The York community has an internationally recognized, Juno-nominated pianist in its midst, whose performances have received critical acclaim by The New York Times, the Toronto Star, the Los Angeles Times and a host of other critics.
Pianist and York music Professor Christina Petrowska Quilico will be featured in a performance at York in the “Music at Midday” series on Thursday, Sept. 25, 12:30-1:30pm in the McLaughlin Performance Hall, 050 McLaughlin College.
Her program for that concert is a suite of pieces for solo piano written by her first husband (right), the late Canadian composer Michel-Georges Brégent (1948-1993). The York concert will reprise selections from the entire cycle of Brégent’s 16 Portraits that Petrowska Quilico performed Sunday, Sept. 21, as a featured artist in Piano Marathon Weekend presented by New Music Concerts and The Music Gallery in Toronto.
Ottawa-born Petrowska Quilico has been hailed as “an extraordinary talent” (The New York Times) and “an astonishing pianist” (Toronto Star) with “dynamic…dramatic…profiled expressiveness” (Los Angeles Times). She made her concert debut, with orchestra, at age 10 at the Royal Conservatory of Music and received a scholarship to study at New York’s Juilliard School as a student of Rosina Lhévinne, Jeaneane Dowis and Irwin Freundlich.
Left: Christina Petrowska Quilico with second husband Louis Quilico
Petrowska Quilico, who has recorded 16 CDs (one of which is pictured, right), is featured on several CDs on the York Fine Arts label with her second husband, the late Metropolitan Opera baritone Louis Quilico (1925-2000) and as soloist; and on the York Fine Arts video production, The Voice Lesson (1995), featuring a master class by Quilico. All these recordings are available for purchase in the York U Bookstore.
In addition, Petrowska Quilico has released three books, Mr. Rigoletto: In Conversation With Louis Quilico (1996), Opera Illustrated: An Artistic Odyssey (1994) (left) and Go Away Sisyphus, a volume of poetry. She is also a competitive ballroom dancer and appears in the 2002 short film, Tango Amore.
Having her recording of “Star-Filled Night” for solo piano, by Canadian composer Alexina Louie, played by Canadian astronaut Steve Maclean on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1992 is something Petrowski Quilico sees as a career highlight.
For more information about Petrowska Quilico, visit http://www.petrowskaquilico.com.