Tanya Anisimova (born February 15, 1966) is an American

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

of Russian descent. Tanya Anisimova was born in the Chechen city of

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

into a family of scientists: her father Dr.

Mikhail Anisimov Mikhail Alexeevich Anisimov (Russian: Михаил Алексе́евич Анисимов, born November 2, 1941, Baku, Azerbaijan, USSR) is a Russian and American interdisciplinary scientist. Early life Anisimov received a degree in petroleu ...

is a well-known physicist. Her mother was a chemist and an accomplished piano player and singer who died in 1981. Tanya Anisimova became a naturalised American citizen in 1994. Tanya began to study cello at 7 with Zoia Kamisheva and gave her first public performance the same year. After graduating with honors from the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

(1989), where she studied with

Igor Gavrysh Igor may refer to: * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name Arts, entertainment, and media *Igor (character), a stock character * Igors (''Discworld''), a fictional humanoid family in the ''Discworld'' ...

, Anisimova continued her cello studies with George Neikrug at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

(Artist Diploma, 1992). While in Boston, she appeared regularly on WGBH Public Radio. In 1992, Anisimova was invited by

Aldo Parisot Aldo Simoes Parisot (September 30, 1918 – December 29, 2018) was a Brazilian-born American cellist and cello teacher. He was first a member of the Juilliard School faculty, and then went on to serve as a music professor at the Yale School of Mu ...

to work on her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. She graduated from

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

in 1995. In her doctoral thesis she focused on J.S. Bach's works for solo

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and solo cello and their interconnectedness. Also in 1995, Anisimova and her husband artist

Alexander Anufriev Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

spent four months at the

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) is a residential artist community in Amherst, Virginia, USA. Since 1971, VCCA has offered residencies of varying lengths with flexible scheduling for international artists, writers, and composers at ...

by an invitation of the VCCA's director William Smart. In the fall of 1995, Anisimova and Anufriev successfully presented their multimedia project titled ''Angels on Mt. San Angelo,'' The visual part included six canvases, 15 by 10 feet each, with angels representing six colors of a spectrum, all painted by Anufriev. The audio part consisted of Anisimova's ''Song on Mt. San Angelo'', which was performed live during the presentation of the project. One year later, the project was repeated with success at the St. Mark's Church on

Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. Capitol Hill is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast and Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F Street NE, Southeast Boulevard SE, and South Capitol Street SE. Dominated by the United States ...

In 1999, Anisimova initiated the revival and consequently became the Artistic Director of the ''Mousetrap Concert Series'' in the historic town of

Washington Grove, Maryland Washington Grove is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 505 at the 2020 census. The Washington Grove Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. History Indigen ...

. Guest artists of the series have included

Claude Frank Claude Frank (born Claus Johannes Frank; December 24, 1925 – December 27, 2014) was a German-born American pianist. Biography Of Jewish ancestry, Frank was born in Nuremberg, Germany. His father emigrated to Brussels after the advent of the ...

Natalia Gutman Natalia Grigoryevna Gutman (; born 14 November 1942), PAU, is a Russian cellist. She began to study cello at the Moscow Music School with R. Sapozhnikov. She was later admitted to the Moscow Conservatory. She later studied with Mstislav Rostrop ...

, Elisso Virsaladze,

Paul Katz Paul Katz is an American cellist, who was a member of the Cleveland Quartet from 1969 to 1995.Katherine Millett "Cellist Paul Katz Puts His Students on Equal Footing" ''Strings'' August/Sept, 2007 He and his wife, pianist Pei-Shan Lee, reside in ...

, The St. Petersburg Quartet, The Calder Quartet, The Thibaud Trio, The Scholars of London,

Paul Galbraith Paul Galbraith (born 18 March 1964) is a Scottish classical guitarist known for his unique style of playing. Biography Paul Galbraith had his first guitar lessons with Graham Wade, continuing his studies with Gordon Crosskey at the Chethams Sc ...

, Tigran Alikhanov,

, among others. Since 2001, Tanya Anisimova and her husband reside in the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

region of Central Virginia. Anisimova divides her time between touring, composing and recording.

Playing style

The press has described cellist and composer Tanya Anisimova as the artist with "spiritual authority" and "a refined musical intelligence"; her performances - as "thoughtful and powerful, alluring and energizing"; her interpretations - as "invariably full of personality and character." Anisimova's original music has been quoted as "deeply emotional," "mystical," and "marrying a sense of wild fancy and studied control." Of the performer's live improvisations with her own vocalizing it has been said that they have "subtle harmonies" and "a very refined melody, clearly in Slavic style." Joseph McLellan of the Washington Post called Anisimova's improvisations "powerfully evocative vocalises, which she sang with a pure, precisely controlled voice."

Discography

1. "Music from Mt. San Angelo," 1995 The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts 2. J.S. Bach, "Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin," 2001 Celle-stial Records Company This is the first complete cycle recorded on modern cello. Original keys were used except for partitas 1 & 3.Recording was available on CD but now only available on streaming services and as digital download. 3. J.S. Bach, Six Suites for Solo Cello, 2002 Volume 1, Suites No. 1, 3 & 5 4. J.S. Bach, Six Suites for Solo Cello, 2004 Volume 2, Suites No. 2, 4 & 6 Celle-stial Records Company 5. "Concert in Moscow," 2003 Celle-stial Records Company 6. "Sufi Soul," 2006 Celle-stial Records Company 7. "Mystical Strings-Enchanted Cello," 2007 The Synchronicity Foundation

Original works

Cello transcriptions and arrangements

1995-2001, J.S. Bach, Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo 2002, Francouer-Anisimova, Sonata for Two Cellos in D (inspired by the Cello Sonata E Major) 2008, Locatelli-Anisimova, Sonata for Cello and Piano (based on the original version for violin and continuo) 2003-2005, Ludwig van Beethoven, Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano 2006-2008, Johannes Brahms, Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano 2004, Pablo de Sarasate, Playera, Gypsy Aires 2004, Marin Marais, La Folia 2003, Diniku, Hora-Staccatto

Notes

References

The Washington Post. Articles: "Thoughtful and Powerful Cello Recital at Strathmore," October, 2007;"Tanya Anisimova's Singing Endorsement of the Cello," April, 2003; "Beguiling Music at Hand," March, 1999 "Mi Morelia", Michoacan, Mexico. Article "Banqueto de Violonchelo y de Beethoven", February, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Anisimova, Tanya Russian emigrants to the United States Russian classical cellists People from Grozny American women classical cellists American classical cellists 1966 births Living people American contemporary classical music performers Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni Yale School of Music alumni 21st-century American composers Moscow Conservatory alumni Russian women classical cellists 21st-century American women composers 21st-century American cellists