Classical Guitarist Galina Vale

ARTIST PROFILE
GALINA VALE

English Version

Videoclip: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=victoriavernigora

The Guitarist Galina Vale was born in Ukraine and comes from a family of musicians. She began studying guitar and made her first public performance at the age of eight. Four years later she performed guitar concertos with the Kharkov Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. From 1985 to 1991 she studied at the Moscow Gnesiny Music College while also employed as principal guitarist with the Kharkov State Philharmonia from 1986 to 1997. In 1995 she won a scholarship from the Rotary Club Ukraine to pursue her masters degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK.

Galina Vale won numerous prizes at international music competitions in Poland, Italy, Hungary, Spain, the United Kingdom, and has performed over 2.000 concerts across West and Eastern Europe. In 1996 the British Ambassador and High Commissioner to Kenya invited her to Africa for a concert tour and television appearance. Her repertoire ranges from ‘orthodox’ classical guitar (Sor, Villa-Lobos, Bach) through arrangements of classical instrumental, orchestral works and opera (Liszt, Paganini, Dvorjak, de Falla, Rossini), the modern guitar (Walton, Rodrigo, Dyens), to flamenco (Escudero, Sabicas, Pena) and arrangements of South American and East European folk music (Cardoso, Ramirez, Shevchenko).

In 1996 Gendai Guitar Foundation of Japan (Masaru Kohno) sponsored Galina to release her first CD - ´The Legend´ under her maiden name Galina Vernigora. It featured on US FM radio in the network program edition of 'Great Women Guitarists' produced by 'Classical Guitar Alive!' in 1997 and later with Maltese National Radio on the program 'Cantabile'. The CD includes works by Salvador, De Falla, Sabicas, Rodriguez, Sainz de la Maza, Dyens, Cardoso, Escudero, Tirao, Ramirez, Mertz, Barrios, Shevchenko and Rak.

After her album of “The Legend” (1996), and after moving to Manchester in 1997, Galina released two more CDs - “Hungarian Rhapsody” (1999) and “Great Gates of Kiev” (2002). The “Hungarian Rhapsody” includes works by Liszt, Paganini, Rossini, Barrios, de Falla, Sainz de la Mazza and Rachmaninov. The “The Great Gates Of Kiev” includes works by Mussorgsky, Piazzolla, Albeniz, Llobet, Brahms, Barrios, Dyens, Fampas, Rak, Sabicas, Batista, Steidl and Kozlov. Instrumental Guitar. The Album - 'Hungarian Rhapsody' was featured on BBC World Service radio and described by the World of Guitar magazine (Poland) as 'an unbelivable performance... a disc which deserves world-wide recognition'.

Her performances includes very technically demanding works, such as Modest Mussorgsky's, “Pictures from an Exhibition” arranged by Japanese virtuoso Kazuhito Yamashita which is “impossible for guitar”- Goniez Pomorsky Newspaper, Poland 1993. Her skill in managing the pieces of the legendary guitarist Stepan Rak has brought him to express his praise loudly before a huge audience in the 1987 Esztergom International Guitar Festival – “finally I have found a musician who can perform my music!”

Her Orchestral repertoire includes works of :

Joaquin Rodrigo " Concierto de Aranjuez"
Antonio Vivaldi "Concierto in D major" (originally for Lute and chamber orchestra)
Antonio Vivaldi "Conciero in A major" ( for Lute and chamber orchestra)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco "Concierto in D" opus 99
Joaquin Rodrigo "Fantasia para un Gentilhombre"
Moris Ravel "Bolero" (arranged version with solo guitar)
J. S Bach "Badinerie" from Sonata for flute and piano (arranged orchestral version with solo guitar)

The Ukrainian Radio and Television has produced 3 music films covering her creative activities which have been broadcast throughout the country: 'Portrait with Guitar' (1987), ' Strings and Sails' (1991), 'Spirit of Spain' (1996).

'fairy of crystal stings'- Molod Ukrainy Newspaper.
'Beautiful like Venus, plays like Paco de Lucia...'- Goniez Pomorsky, Poland.

'A dazzling performance from Galina Vale'- Musical Opinion, U.K.

'Hard to believe that there was just one woman and her guitar on stage because Galina had the whole orchestra at her fingertips'- Chesterfield Advertiser, U.K.

'Her playing is almost indescribable with a lot of volume, and repertoire that few would choose to attempt.

´A breath of fresh air, she is a musical actress...' -Classical Guitar Magazine, U.K.

´……………. the ending with the Mussorgsky was truly staggering, an awesome orchestral tour de force but here played on a solo guitar with such brilliance, such ferocity and passion. In this piece alone the sheer technical brilliance perfectly suited the majesty of the mighty Mussorgsky´.

Graham Benge, West Sussex Guitar Club, 14 October 2003.

On June, July and August Galina just finished her tour to Spain, Portugal and Turkey.

GALINA VALE i Managed and Promoted by Temi International, Lda, Portugal.

For concerts and queries contact: araujobasilio@yahoo.com

Read more about Galina Vale at http://www.galinavale.com