Artist Bios
2 Clarinets & Piano
Eva Wasserman-Margolis was born on the island of Key West, Florida. She received her Masters Degree in Music Performance at the University of Illinois, and at 23, secured the position of principal clarinet with the Haifa Symphony in Israel. She studied musicology at Bar Ilan University and one of her main ambitions has been to introduce audiences to music of lesser-known composers. She has also has been dedicated to raising a new generation of young clarinet players who now study and perform all over America and Europe in some of the world's most prestigious schools and orchestras.
Formerly principal instructor at the Music Center in Tel Aviv, Ms. Wasserman-Margolis presently holds the position of main instructor at the Conservatory of Givatayim and Petach Tikva. She organized the first Israeli International Clarinet Festival in 1998, and has brought clarinetists of international renown to teach and perform in Israel. She serves as the National Chairperson for the International Clarinet Association in Israel, and was the first clarinetist to represent Israel at the International Clarinet Festival in 1999 in Belgium. As a performer and/or clinician, Eva has been to the USA, Switzerland, Hungary, Portugal, Belgium and Finland and will soon perform in China and Japan. Among her books is the best seller Time for Tone, published in five languages. Her compositions have also been acclaimed, and Generation of Hope is required for a number of clarinet competitions.
Luigi Magistrelli, professor of clarinet at the Conservatory of Milan, has performed as soloist with the orchestras Pomeriggi Musicali, Angelicum, Teatro Litta and Radio of Milan. As an orchestral player, he has played with the Sanremo Symphony, Milano Classica, Gaspare da Salò, Cantelli and the radio orchestras of Milan and Turin. Mr. Magistrelli has recorded more than 25 CDs and has collaborated in concert and recordings with many musicians and chamber groups such as D. Klöcker, K. Leister and La Scala Philharmonic for Sony Classical, Italian Radio and BBC London, to name a few. He has also been invited to perform and/or teach in Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, the Czech Republic, the former Yugoslavia, Israel, Africa, USA, Mexico, India, China and Japan.
Luigi has one of the largest collections of clarinet music and historical clarinets in Europe and is one of the few players in the world who feels comfortable playing on both the French and German system clarinets. Playing through the years has brought him to the most prestigious clarinet festivals in the world. He serves as the national chairperson for the International Clarinet Association in Italy.
Claudia Bracco, pianist, graduated first in her class from Milan's G. Verdi Conservatory in 1987 at the very young age of 18. She later did post-graduate work in harpsichord, chamber music, music performance and instruction. Ms. Bracco's participation in competitions is phenomenal; she has won 49 and from these, secured 16 first prizes. She has performed as soloist and accompanist throughout Italy (Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Vascello, Universita Cattolicà, Settembre Musica etc.). Her performances have also taken her to Germany, and her collaboration with great musicians on stage include Cambursano, Guili, Rampal, Gallois, Vladkovich and her husband, cellist Alessandro Andriani. She has also recorded with Magistrelli, Andriani and Marinone. Her main position is instructor of piano and chamber music at the Como Conservatory.
Note from Eva Wasserman-Margolis
Luigi and I first performed together in Finland at the EuroCass Clarinet and Saxophone conference in 2001. Both of us constantly search for music from the past. Through his numerous recordings, Luigi has brought to our attention unknown works for various ensembles with clarinet. For five years, I searched the Western World to find rare, beautiful and original pieces for two clarinets and piano. To my knowledge, this CD is the first complete recording made exclusively for this genre. This recording celebrates clarinet music from the late classic to the modern era, which is in some cases completely unknown, and is meant to glorify the beauty of colors that two clarinets can exhibit with the piano and its rich accompaniment. This Recording is dedicated to the memory of violinist Yona Kampel.
