Diabolical Delights

PLEASE NOTE

The price of your ticket includes hors d’oeuvres and drinks from the open wine and beer bar at receptions before and after the concert and during intermission.

Arts Club of Washington

2017 I Street Northwest,
Washington, DC, 20006

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Reception begins at 6:30pm
Concert begins at 7:15pm

EVENT DETAILS

Celebrate All Hallows’ Eve with devilishly delectable selections, flirting with the macabre in music. “The Devil’s Violinist,” Niccolò Paganini, was believed to have sold his soul in exchange for his legendary talent as violinist and composer. Goethe’s Faust will be explored with Prokofiev’s rendition of Mephistopheles’ own Waltz, as well as Meyerbeer’s hauntingly beautiful Cavatine from “Robert le Diable.” In addition to Schnittke’s work idealizing Bach’s purity with his own twist, we will share Bolcolm’s touching “Graceful Ghost,” written in memory of his father. We will finish with Bezverkhny's Gambrinus suite, depicting a tavern-performing virtuoso violinist attempting to survive a pogrom in Odessa. Ukrainian violinist Zino Bogachek, a member of the National Opera Orchestra, will lend his decades of operatic experience to this performance, which will be one to remember.

PROGRAM

Prokofiev - Suggestion Diabolique

Prokofiev - Mephisto Waltz

Paganini - Cantabile

Paganini/Kreisler - Caprice No. 13

Schnittke - Suite in the Old Style

Meyerbeer/Ernst - Cavatine from the Opera "Robert le Diable"

Khachaturian - Waltz Masquerade

Bolcolm - Graceful Ghost Rag

Bezverkhny - Gambrinus Suite

FEATURED ARTISTS

Featured

Christopher Schmitt, Piano

Described as "carefully colored" and "sensitive" by The Washington Post, pianist Christopher Schmitt was also hailed as a “formidable talent” and “mature beyond his years” by The Santa Barbara News-Press, regarding his performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Having completed his doctorate at The Juilliard School in 2016, he has been sponsored for concerts by The Chopin Foundation of the United States, The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, and The Embassy Series. He performs at the festival Málaga Clasica in Spain, as well as in July of 2016 in his own concert series in Barcelona, Classics in Catalan. A collaborator with cellist Kian Soltani on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts in March 2019. Dr. Schmitt currently resides in Washington DC, and as pianist of “The President's Own" US Marine Chamber Orchestra, performs regularly in the White House and in concert halls across the Washington DC metropolitan area, leading a multifaceted career as chamber musician, pedagogue, and soloist. In 2024, he founded the Classical Arts Society of Washington, where he hopes to share the Beauty of classical music with the world through engaging public concerts, educational outreach initiatives, and the cultivation of a core community of classical music lovers.

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Zino Bogachek, Violin

Ukrainian-born American violinist, Zino Bogachek, known for his uncompromising individuality and wide-ranging musical interests, has performed extensively as a soloist, recitalist and chamber music collaborator throughout the former USSR, Poland, Austria, Italy, Mexico and the U.S. His appearances as soloist have included performances with Lviv Philharmonic, Lviv Chamber Orchestra, Centennial Philharmonic, Acton Chamber Orchestra, Cape Ann Symphony, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Triptych Chamber Orchestra and Summer Music from Greensboro Festival Orchestra, inspiring the leading US press to remark "Mr. Bogachek displayed a soundness technique with meticulous care lavished on every detail,” "expert technique, emotional expressiveness and a firm sense of partnership,” and “a superb violinist with a great sense of style." Zino was a recipient of the Boston University Director's Award, received Honorary Diplomas from several international competitions and was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda Chapter of the National Music Honor Society. Mr. Bogachek has participated in the National Virtuosi Festival in Ukraine, the Haydn Festival in Austria, Orfeo Festival in Italy, and Summer Music from Greensboro Festival, where he has served as concertmaster and leader from 1995 to 2010. A passionate and dedicated teacher, Zino served on the faculty at Columbia Union College (2003-2008) and George Mason University (2008-2011). Since 1999, Mr. Bogachek has been a member of the Washington National Opera/Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. A graduate of Lvov Conservatory, he continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Music and Boston University. His teachers have included M. Veitzner, Y. Mazurkevich, E. Lehner and B. Senofsky.

Diabolical Delights