Professor of Cello Tanya Remenikova Announces Retirement From the University of Minnesota School of Music
After a 48 year career leading the School of Music cello studio, Professor of Cello Tanya Remenikova has announced her retirement. The SoM is also pleased to announce that Remenikova has been honored by the University of Minnesota with the distinguished title of Professor Emerita for her many career accomplishments.
“Getting to know Professor Remenikova and her students has been a highlight of my time at the University of Minnesota,” writes Patrick Warfield, Director of the School of Music. “Her nearly half a century on the faculty has seen Professor Remenikova launch the careers of cellists and artist-citizens, who now play in the world’s top orchestras and serve as educators in their own right. Here in the School of Music, we could not be more proud of her legacy and know that she will remain an important part of our musical community for years to come.”
Remenikova was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and started in music school at the age of eight. She studied with Valentin Berlinsky, a notable member of the Borodin Quartet, before becoming a student of the world renowned Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory in Russia.
Her professional career brought her to major halls in music capitals around the world including London, Moscow, Jerusalem, Brussels, Bonn, Frankfurt, Florence, Taipei, and Shanghai. Remenikova has been a solo performer with the Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Orchestre Nationale de Belgique, among others. In the United States, recital performances have taken her to New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Kansas City, Houston, San Francisco and the Aspen Music Festival.
In 1972, Remenikova and her husband, piano faculty member Alexander Braginsky, immigrated to Minnesota to reunite with her mother in Minnesota. Remenikova joined the School of Music faculty in 1978.
As a teacher, Remenikova’s philosophy on teaching drew inspiration from her own thorough training in music, both as cellist and pianist. Remenikova’s success as an educator attracted students from all over the world. An avid chamber music player, she performed regularly with the Saint Paul-based Hill House Chamber Players. She also appeared in the Barge Chamber Music Series in New York and with the Karlsruhe Trio in Germany.
Remenikova has given master classes in Europe, Asia and the U.S. and premiered a number of new compositions, including a work dedicated to her by Judith Zaimont, "Tanya" Poems for Cello Solo. In 2007, she was the recipient of the Master Teacher Studio Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.
The School of Music is deeply appreciative of Remenikova for her many years of dedication to the cello studio and the School of Music faculty, and congratulates her on her retirement.
Feature photo credit: Travis Anderson
