MOTO CELESTE is premiering tonight at Carnegie Hall! This fifth installment in Navona Records’ MOTO series features the internationally-acclaimed Trio Casals taking on eight new works by eight preeminent composers, including a new piece by the trio’s cellist, Ovidiu Marinescu.

Today, Ovidiu and Trio Casals pianist Anna Kislitsyna are our featured artists in “The Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to discover how Ovidiu embraced creativity in a prohibitive Communist atmosphere…

Who was your favorite artist growing up?

[Ovidiu] Growing up in communist Romania access to international recordings was very limited. As a kid I listened to Romanian cellist Radu Aldulescu, particularly an LP featuring the Haydn Concerto in C Major and Boccherini/Grutzmacher Concerto in B flat. By then he had defected, so it was a bit of a resistance action as well.
[Anna] One of my favorite artists growing up was Sergei Prokofiev. I loved the energy, honesty, and creativity of his music. I was reading about his life and performing his piano works a lot.

When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist?

[Ovidiu] I was 12, while in 7th grade. I knew I loved music, but when I realized I had the best grades in the cello exam at my school in Bucharest, I said to myself that I want to do this for the rest of my life. It was then when my struggle with the question “Why make music?” got its first answer.
[Anna] My parents are musicians. I grew up in musical atmosphere, so I could not imagine myself doing something else besides music.

What was your most unusual performance?

[Anna] One of the most surprising performances was the one when I was already on stage and found out that I was supposed to play a different piece. I was able to play the composition just fine, but it was very stressful.

If you could make a living at any job in the world, what would that job be?

[Ovidiu] Hmmm. Maybe investment banking, commodities, real estate. Ask me tomorrow and I will say writing. Ask me next spring and I will say teaching for ever :)
[Anna] I would probably choose some creative work: interior design or architecture.

If you could spend creative time anywhere in the world, where would it be?

[Ovidiu] For years I’ve been dreaming about organizing a trip to the most exotic places in the world. It would be part by boat, part by train. It would include Easter Island and the Galapagos, Cappadocia in Turkey, a return to Santorini (it must be summer though), Tibet, Machu Picchu, Taormina, and maybe the Norwegian fjords.
[Anna] I love harpsichords, so I would enjoy visiting some collection of European Baroque instruments and would spend entire day practicing there.

What was your favorite musical moment on the album?

[Ovidiu] All pieces have provided very rewarding musical moments, from rehearsing many hours to the sessions in Boston.  My favorite experience was the sensory pleasure provided by the superb acoustics and ambience in the Futura Studios, as well as working with engineers John Weston and Brad Michel.
[Anna] When we recorded Rorrim no. 1 by Ovidiu: it is so peaceful and beautiful. We recorded it at the very end of the session, and it felt very fulfilling.

Moto Celeste - Trio Casals - Album Cover

MOTO CELESTE featuring Ovidiu’s piece Sunt Numai Urechi (I’m All Ears) is now available to stream or purchase through Navona Records. Click here to explore this new album.

  • Anna Kislitsyna

    Anna Kislitsyna

    Pianist and harpsichordist Anna Kislitsyna made her solo debut at age 10 with the Omsk Symphony Orchestra. She remains in high demand as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and educator. Recent season highlights include five new album productions with PARMA Recordings and two release concerts in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, performing Haydn and Shostakovich Piano Concertos with Helena Symphony and Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, and returning to the Omsk Philharmonic as a soloist to give the inaugural performance on the new harpsichord.

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  • Trio Casals

    Trio Casals

    Since making a highly-praised debut at the 1996 edition of the Pablo Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, Trio Casals has delighted audiences with spectacular virtuosity, engaging enthusiasm, and exquisite musical elegance. The ensemble released several commercial albums with PARMA Recordings and Navona Records to critical acclaim with Ovidiu Marinescu and past members including Anna Kislitysyna, Alexandr Kislitsyn, and Sylvia Ahramjian, from the beloved MOTO series to A GRAND JOURNEY and more. Marinescu remains in the current ensemble line up, with Mădălina-Claudia Dănilă and Timothy Schwarz joining in 2024.

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  • Ovidiu Marinescu

    Ovidiu Marinescu

    Ovidiu Marinescu is internationally recognized as a cellist, composer, conductor, and educator. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall (New York), the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Holywell Room in Oxford, Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, and has appeared as soloist with the London Symphony, New York Chamber Symphony, the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Helena, Great Falls, Portsmouth, and Newark Symphonies, Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Philharmonic, Limeira Symphony in Brazil, Orquesta de Extremadura in Spain, and most of the professional orchestras in his native Romania. The album LONDON CELLO CONNECTION features Marinescu and London Symphony Orchestra in eight newly commissioned cello concertos by North American composers.

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