95 full-time faculty members. Six alumni and three faculty members have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, and numerous alumni and faculty have received Grammy Awards. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 800 concerts to the Rochester community.