The string quintet Serenada was set up by orchestra musicians of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus in December 2006. The musicians first appeared together at the G. Shirma Small Hall of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society following the proposal of Tatiana Tretiak, a soloist of the Opera Theatre, to take part in her recital. The musicians of the orchestra and the singer performed arrangements of art songs and songs from the popular films of the 20th century. The ensemble’s first appearance received a wide favourable response. Since then, the Serenada has appeared at the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian State Philharmonic Hall, the Palace of the Republic, philharmonic halls in Mogilev, Grodno, Gomel and other Belarusian cities, as well as at a number of Russian concert halls. In June 2012, the performance of the quintet during the I. Schwarz International Musical Festival (St Petersburg, Russia) was a success. Since 2010, the Serenada participates in the annual musical festival “Evenings of the Bolshoi Theatre at the Radziwills’ Palace” in Nesvizh. The ensemble’s repertoire includes instrumental music of different styles and periods in the musicians’ original arrangements. The considerable part of the repertoire comprises arrangements of arias, romance and art songs for both voice and quintet. The Serenada often gives concert performances whose programme is comprised of French, English and Russian romance songs; Italian, Spanish and American art songs; popular arias from operas and operettas, and light instrumental music. The principal goal of the musicians is to familiarize audiences with a varied world of music and provide each of them with an opportunity to hear their favourite melody, form old romance songs to jazz pieces.

Musicians:

Henry Matskevich violin
Aleksey Okhotnikov violin
Sergey Tretiak viola
Aleksey Okounev cello
Sergey Anashkevich double bass

Author of the project: Tatiana Tretiak

A biography of Tatiana Tretiak

Henry Matskevich was born in Minsk in 1967. In 1993, he graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Music where he had majored in violin. Since 1989, he has been a musician of the symphony orchestra of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus.

Henry Matskevich often gives recitals and also concerts as a member of different chamber ensembles. He has participated in over fifty international musical festivals in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Libya, etc. As an orchestra leader, Henry Matskevich worked with a number of renowned conductors, namely Alexander Anisimov, Gennady Provatorov, Ralf Weikert, Wilhelm Keitel, etc.

Since 2006, Henry Matskevich has played with the string quintet Serenada (first violin).

Sergey Tretiak was born in Ivatsevichi, Brest Region, in 1961. He took up music at the age of 6. In 1987, he graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Music where he had majored in viola. Since 1989, he has been a musician of the symphony orchestra of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus.

Sergey Tretiak tours a lot as a player of the theatre’s symphony orchestra as well as guest musician of other ensembles. He appeared at the Carnegie Hall and on stage of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (New York, the US) with the symphony orchestra of the Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre, Perm. He has toured Spain, Norway and Finland with the symphony orchestra of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society. With the Opera and Ballet Theatre, Sergey Tretiak has also been on tour in Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil, Thailand, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, etc.

Sergey Tretiak has played with the string quintet Serenada since 2006.