Thursday, October 23, 2025
7:30 p.m.
1900 Building, 1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods, Kansas 66205

Born in Tel-Aviv in 1941, Shmuel Ashkenasi began his musical training at the Musical Academy of Tel-Aviv studying with legendary teacher Ilona Feher. He is a noted teacher, currently holding the post of Professor of Violin at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Ashkenasi will be joined in concert at the 1900 Building by ICM Collaborative Piano Director Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayvich, ICM Cello Faculty Daniel Veis, and guest artists Christine Grossman, viola, and Richard Ryan, bass.

Shmuel Ashkenasi

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Shmuel Ashkenasi attended the Musical Academy of Tel Aviv and gave his first public performance at the age of eight. After studying with Ilona Feher, he came to the United States to study with Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music.

He won the Merriweather Post Competition, was a finalist in Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth competition, and received second prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In 1969, he formed the famed Vermeer Quartet and remained its first violinist throughout the quartet’s 39-year career, gaining a reputation as one of the world’s outstanding chamber musicians.

Mr. Ashkenasi has toured the former Soviet Union twice and concertized extensively in Europe, Israel, the Far East, and the United States; and he has collaborated with Rudolf Serkin, Thomas Hampson, Murray Perahia, Peter Serkin, and Menahem Pressler. He has performed as soloist with many leading orchestras, including those of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Moscow, and Tokyo.

Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich

Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich Born into a Tashkent (Uzbekistan) musical family, Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich began studying piano at the age of 4. In 1985 she entered the Uspensky Central Music School in Tashkent. In 1993 she started attending a private school for young musicians in Moscow, and that same year received the first prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Göttingen, Germany. She entered the Tchaikovsky Special Music School in 1995, and two years later was accepted to the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory under the tutelage of Vera Gornostaeva, with whom she continued postgraduate study from 2002 to 2004. Lisovskaya-Sayevich also studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University. Read Full Biography Here

Daniel Veis

Daniel Veis has been widely recognized as the finest Czech cellist since winning the Silver Medal at the prestigious 1978 Tchaikovsky International Competition, Moscow, and the First Prize at the 1976 Prague Spring International Competition.

He started his musical studies in his native Prague and proceeded to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire furthering his studies with the famous Natalia Shakhovskaya, graduating with full distinction.

Since 1979 he has performed regularly as a soloist with many major orchestras in such respected venues as Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall NY, Royal Albert Hall, Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall and Kings Place (London), Orchard Hall (Tokyo), Auditorí de Barcelona, Auditorio National de Madrid, Neues Gewandhaus Leipzig and Festsaal Dresden and all major halls in Czechoslovakia including Rudolfinum and Smetana Hall in Prague.

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Christine Grossman

Born to a musical family and raised in New York City, Christine Grossman began playing the violin at the age of 5, piano at the age of 10 and viola at 16. She received both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in viola performance from the Juilliard School.

Before moving to Kansas City, Grossman previously held positions with the Pacific Symphony in Southern California, Delaware Symphony and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Fla. She has also performed as a substitute violist with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

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Richard Ryan