The Winner of 2009 International Web Concert Hall
Competition
(Honorary Mention)
Zatin Anatoly and
Vassilieva Vlada (PETROF DUO - Mexico)
“The professionalism
of Duo PETROF possesses a great balance and mutual understanding. With
an amazing ease on stage, they offered passionate interpretations, full
of intuition and emotion, with an
immaculate neatness, enjoying and giving joy. (…) The concert surprised
the audience by its originality, creativity and wisdom. (…) They are
like Siamese twins; they turn a piano into a super-piano. (…)
Technically brilliant, emotionally expressive…”
Blanca
Garduño, “Arte Total”, Ecos de la Costa
“(…)
almost gods of music”.
Ana Luisa Marín Cortés, El Noticiero Manzanillo
“(…)
fresh and original proposition (…) great interpretation and power…”
El Comentario, Universidad de Colima
How did you begin to play the piano?
Anatoly Zatin: I was born into a family of musicians. I began my musical
education at the age of three, playing accordion, and at 5 I began to
play the piano. At 6, I began composing. Then I had a long musical
training (music school, college, and conservatory) as a pianist,
composer and orchestral conductor.
Vlada Vassilieva: My parents are musicians. My mother is a pianist and
my father is a cellist. They taught me music since I was little. At the
age of 13, I studied with Anatoly Zatin, who has been a major influence
for me as musician and person.
Where were you born and where do you live now?
Anatoly Zatin: I was
born in Uzhgorod, a beautiful city in western Ukraine . Then I lived in
San Petersburg for many years, studying and working. Since 1979 I have
been member of the Union of Composers of USSR (now Russian Federation).
I was artistic director and chief conductor of the ´Bach´ Chamber
Orchestra and Musical Theater in Ekaterinburg. Now I live in Mexico ,
where I am the Chairman of the Music Department at the University of
Colima.
Vlada Vassilieva: I
was born in Moscow . When I was 5, my parents moved to Mexico and I have
lived there since that time. I received my BM degree at the University
of Colima in 2006, and joined the piano faculty of this institution the
same year. Now I live in New York City , where I am working on my
Master´s degree in Piano Performance at Mannes College of Music.
What period of music do you enjoy playing the most and why?
Anatoly Zatin: In general, I like performing music from all periods, but
right now I am most interested in music ranging from the end of the 19th
Century till the present.
Vlada Vassilieva: Difficult to say, it depends on the occasion. I like
music from different periods. Now I have a special interest in the 20th
Century music, which Anatoly and I are performing quite often.
 What was the music that changed your life?
Anatoly Zatin: When I was 4, I remember listening to Prokofiev´s Peter
and the Wolf. This work has triggered a great passion for music on me.
Vlada Vassilieva: When I was 10 years old my father gave me a CD with
Prokofiev´s Classical Symphony and Romeo and Juliet. I couldn’t stop
listening to it! Prokofiev has been one of my favorite composers ever
since.
Mr. Zatin, what was your doctoral thesis on?
My
thesis consisted of two parts: theory and practice. The theory was
called “Development of the polytonal music in works of the second half
of the 20th century”, which consisted of an analysis of selected works
by A. Schnitke, A. Part, S. Slonimsky, and other composers. The
practical and most important part (because my doctorate is in
composition) consisted in composing my Concerto for Flute, Harpsichord
and String Orchestra, which was premiered in 1983 at the Leningrad
Philharmonic Hall, with Valery Ugorsky on the flute, myself at the
harpsichord, and the Leningrad Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ravil
Martinov.
How long have you been teaching at the Fine Arts Institute of the
University of Colima?
Since 1999 I am professor and Chairman of the Music Department of the
Fine Arts Institute of the University of Colima. Since 2001, I have been
conducting a new educational project in this institute, that has brought
very interesting and productive results in Mexico. In the last 6 years,
this school has produced 42 winners of national and international music
competitions in different majors.
University of
Colima:
www.ucol.mx
Tell us more
about your Master's study at Mannes College.
Vlada: Yes, since
August 2008 I have been pursuing a Master of Music in Performance
(Piano) degree at Mannes College for Music in New York City. Currently,
I am studying with Prof. Pavlina Dokovska, who is head of the piano
faculty at Mannes. I met Prof. Dokovska several years ago, when Anatoly
and I were in New York playing concerts (April 2006). I have the honor
to receive the Fulbright - Garcia Robles scholarship to pursue this
degree. After completing my studies, I plan to resume my position as
piano faculty at the Fine Arts Institute of the University of Colima.
Eventually I would like to pursue a DMA, but when or where, I still
don´t know. And of course Anatoly and I will continue playing together,
we have many plans for the future, each more ambitious than the
previous.
 Do you have any
upcoming concerts?
Yes, April 2009 -
Duo PETROF in Princeton, New Jersey, May, 2009 - Tour in Russia and
Ukraine. In San Petersburg (International Festival "Musical Spring in
San Petersburg") we play together (Duo PETROF), and for the closing
concert of this festival (May 23), Anatoly Zatin will perform as a
soloist playing his own Rhapsody on Themes by Nino Rota for piano and
orchestra at the Great Philharmonic Hall, with the San Petersburg
Philharmonic Orchestra. In Ukraine we have two concerts at the Uzhgorod
Philharmonia, one of them as duo and on May 29, Anatoly Zatin is
conducting an all-Beethoven program, which includes Beethoven´s Concerto
No.4 for piano and orchestra, performed by Vlada Vassilieva.
In May and June we
also have concerts as duo in Mexico (Monterrey, Mexico City, San Luis
Potosi). In June - the presentation of the CD "Duo PETROF" is going to
take place at the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Palace) in Mexico
City. In July, we are going back to Russia for more concerts. In
September, Duo PETROF will perform at the International Piano Festival
"En Blanco y Negro" (In Black and White) at the National Center of the
Arts in Mexico city.
Your Duo name -
Petrof.
Please tell us about it.
We started playing
together around 2003, and PETROF has been the first and only name we
have had as a duo. Though we usually play on many different piano
brands, we have a very special relationship with Petrof Pianos. In
Mexico we have been working with Petrof Pianos even before the
appearance of our duo. And in 2008 we began working with Petrof Pianos
in the US and in Czech Republic, where the main representation and the
fabric are located. It is a big honor for us to be stated in the list of
important artists who have been referenced to this brand. You can visit
the Petrof Pianos at:
http://www.petrof.com/klasicka_hudba.html
http://www.petrof.com/duo_petrof.htmlhttp://www.petrof.com/clanky-2383.html
Do you have
hobby?
Anatoly Zatin: For
many years I have been a Formula 2 and Rally pilot. I like cars and
enjoy driving very much.
Vlada Vassilieva:
Walking, reading, playing with my dog (a huge Golden Retriever),
watching good movies. Since Anatoly and I travel a lot, I always try to
find some time for sight-seeing. I also like writing, and this started
when I was at school, my friends and I invented all sorts of stories;
but now this has taken a more serious path, and I am actually taking
part as co-author in a big project of the University of Colima
consisting in the multi-volume book ´History of the Art of the Piano´.
The first volume of this book is soon to be published in Mexico.
How did you learn about the International Web Concert Hall Competition?
Anatoly Zatin: Vlada found the site on the Internet, and we both thought
it would be interesting to take part.
Vlada Vassilieva: I accidentally run into the web site while surfing the
internet, and it attracted me as a new and interesting concept.
What do you hope
to achieve as a musician?
Our primary goal now
is to continue with our concert activity, sharing our performances with
more and more diverse audiences.
On be half of the Web Concert Hall, we
would like to thank you for your time and we wish all the success.
Contact
Vlada Vassilieva:
vladavassilieva@yahoo.com
Interviewed by Webconcerthall in March, 2009
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