As three renowned musicians took their final bows, the audience erupted into applause. The Vamos/Carey/Nosikova trio performed at Voxman Music Building on Nov. 9, with pieces by Giuseppe Tartini, Franz Schubert, and Anton Arensky.
The trio consisted of Roosevelt University and Music Institute of Chicago faculty members Almita Vamos, who played the violin, and Dr. Tanya Carey, who played the cello, as well as University of Iowa professor and co-piano area head Dr. Ksenia Nosikova on the piano. Vamos and Carey reconnected through Roosevelt University, and Nosikova met Vamos in 2012 when her daughter auditioned to be Vamos’ student.
After the pandemic, they began performing a few times a year, alternating between the UI, Roosevelt University, and other institutions. Carey’s favorite part of performing as a trio was the rapport established with each other as musicians.
“It’s just those moments that you don’t have to say anything,” Carey said. “You just feel what everyone is doing.”
Carey has been playing the cello for 82 years, starting at the age of four. According to Carey, her cello has been played since 1704, making it a distinguished instrument.
At their Voxman performance, the three musicians blended their instruments seamlessly while also showcasing their talent. With the first piece, “Violin Sonata in G minor, GT 2.g05; B.g5” by Tartini, also known as “The Devil’s Trill Sonata,” the violin began with high and long notes complemented by low notes on the cello as the piano played softly in the background.
As the three progressed through the movements, the violin picked up pace with fast, high notes, the other instruments accompanying it, filling the room with energy.
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Their next piece of the afternoon was called the “Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 137, No. 1, D. 384” by Schubert, a renowned classical composer. It consisted of Vamos on the violin and Nosikova on the piano. Vamos started playing the violin at the age of five, and like Carey, her instrument is also from the 18th century.
“It’s just such a beautiful, elegant, simple piece,” Vamos said. “Schubert is so well known for his melodies.”
The two instruments complemented each other, the piano swiftly accompanying the fast notes of the violin, but also highlighted with its own soft solo, leaving the audience enraptured.
“Live music of this kind offers a moment that we can step away from all of the other stuff going on,” Carey said.
As professors, Nosikova hoped that their performance would showcase the importance of live music for students. Nosikova has been teaching at the UI for 29 years, and started playing piano at the age of six.
“Take away from the recordings and just kind of bring them into the concert hall, and they see how it works spontaneously in many ways,” Nosikova said. “Live music, that I think is the most natural aspect of music making on the spot.”
The final piece of the evening was the “Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32” by Arensky, a four-movement piece, which highlighted all three instruments. From runs on the piano to low string plucking on the cello to high, soaring notes on the violin, each movement had a different emotion.
Attendees Laurel and Steve Decker were in awe of the three musicians’ talent. Steve Decker has followed Nosikova’s performances for years.
“I’ve just kind of followed her performances because she’s so outstanding,” he said.
Laurel Decker found the performance inspiring, specifically Vamos’ prolific career as an 87-year-old violinist. Laurel Decker played piano for 10 years as a child, and currently sings with the Chamber Singers of Iowa City.
“I look at someone who has been doing that for so long and she’s still so skilled, and I keep thinking, ‘I’m getting older, I’m not going to be able to do these things anymore,’” Laurel Decker said. “It’s wonderful to see somebody at her age at the top of her performance abilities.”