On April 2, Salon Aux Chandelles arrives at Carnegie Hall with a program that moves boldly across centuries, styles, and emotional landscapes. From Rachmaninoff's impetuous "Spring Waters" and Offenbach’s dazzling “La Chanson d’Olympia” to the rarely heard brilliance of Rebecca Clarke’s Duo Concertante, the evening unfolds as a celebration of virtuosity and imagination—spotlighting the iconic masters and distinctive contemporary voices.
The first half traverses Russian romance, French opera, early 20th-century chamber music, new Nordic sound worlds, Gershwin refracted through Earl Wild’s pianistic fire, and the depth of Rachmaninoff, culminating in Vitali’s legendary Chaconne in a powerful duo setting. After intermission, the scale expands with Bizet-Waxman’s electrifying Carmen Fantasie and Schnittke’s gripping avant-garde Chamber Symphony, before closing with Bernstein’s kinetic “America,” a fitting nod to theatrical brilliance on an American stage.
Featuring distinguished soloists Vartan Mailiantz and Alexandra Andreeva alongside Westside Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Julius Akira Mauldin, this evening reflects the signature spirit of Salon Aux Chandelles: fearless repertoire, artistic excellence, and programming that bridges tradition and modernity in one unforgettable night at Carnegie Hall.
PROGRAM
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) – Spring Waters Op. 14 (1896)
Performers:
Anna Aistova, soprano
Ilya RamlavRebecca Clarke (1885-1979) – Duo Concertante “Dumka” for violin and viola, with piano (1940)
Performers:
Vartan Mailiantz, violin
Alexandra Andreeva, viola
Emma Taggart, pianoJacques Offenbach (1819-1880) – "La Chanson d’Olympia" from the opera The Tales of Hoffmann (1881)
Performers:
Anna Aistova, soprano
Christina Lee, pianoAmanda Drew (1996) – "Jeg Får Aldrig Lov Til At Stole På Dig" from Dronning Annabell by Amanda drew & Faun Vium (2025’)
Performers:
Freja Højland Høj, soprano
Katelyn Kim-Mulgrew, Cello
Nathaniel Grohmann, BassGeorge Gershwin (1898-1937)/Earl Wild (1915-2010) – Etude "The Man I love" (1924)
Performer:
Ilya Ramlav, pianoSergei Rachmaninoff – Étude-Tableaux, Op. 39 No. 5 (1917)
Performer:
Ilya Ramlav, pianoSergei Rachmaninoff – Musical Moment op.16 No. 4 in E minor (1896)
Performer:
Ilya Ramlav, pianoTomaso Vitali (1663-1745)/Yuri Tkanov – Chaconne for violin & viola duo
Performers:
Vartan Mailiantz, violin
Alexandra Andreeva, viola
INTERMISSION
George Bizet (1838-1875)/Franz Waxman (1906-1967) – “Carmen Fantasie for violin and chamber orchestra
Performers:
Vartan Mailiantz, violin
West Chamber Players, chamber orchestra
Julius Akira Mauldin, ConductorAlfred Schnittke (1934-1998)/Yuri Tkanov – Chamber Symphony for violin and chamber orchestra
Performers:
Alexandra Andreeva, viola
Westside Chamber Players, chamber orchestra
Julius Akira Mauldin, ConductorLeonard Bernstein (1918-1990) – “America” from West Side Story
Performers:
Westside Chamber Players, chamber orchestra
Julius Akira Mauldin, Conductor
ARTISTS BIOS
Viola, Co-Founder & President
Alexandra Andreeva is an award-winning cultural entrepreneur and performing artist whose work defines the modern intersection of classical tradition and contemporary innovation. She is President of Salon Aux Chandelles and Co-Founder of ARTLEX Entertainment, where she creates bespoke musical experiences for global partners including Google, Parsons, New York Fashion Week, and Tishman Speyer.
She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2023 and has since performed at Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, and the Bolshoy Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, alongside international appearances across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas.
A laureate of international competitions — including Young Performers: Dedication to Prokofiev and Pearl of Russia — she has performed with major orchestras including the State Symphony Orchestra under Yuri Bashmet and the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. She has studied with distinguished artists including Yuri Bashmet, Nobuko Imai, Kim Kashkashian, Viktoria Mullova, Paul Neubauer, Kenji Bunch, Nina Kogan, and Vladimir Balshin. She teaches at the New York Conservatory and maintains a private studio in Manhattan.
A recipient of the Governor of the Irkutsk Region Award and a fellow of New York City's Creatives Rebuild New York initiative, she develops projects exploring the intersection of music and mental well-being — creating environments that foster emotional connection, reflection, and restoration.
In the 2025–2026 season, she leads Salon Aux Chandelles' debut at Carnegie Hall, continuing to cultivate a community defined by elegance, curiosity, and connection. Alongside her classical career, she creates contemporary work under Tzarevna and leads the How to New Yorker platform, reaching over 2 million viewers monthly.
She holds a Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes School of Music at The New School, with advanced studies in Arts Management, Nonprofit Leadership, and Cultural Strategy at New York University and The Juilliard School, in addition to her degree from the Moscow State Conservatory (2016).
Violin, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Vartan Mailiantz is a multidisciplinary performing artist, award-winning violinist, and founder based in SoHo, New York City. A graduate of the Moscow State Conservatory, Mannes School of Music (The New School), and The Juilliard School, his global concert career has taken him to over 25 countries across Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, appearing at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, the Kennedy Center, Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Bolshoy Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, and Harbin Concert Hall.
By the age of sixteen, Vartan had won more than ten national and international competitions, among them the Grand-Prix at the 7th International Violin Competition M.G. Erdenko (2007), Gold Medal at the Fourth Youth Delphic Games (2005), and 1st Prize at the Festival of the Arts "Through the Thorns to the Stars" (2005). He is also a recipient of the National and Regional Prizes for outstanding ability.
As soloist, he has toured across more than 20 countries, performing with the Tashkent Symphony Orchestra, Kaliningrad Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and MusicAeterna under Teodor Currentzis, among others. He has participated in masterclasses with Zakhar Bron, Pierre Amoyal, Boris Kushnir, Yuri Bashmet, and Viktoria Mullova. He is a recipient of the Creatives Rebuild New York award. As Co-Founder and Artistic Director of ARTLEX, an entertainment company providing world-class ensembles, jazz bands, and musicians for luxury events, galas, corporate clients, and weddings, Vartan has brought live music to the highest echelons of New York life — including the Parsons Benefit Gala 2024, New York Fashion Week at Sony Hall, White Cross Ball at Metropolitan Club, and curated concert series with Tishman Speyer, one of the world's leading global real estate development companies.
April 2, 2026 marks the Season Finale of Salon Aux Chandelles — a milestone in a larger vision that drives Vartan forward each day: to build a lasting presence at Carnegie Hall and, ultimately, to establish a dedicated performing arts center and concert hall where world-class music becomes a permanent, living institution. It is this conviction — that art must have a home of its own — that shapes every performance, every partnership, and every step of this journey.
Piano
Winner of the Rostropovich Prize in Moscow and First Prize at the International Piano Competition in Paris (2013), Ilya Ramlav is a virtuoso concert pianist whose performances have been described as "dramatic, dynamic, and infused with massive musical energy" by the New York Social Diary.
As a soloist of the Saint Petersburg House of Music, he has performed with Yuri Bashmet's Russian Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg State Orchestra, the Swiss Symphony Orchestra, and Virtuosi Brazil, among others, and has appeared at the Great Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Salle Cortot in Paris, the National Concert Hall in Buenos Aires, the United Nations in Geneva, Merkin Hall, and Carnegie Hall.
Recent highlights include performances at the History Makers Gala at the New York Historical Society, the Moab Music Festival, the Armenian State Philharmonic, and the Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra. His performances have been broadcast on Argentina's National Classical Radio, NRK Television in Norway, and ATV in Armenia.
Soprano
Anna Aistova is a versatile soprano born in Russia and based in the United States, bringing exceptional musicality and dramatic intensity to operatic and concert repertoire. Her recent operatic highlights include Adele in Die Fledermaus with New Rochelle Opera, Calisto in La Calisto with Mannes Opera, and Josephine in The Comedy on the Bridge at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. anna-aistova
Her concert appearances span Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Bach's Magnificat, Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Mahler's Symphony No. 4, in collaboration with ensembles including Juilliard 415, Musica Viva NY, and the Mannes Symphony. She holds a Master of Music from Mannes College, The New School on full scholarship, and a Bachelor of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and is a 2024 Fellow of the American Bach Soloists Young Artist Program.
Soprano
Described as a "gorgeous soaring soprano" by the German magazine OPER!, Freja Højland Høj is a soprano, performer, and improviser from Denmark who explores the intersection of classical singing, theater-making, and electronics. Her work includes the Copenhagen Opera Festival premiere of Queen Annabell, the Danish Radio Broadcast of Earl Kim's Where Grief Slumbers, and the premiere of M. Vestergård's KRISER. Recipient of the 2024 Birkhave Honorary Prize, she holds degrees from the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the Eastman School of Music, and is currently pursuing a second master's at The New School College of Performing Arts.
Piano