Summer Festival Subscription Concert 3
Kurt Nikkanen, Maria Asteriadou, and Zuill Bailey
Friday, June 13, 7 p.m.
Harrigan Centennial Hall
Join us for the third installment of the 2025 Sitka Music Festival’s Subscription Concert Series, featuring violinist Kurt Nikkanen, pianist Maria Asteriadou, and cellist Zuill Bailey. This evening’s program presents Beethoven’s thrilling Kreutzer Sonata for violin and piano, followed by Tchaikovsky’s deeply expressive Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50.
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”)
Kurt Nikkanen, Violin | Maria Asteriadou, Piano
— Intermission —
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50
Kurt Nikkanen, Violin | Zuill Bailey, Cello | Maria Asteriadou, Piano
About the Artists
Kurt Nikkanen, Violin
American violinist Kurt Nikkanen is an international soloist of the highest order. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he began his violin studies at the age of three, later studying with Roman Totenberg and Jens Ellerman. At twelve he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, performing with the New York Youth Symphony; two years later he was invited by Zubin Mehta to perform the Paganini Concerto No.1 with the New York Philharmonic for a Young People's Concert. He studied with Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School.
Mr. Nikkanen regularly receives invitations from leading orchestras and presenters in the USA and Europe, and has toured Japan and the Far East. He has worked with many of the world’s most renowned conductors, including Hirokami, Jarvi, Kreizberg, Fischer, Litton, and Nelsons. In North America he has appeared with the symphonies of Dallas, Saint Louis, and Detroit, the Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra, and in Europe with the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the Dresden Staatskapelle.
Mr. Nikkanen has recorded works including William Walton’s Violin Concerto (Nimbus Alliance) and has given premieres of contemporary compositions, including Thomas Adès’ Violin Concerto with the New York City Ballet Orchestra. He is also the concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Mr. Nikkanen lives in New York City with his wife, pianist Maria Asteriadou.
Maria Asteriadou, Piano
Heralded as “an artist with intense personality, virtuosic flair, unusual poise and intimate contact with style” by The New York Times, Greek pianist Maria Asteriadou is an acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue.
A Steinway Artist, she has appeared in recitals and as a soloist with orchestras worldwide, including the Moscow Radio Symphony, Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Athens Camerata, and many others. She has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and major halls in Europe and South America. She is a champion of contemporary music, premiering works by composers including Dimitri Mitropoulos, Nikos Skalkottas, and George Tsontakis.
Ms. Asteriadou has recorded the complete piano and string chamber works of Nikos Skalkottas for the BIS label, receiving critical acclaim from BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone. She serves as a faculty member at Manhattan School of Music and Kutztown University, where she is a Professor of Piano and Chamber Music. She is the Artistic Director of the Kutztown University Summer Chamber Music Festival and frequently gives masterclasses in the U.S. and abroad.
For her commitment to teaching and inspiring young musicians, Maria Asteriadou was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame.
Zuill Bailey, Cello
Zuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy Award-winning, internationally renowned soloist, recitalist, Artistic Director, and teacher. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry, and engaging personality has made him one of the most sought-after and active cellists today.
Mr. Bailey has been featured with symphony orchestras and music festivals worldwide. He won the Best Solo Performance Grammy Award in 2017, for his recording of Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway, with the Nashville Symphony led by Giancarlo Guerrero. His extensive discography includes his newest release – the world premiere recording of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Cello Concerto with the Santa Rosa Symphony.
In 2021, he released his second recording of the Bach Cello Suites for PS Audio’s Octave Records label, recorded and mixed in stereo and multichannel sound. He has appeared in a recurring role on the HBO series Oz and has been heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, Tiny Desk Concert, Performance Today, BBC’s In Tune, and SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall.
Mr. Bailey received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where he was named the 2014 Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumni, and his Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School. He performs on the 1693 “Rosette” Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet.
He is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Summer Music Festival/Series and Cello Seminar (Alaska), Juneau Jazz and Classics (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington), and the Classical Inside Out Series at Mesa Arts Center (Arizona). He is also Director of the Center for Arts Entrepreneurship and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.
About the Sitka Music Festival
The Sitka Music Festival (SMF) inspires audiences, sparks creativity, and strengthens community across Alaska through live chamber music performances, music education, and training by artists of the highest caliber.
For over 50 years, SMF has presented classical music at the highest artistic standards. Throughout its history, SMF musicians have shared their music with Alaskans who would otherwise not have access to live chamber music of the highest caliber and, in turn, Alaskans have shared their music, traditions, and ways of life with the visiting musicians. These shared experiences have taken SMF musicians to more than 40 Alaskan communities, many of which are small, remote villages off the road system. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, SMF remains dedicated to bringing exceptional music experiences to communities statewide.