David Starkweather was declared by Pierre Fournier to be "one of the best cellists of his generation." Starkweather was awarded a certificate of merit as semifinalist in the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition. Since 1983 he has been professor of cello at the University of Georgia in Athens (www.uga.edu/music/cello). He has performed and taught at festivals in Korea, Brazil, and the United States, and has also performed in Canada and Europe. Growing up near San Francisco, Starkweather attended the Eastman School of Music. This was followed by graduate studies with cellist Bernard Greenhouse at SUNY Stony Brook, earning a doctorate degree in 1983. In 1985 Starkweather spent six months in Switzerland for intensive work with Pierre Fournier, earning the famous French cellist's accolade given above. A review in Atlanta praised "the sensitive phrasing and Starkweather's obvious technical facility." His CD of cello sonatas by Shostakovich and Rachmaninov with pianist Evgeny Rivkin was released by Mark Records, NY. Starkweather's publications include articles in American String Teacher and Strings magazines, and editions of two Locatelli sonatas published by Artaria, Wellington, New Zealand. His cello is a Jean Baptiste Vuillaume from c.1830. Pianist Evgeny Rivkin has won many major awards including 1st prize in the 1998 Louise D. McMahon International Music Competition, 3rd Prize at the 1978 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, 2nd Prize at the 1977 USSR National Piano Competition in Saint Petersburg, and 3rd Prize at the 1985 Bayerische Rundfunk Competition in Munich. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Brought up in a musical family (both parents are cellists), he began studying piano with Berta Marants at age six, making his orchestral debut at ten. Rivkin received the bachelor of music from the Nizhny Novgorod College of Music, and the master's and doctoral degrees from the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Evgeny Malinin. Rivkin is a Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Georgia. He was previously Professor of Piano at the Latvian Academy of Music (1988 to 1995). Rivkin has given masterclasses in Russia, France, Italy, Latvia, and the United States, and his concert activities include performances throughout the world. He has recorded for the A-RAM and Melodiya labels in Russia, Sintez Records of Latvia, and ACA Records in the United States.