Russian Doll

Sonic wizard Robin Guthrie (ex-Cocteau Twins) and vocalist Siobhan de Mare (ex-Mono) made up the hazy dream pop of Violet Indiana. Shortly after de Mare was relieved of her Mono duties, she received a phone call from Guthrie, asking her if she'd like to work with him. Unfamiliar with Guthrie's cult status, she asked her sister about him and decided to take him up on the offer. In late 2000, the duo released the Choke EP on Bella Union, the label run by Guthrie and former Cocteau mate Simon Raymonde. Retaining some of Guthrie's trademark characteristics and combining them with de Mare's lazy, confident delivery, the Choke EP established them convincingly enough as something removed from Guthrie's prior band – a tricky thing indeed. 2001's full-length Roulette improved on the promising debut. A singles collection, Casino, followed in early 2002. Russian Doll was the proper follow-up to Roulette, released in June of 2004.

Winner of several important international competitions, including the 2006 Michele Pittaluga Guitar Competition, Alessandria, Italy, Artyom Dervoed started playing guitar at the age of six. He has since enjoyed a career that has taken him to the United States and many European cities. This recital features works by contemporary composers from the Russian Federation, including Valery Biktashev’s masterpiece Orpheus, based on the Orpheus and Eurydice story, and Sergei Orekhov’s virtuoso The Troika Variations, closely influenced by Russian gypsy music.

In the midst of the forest, the floor is littered with monstrous heads and mythical figures, frozen in torturous combat or threatened by wild beasts. A dragon fights a dog and a wolf. A lion sinks its teeth into the fire-breathing monster’s chest.