A memorial concert honoring music journalist Elaine Strauss will be presented by pianist Kairy Koshoeva and cellist Jordan Ensinger on Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m. at Christ Church, 5 Paterson Street in New Brunswick. Admission is free.
“I want to honor Elaine’s legacy and keep her spirit alive by sharing this with her fans and loved ones,” says Koshoeva. “Elaine Strauss was not just a dear friend to me; she was a kindred spirit who welcomed me into her home for many memorable concerts and gatherings. Her warmth and passion for music have left an indelible mark on my heart.”
A polymath, Strauss had several careers and began her journalism career at age 67, writing hundreds of articles for U.S. 1 and Clavier magazine, mostly about music. An accomplished pianist, she was a student of Dorothy Taubman. She died on April 22, 2024, at the age of 95.
From an earlier concert that Strauss wrote about, Koshoeva and Ensinger will include two selections: Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 in A Flat Major and what Strauss described as the “notoriously formidable” half-hour-long Rachmaninoff Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19. Also on the program will be Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E minor from Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, and a prelude by Ukrainian composer Sergei Bortkiewicz.
A Princeton resident, Koshoeva teaches at The New School for Music Study in Kingston and offers private piano lessons in the Princeton area. Born in Kyrgyzstan, Koshoeva has a doctoral degree from the University of Missouri, an artist’s diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow. Her awards include top prizes at the International Piano Competition in Vicenza, Italy, and the N. Rubinstein Competition in Paris; the Gold Medal at the 2004 Rachmaninoff Awards in Moscow; and first prize at the Chautauqua Music Festival concerto competition in New York.
Ensinger, who is on the faculty at Seton Hall University, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a performance diploma from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a doctoral degree from Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts.
For information about the concert, call 732-545-6262 or email kairy@princetonpianolessons.com.
For more on Elaine Strauss’ remarkable life, the obituary written by her daughter, Evelyn, in the May 15, 2024, issue of U.S. 1.
