The Camerata Recital: Scalzo and Valkov

Violinist Laura Scalzo and pianist Viktor Valkov team up for a duo performance of their own design, featuring music by Coleridge-Taylor, Bartok, Beethoven and Prokofiev! 

The Program

Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade, Op. 73

• A lyrical and captivating piece that combines rich Romantic melodies with a touch of English folk music. It's a lesser-known gem that offers a refreshing and heartfelt start to the recital.

Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 7, Op. 30 No. 2

• Known for its dramatic intensity and lyrical beauty, this sonata explores a wide range of emotions from profound melancholy to spirited joy. The interplay between the violin and piano in this sonata is particularly compelling, offering a profound and intimate musical dialogue

Bartók: Rhapsody No. 1

• A vibrant and rhythmically energetic work inspired by Hungarian folk music. Its lively dance rhythms and exotic melodies make it an exhilarating showcase for the violin.

Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 94a

• A brilliant blend of classical form and modern innovation. Its lyrical melodies, sharp contrasts, and rhythmic drive make it an engaging and dynamic work. Prokofiev's distinctive style shines through in this sonata, providing a perfect balance of lyrical beauty and technical brilliance.

The Performers

LAURA SCALZO

Originally from Long Island, New York, Laura Scalzo’s love of the violin was sparked by the great violinist, Itzhak Perlman, when she heard him play on “Sesame Street.” She began lessons at the age of 4 and has been playing ever since. She holds degrees from Temple University (BA) and the University of Delaware (MM). Her primary teachers have included William dePasquale, Xiang Gao, and Ellen dePasquale.

Ms. Scalzo joined the first violin section of the San Antonio Symphony in 2011. Ms. Scalzo is also the Assistant Concertmaster of the Mid-Texas Symphony. Before moving to San Antonio, she was a tenured member of the Delaware and Allentown Symphonies.

As a passionate chamber music lover, Ms. Scalzo has performed with various ensembles in San Antonio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. She is currently a member of the Mid-Texas Chamber Players.

In addition to performing, Ms. Scalzo is an enthusiastic teacher and has maintained a private studio of all levels since 2000. At the University of Delaware, she was Xiang Gao’s teaching assistant and taught the undergraduate non-music majors. She was a professor of violin at Texas Lutheran University from 2013-2015.

Ms. Scalzo has many interests outside of music. In 2020 she launched a blog, www.rootsinthecitytx.com, where she shares her adventures in vegetable and native plant gardening. She is an avid animal lover and amateur chef. She can often be found at home in the kitchen cooking for family and friends, or when not working, attempting to entertain the cats.

VIKTOR VALKOV

Winner of the 2012 New Orleans International Piano Competition, Viktor Valkov has been hailed as a “lion of the keyboard” and “sensational” (Wiesbadener Kurier). A winner of Astral’s 2015 National Auditions, he recently gave a critically acclaimed recital in London’s Wigmore Hall, and appeared as soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Valkov has appeared frequently as a recitalist in the U.S., China, Japan, England, Norway, Germany, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. A Japanese tour took him to Tokyo, Toyama, Yokohama, and Okinawa. He has performed with most of the major orchestras in his native Bulgaria, and at most of the country’s important music festivals. He debuted with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and performed Dimitar Nenov’s Grande Piano Concerto with New Symphony Orchestra under Rossen Milanov, becoming the fifth pianist to perform the concerto, and the only one to do so in its entirety. Mr. Valkov has made a number of recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio archive and has recorded for Bulgarian National Television and Macedonian Radio and Television.

Mr. Valkov’s concerts reflect a vast interest in chamber music as well as lesser-known piano repertoire. He frequently performs with Bulgarian cellist Lachezar Kostov. Both deeply interested in broadening the repertoire for cello/piano duo, they often include such composers as Kabalevsky, Roslavetz, Schnittke, and Saint-Saëns in their programs. In 2009, the Kostov-Valkov Duo gave its Carnegie Hall debut in Zankel Hall, and in 2011 won the Liszt-Garisson International Competition, where they were also awarded the Liszt Prize and special prizes in the collaborative artists category. In 2008, they recorded the entire opus for cello and piano by Nikolay Roslavets, released by Naxos in 2011. Their second CD, Transcriptions and Paraphrases, was released in 2015 and featured their own arrangements of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2, and the Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine.

As a soloist, some of Mr. Valkov’s recent projects include Beethoven’s Hammerklavier sonata and Busoni’s Fantasia Contrappuntistica. He has presented a program highlighting composers of the 1600’s, including Froberger, Couperin, Frescobaldi, and Buxtehude, and selections from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. His first solo CD was a Naxos release of the complete piano music of Dimitar Nenov. Viktor Valkov is an Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Utah.