FHSU University Relations
Dr. Shokhrukh Sadikov combines contemporary experience, changing emotions and classical style to create his new album, “Stozel, Schumnann, Brahms.”
Sadikov, assistant professor of music and theatre at Fort Hays State University and music director of the Hays Symphony Orchestra, found inspiration for the album while living in North Rhine-Wesphalia, Germany.
“My dream of visiting the country and embracing everything it could offer me finally came true,” said Sadikov. “There was everything that a young artist needed for inspiration, except for the sun I was used to in Kansas and grew up with in Uzbekistan.”
A bit of homesickness is what prompted Sadikov to play the work of German-American composer Ingrid Stolzel.
“I explained how inspired I was to be in Germany yet was longing for everything I had in the U.S. My experience resonated with her and she mentioned having written a piece about it, ‘Here There.’ ”
Originally written for violin, Sadikov and Stozel transformed the work into a viola piece. Sadikov’s album is its world premiere recording.
The second section of the album showcases Robert Schumann’s “Marchenbilder Op. 113.” The composition was inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales.
“While listening to or performing these pieces, one can visualize the heroes of the tales and hear the name of Schumann’s wife, Clara, encrypted in each movement,” said Sadikov.
Sadikov concludes his album with Brahm’s “F Minor Sonata Op. 120, No. 1.” The work is from the composer’s late period, after he came out of retirement. “Brahms is so emotional, so intimate,” said Sadikov. “The music touches you so deeply when you are in tune with it.”
Sadikov performs for the album on a viola made by Gaetano Gadda di Montova in 1929. Aside from teaching at FHSU and leading the Hays Symphony Orchestra, Sadikov is the founder, CEO and music director of Navo Inc., an arts organization comprised of internationally recognized artists.
The album also features Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich, director of collaborative piano at Park University’s International Center for Music. Lisovaskaya-Sayevich has performed with orchestras and in festivals across the globe. She has received extensive recognition, including awards at the Chopin International Piano Competition, the Iowa Piano International Competition and the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition.
“Stozel, Schumnann, Brahms” is available on all online music platforms. A hard copy of the CD will be on sale at the Hays Symphony Orchestra’s opening gala concert starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. Half of the proceeds will benefit the Hays Symphony Orchestra.