Photography by Oleg Micheyev
Muzika Lyra
We are a versatile chamber ensemble comprising pianist and composer Nadia Giliova, singer, guitarist and songwriter Lila Moshtael and violinist and composer Julian Milone.
Our group was originally called Myuzika Russes. We gave our first concerts at Pushkin House in London’s Bloomsbury Square, where we continue to perform on a regular basis.
As each of us writes music of our own, there is a high degree of musical thought and discussion to our rehearsals. The process of musical creation is of great interest to the ensemble and we always endeavour to programme original pieces of our own.
We bring our own individual style and interpretation to the music we play. Each coming from very different musical backgrounds, we have a unique approach to every song and piece that we perform.
The unique make-up and instrumentation as well as the spirit of creativity of the group inspire us for a fair amount of arrangements. We approach each of this projects as a musical composition and we spend a great deal of time in finding an authentic sound and feel to each individual piece, be it the more traditional songs such as ‘The Red Sarafan’(A. Varlamov, N. Tsciganov) or ‘Only Once’ (B. Fomin, P.German) to the more contemporary music such as pieces by Isaak Shvarts or Alexander Ribnikov.
One of the more distinctive, unusual and stimulating aspects of our group is the way we approach the presentation and performance of each song. In order to keep the flavour of the original atmosphere we usually present it in its original language. At the same time to give the audience an idea of the words and meaning of the lyrics, we might sing a verse or two in the language of the locality. Audiences around the world receive it warmly when we perform in both languages.
Our ensemble has an extensive repertoire. Whilst we specialise in Russian music we present works from around the globe, often as a musical ‘Grand Tour’ with melodies from places as far-flung as Argentina, North America and the whole of continental Europe.
We handpick our pieces for each of our concerts, thoroughly taking into consideration the preferences of our audience. Our concert usually would include piano solos, music for violin and piano, romances for piano and voice and songs for voice, guitar and violin. However most of our selections are for piano, violin and voice – we present a wide range of repertoire for this instrumentation, from the birth of Russian romanticism with Glinka through the well-known music of Tchaikovsky, Lyadov and Balakirev, and the Twentieth century giants such as Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Khatchaturian to the well-known songs of perhaps lesser-known composers like Isaak Shvarts, Boris Firmin, Alexey Shishkin, & Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi.
Do not leave me
The long road
Hussar
Elegy
Melody
Long Road teaser
Learn more about the musicians on the about us page