Christina Petrowska Quilico has been appointed to the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, and the Royal Society of Canada for her interpretations of contemporary Canadian music.
The Canadian Encyclopedia calls Christina Petrowska Quilico “one of Canada’s most celebrated pianists. [She is] a noted champion of Canadian composers.“
“An extraordinary talent with phenomenal ability… dazzling virtuosity,"
— The New York Times.
All-Canadian Program:
Larysa Kuzmenko: Victims of Chernobyl
Larysa Kuzmenko: Dance Diabolique
David Jaeger: Lament for the People of Ukraine
Ruth Schonthal: The Canticles of Hieronymus
Oskar Morawetz: Suite for Piano
Peter Paul Koprowski: Rhapsody on a Theme of Brahms
https://youtu.be/XiLAF3xA7jI?feature=shared
Over the course of her career, Christina has amassed many of Canada’s highest honours. She was appointed to the Order of Canada “for her celebrated career as a classical and contemporary pianist, and for championing Canadian music,” and to the Order of Ontario“for opening the ears of music lovers through her performances, recordings and teaching.” She was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada, “the country’s highest honour an individual can achieve in the Arts, Social Sciences and Sciences.” She received Awards from the Canadian Music Award and Canadian League of Composers, selected as one of the CMC’s Ambassadors of Canadian music and recently awarded 3 consecutive York University Research Awards. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named her one of “one of “Canada’s 25 best classical pianists” and inducted her into CBC’s “In Concert Hall of Fame”. Four of her 50 plus CDs have earned JUNO Awards nominations and two of her CDs debuted in Outerspace with astronaut Steve Maclean on the Columbia and Atlantis shuttles. She was recently honored with the prestigious Oskar Morawetz Prize. The award jurors stated that Christina Petrowska Quilico “has made an astonishing contribution to musical life in Canada.” As they remarked: “Christina is a champion of Canadian composers – and her pioneering dedication to Canadian female composers is especially noteworthy. She has helped to secure this period of Canadian music through her impressive catalogue of recordings, and further through the ripple effect of her many students. She is steadfast. She is legend.”
Following studies at Juilliard, the Sorbonne in Paris, Darmstadt and Berlin with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Gyǒrgy Ligeti, Pierre Boulez coached her in two of his sonatas, which are featured on her Navona Album Sound Visionaries (“This primer of twentieth century French piano music gets better with each repeated listen.” – Pianomania, Singapore). She has concertized widely, performing more than 53 concertos – from Bach and Haydn to present-day composers – with orchestras across Canada and in the U.S., and in Greece and Taipei. Besides those countries, solo recitals have taken her to England, France, Germany, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
Reviews described her as a “piano wizard” (Take Effect reviews) and “the towering Canadian piano virtuoso” (The WholeNote), “commanding pianism” (American Record Guide), “intelligent programme” (Gramophone), and her “ability to leave a permanent impression on the listener’s soul” (Sonograma Magazine, Barcelona). Her three solo albums on Navona received enthusiastic reviews, with Vintage Americana making a number of 2021’s best-of lists in Canada and abroad. She was also featured on Parisa Sabet’s A Cup of Sins (Redshift Records) and recorded Alice Ping Yee Ho’s solo piano album Blaze on Centrediscs, Shadow & Light, three double concertos by Ho, Larysa Kuzmenko, Christos Hatzis recorded with violinist Marck Djokic and Sinfonia Toronto. Quilico also performed Florence Price concerto and Witold Lutoslawski’s concerto and Paganini Variations with the Kindred Spirits Orchestra.
In addition to the recital at the MacMillan Theatre on Saturday, May 25th at 7:30 PM, a ticket grants access to the following conference and concert series.
More information on Christina Petrowska Quilico’s recital and the accompanying academic conference can be found here: https://www.worldsapartjhi.com/
Please send questions about the recital and conference to Dr. Daniel Jordan at [email protected].
MacMillan Theatre is temporarily closed. The concert will now be taking place at Walter Hall. All previously purchased tickets will be honoured. Tickets will be available for purchase at the venue 1.5 hrs before the performance.