December 13, 2009
5 p.m.
University of South Carolina Beaufort Performing Arts Center
Jennifer Frautschi, violin Jesse Mills, violin Hsin-Yun Huang, viola Nicholas Cords, viola Peter Wiley, cello Edward Arron, cello and host
Four Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola, Opus 75a Cavatina Capriccio Romanze Elegie
Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)
Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) for String Sextet, Opus 4
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
– Intermission –
Grande Sestetto Concertante in E-flat Major contemporaneous transcription (1808) of Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364
Allegro Andante Finale: Presto
W. A. Mozart (1756-1791)
Nicholas Cords Violist Nicholas Cords is strongly committed to the advocacy and performance of music from a very broad historic and geographical spectrum. His busy touring schedule has led him in recent years to Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, Alice Tully Hall, the Cologne Philharmonie, and the Library of Congress. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and with the New York String Seminar Orchestra. His chamber music credits include the Schleswig-Holstein, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, Piccolo Spoleto, Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, Smithsonian Folklife, and Charlottesville festivals. Mr. Cords is a regular member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, a musical collective that uses the historic Silk Road trading route as a metaphor for musical exchange and creativity in the present. The group has not only traveled to many of the major musical centers of the United States and Europe, but also to China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Egypt, Iran, Syria and a number of the Central Asian Republics. In addition to performing with the ensemble, he has taken a role in the organization and development of new creative projects, programming for concerts and museum residencies, and as an active part of two long-term residencies with the group; one at the Rhode Island School of Design and one at Harvard University. Mr. Cords appears on all three of the ensemble’s albums released by Sony Classical; ‘Silk Road Journeys’, ‘Beyond the Horizon’, and ‘New Impossibilites’. He has appeared frequently on television and radio including a Chinese National Television broadcast from the Great Wall, the David Letterman Show, numerous National Public Radio broadcasts, Good Morning America, a NHK Japan documentary about the Silk Road Ensemble, and a four year run as resident commentator and performer on WQXR New York’s Radio weekly On A-I-R. Mr. Cords is an active member of many ensembles, including the Caramoor Virtuousi, An Die Musik, Richardson Chamber Players, the Stillwater Music Festival, and the Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert. He is also a founding member of Brooklyn Rider; a multi-faceted string quartet dedicated to creative programming, expansion of the repertoire and innovative collaborations. Brooklyn Rider's recordings include the critically acclaimed Silent City for the Harmonia Mundi/World Village label with Persian kemancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor, Passport on In a Circle Records, and a collaboration with singer/songwriter Christina Courtin on her recent self-titled album on the Nonesuch label. Mr. Cords began his musical education at the Juilliard School where he won top honors in the viola competition and subsequently gave the New York premiere of John Harbison’s Viola Concerto at Avery Fisher Hall. He completed his studies at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. His teachers have included Karen Tuttle, Harvey Shapiro, Joseph Fuchs, and Felix Galamir. Himself a committed teacher, Mr. Cords spends part of his summer schedule teaching at the Bennington Chamber Music and Composers Conference and during the year serves as viola instructor at Princeton University. He has twice participated as a mentor along with other members of the Silk Road Ensemble in the Weill Institute Professional Training Workshops at Carnegie Hall and has also delivered a series of teacher workshops for the New York City Department of Education on music and the role of it can play in cross-cultural understanding. Mr. Cords plays on an instrument made for him in 2004 by famed Brooklyn maker Samuel Zygmuntowicz.
Jennifer Frautschi Avery Fisher career grant recipient violinist Jennifer Frautschi has gained acclaim as an adventurous performer with a wide-ranging repertoire. As the Chicago Tribune wrote, "the young violinist Jennifer Frautschi is molding a career with smart interpretations of both warhorses and rarities." Equally at home in the classic repertoire as well as twentieth and twenty-first century works, in the past few seasons alone she has performed the Britten Concerto, Poul Ruders' Concerto No. 1, Steven Mackey's Violin Sonata, and Mendelssohn's rarely played d minor Concerto, along with standards such as the Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Berg Concerti. Ms. Frautschi has created a sensation with appearances as soloist with Pierre Boulez and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Christoph Eschenbach and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, and at Wigmore Hall and Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival. She has also soloed in recent seasons with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Cincinnati Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, San Diego Symphony, and Seattle Symphony. Selected by Carnegie Hall for its Distinctive Debuts series, she made her New York recital debut in 2004. As part of the European Concert Hall Organization's Rising Stars series, Ms. Frautschi also made debuts that year at ten of Europe's most celebrated concert venues, including London's Wigmore Hall, Salzburg Mozarteum, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna Konzerthaus, and La Cité de la Musique in Paris. She has also been heard in recital at the Ravinia Festival, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Washington's Phillips Collection, Boston's Gardner Museum, Beijing's Imperial Garden, Monnaie Opera in Brussels, La Chaux des Fonds in Switzerland, and San Miguel de Allende Festival in Mexico. Ms. Frautschi’s 2009-10 highlights include opening night with the Utah Symphony, as well as appearances with the Honolulu, Pasadena, and Toledo Symphonies, the Buffalo and Boulder Philharmonics, and the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Germany. She will tour England with musicians from Prussia Cove, culminating with a concert in London’s Wigmore Hall. She will also perform at Caramoor, Lincoln Center, the Boston Chamber Music Society, and in the inaugural season of the Ringling International Arts Festival in Sarasota, where she will premiere a new work by Mason Bates. Ms. Frautschi returns in the summer of 2009 to Chamber Music Northwest, the Newport Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Caramoor International Music Festival, where she has performed annually since André Previn first invited her there as a "Rising Star" in 1992. Ms. Frautschi's 2008-09 season included a three week tour of the U.S. with the Czech Symphony Orchestra, performing the Mendelssohn and Bruch Concerti; recital appearances in Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Detroit; a concert at Miller Theater in New York celebrating cellist Fred Sherry's 60th birthday with works by Schoenberg and Wuorinen; and chamber music festivals in Cyprus (The Pharo’s Trust) and the Czech Republic (Kutna Hora Festival). Her 2007-08 season included engagements at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw playing the Beethoven Concerto; as soloist with orchestras in Germany and Russia, and with the Florida Orchestra and Madison, Phoenix, San Antonio, Chautauqua, and Syracuse Symphonies; and a recital of all-Stravinsky works for violin and piano at Miller Theater's Stravinsky Festival. As a chamber artist, Ms. Frautschi has appeared at such festivals as the Charlottesville, La Jolla Summerfest, La Musica (Sarasota), Moab, Music@Menlo, Rome, Seattle, Spoleto (Italy), and St. Barth's (French West Indies) Chamber Music Festivals, as well as at New York’s Metropolitan and Guggenheim Museums of Art, the 92nd Street Y, and Mainly Mozart in San Diego. She has premiered important new works by Oliver Knussen, Krzystof Penderecki, Michael Hersch, and others, and has appeared at New York's George Crumb Festival and Stefan Wolpe Centenary Concerts. Formerly a member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two, she is a frequent guest at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Jennifer Frautschi (cont’d) Her growing discography includes three widely-praised CDs for Artek: an orchestral debut recording of the Prokofiev concerti with Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony, and highly-acclaimed discs of music of Ravel and Stravinsky, and of 20th century works for solo violin. She has also recorded several discs for Naxos, including a Grammy-nominated recording of Schoenberg's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, and the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, both conducted by the legendary Robert Craft; and forthcoming releases of the Schoenberg Third String Quartet (with the Fred Sherry String Quartet) and Stravinsky Duo Concertant (with pianist Jeremy Denk). Born in Pasadena, California, Ms. Frautschi began the violin at age three. She was a student of Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. She also attended Harvard, the New England Conservatory of Music, and The Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Mann. She performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the "ex-Cadiz," on generous loan to her from a private American foundation.
Hsin-Yun Huang Violist Hsin-Yun Huang, recognized as one of the leading violists of her generation, came to international prominence in 1993 when she was winner of the top prize of the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and the Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award. In 1988, Ms. Huang was the youngest-ever Gold Medalist of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition on the Isle of Man. These and other honors have propelled a career as soloist and chamber musician on stages of major concert halls throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East. Solo performances have included concerto appearances with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra in Munich, the Zagreb Soloists in Paris, the Tokyo Philharmonic in Tokyo, the Berlin Radio Symphony, the Russian State Philharmonic, and the Naumburg Orchestra in New York City’s Central Park. Ms. Huang is in constant demand in her native Taiwan, appearing with the National Symphony of Taiwan, and with the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra. Hsin-Yun Huang has performed at prominent music festivals throughout the world. In North America, these include the Spoleto Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, the Marlboro Music Festival, the Aspen Festival, Music@Menlo, the El Paso Chamber Music Festival, the La Jolla Summerfest, the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, the Appalachian Festival, the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, the Newport Festival, the Saltbay Chamberfest, La Musica in Sarasota and the Mount Desert Festival. International festivals have included Prussia Cove (England), the St. Nazaire, Festival de Divonne (France), Spring Festival (Prague), The Rome Chamber Music Festival (Italy) The Cartagena International Festival (South America) Stavanger Festival (Sweden) and the Moritzburg Festival (Germany) among many others. Ms. Huang has collaborated with many distinguished artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Jaime Laredo, Joshua Bell, Joseph Suk, Menahem Pressler, Joseph Silverstein, Gary Hoffman, and Michael Tree. Recent performances include collaborations with the Guarneri Quartet and a tour with the Orion String Quartet and the Bill T. Jones Dance Company under the auspices of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She has collaborated extensively with the Brentano String Quartet, including the recording and performance of the complete Mozart string quintets, with the first set of recitals presented by Carnegie Hall in Zankel Hall. Recent highlights include George Benjamins Viola Viola with violist Misha Amory for Carnegie Halls Making Music series at Zankel Hall in March 2007. Dalbavie Viola Concerto at Miller Theater in New York City and a part of Elliot Carter's Celebration of his 100th Birthday at Zankel Hall in Dec. 2008. Ms. Huang has recently embarked on a series of major commissioning projects for solo viola and chamber ensemble. In July 2006 she premiered a new work from Houston-based Taiwanese composer Shih-Hui Chen, Shu Shon Key (Remembrance) with the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble at An Appalachian Summer Festival in North Carolina. The work was co-commissioned by the festival along with Da Camera of Houston and the Chinese Performing Arts. The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra has commissioned a version of the work for solo viola and orchestra which received its world premiere in Taipei in 2008. A new work from Steven Mackey, also for solo viola and chamber ensemble, was premiered at the Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2007. Subsequent performances will include presentations by the Fulcrum Point New Music Project in Chicago, the La Jolla Summer Festival, Salt Bay Chamberfest and at Princeton University. Ms. Huang was a member of the Borromeo String Quartet from 1994-2000. With the Quartet, she performed in such prominent venues as New York Citys Alice Tully Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, Berlins Philharmonie, and Japans Casals Hall. In 1998 the Borromeo String Quartet was awarded the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, chosen by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to be members of Chamber Music Society Two, and featured in a Live from Lincoln Center telecast. She recently founded the Variation String Trio with violinist Jennifer Koh and cellist Wilhelmina Smith.
Hsin-Yun Huang came to England at the age of fourteen to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School with David Takeno. She continued her studies at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Michael Tree, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree, and at the Juilliard School with Samuel Rhodes, where she earned a Master of Music degree. Currently residing in New York City, she is a dedicated teacher, serving on the faculties of The Juilliard School and the Mannes College of Music.
Jesse Mills Grammy-nominated violinist Jesse Mills enjoys performing music of many genres, from classical to contemporary, as well as composed and improvised music of his own invention. In 2004, Mills made his professional concerto debut with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra conducted by Nicholas McGegan in a unique partnership with Salsa trombonist, Jimmy Bosch. This project combined a classical performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with Mills as violin soloist, and a Salsa band arrangement of the same piece, fronted by Bosch and Mills as improvising soloists. A successful performance at Ravinia led to bookings with the Phoenix, Colorado and Green Bay Symphonies for the 2005-2006 season. In past years Mills has performed as soloist with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, the Juilliard Pre-College Chamber Orchestra, the Teatro Argentino Orchestra in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the New Jersey Symphony, the Sarah Lawrence College Symphony, the Plainfield Symphony, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Aspen Music Festival’s Sinfonia Orchestra as winner of the Festival’s E. Nakamichi Violin Concerto Competition. As a chamber musician Jesse Mills has performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, New York City’s Merkin Concert Hall and Bargemusic, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Columbia University’s Miller Theater, Boston’s Gardener Museum, the Cooper Arts Series at Cooper Union, the Rising Stars series at Caramoor, the Ravinia Festival’s Bennett-Gordon Hall, and at the Marlboro Music Festival. He performed on the opening night of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s “A Great Day in New York” series with pianist/composer Peter Schickele, and this concert was broadcast live on WNYC 93.9 FM in New York. Mr. Mills is an avid performer of contemporary works. As a member of the FLUX Quartet from 2001-2003, he played in many concert halls around the world, performing music composed during the last 50 years. Among these concerts were 3 performances of Morton Feldman's String Quartet No. 3, a six-hour-long work of immense beauty. Mills has played extensively with renowned cellist, Fred Sherry, in works by Reich, Wuorinen, Schoenberg, and avant-garde composer and saxophonist, John Zorn. They have recorded Schoenberg’s String Quartet Concerto, String Quartet No.3, Ode to Napoleon, as well as various chamber works of Anton Webern for NAXO. In addition, they have released a recording of Zorn’s String Quartet, Necronomicon, on the Tzadik label. Mills is co-founder of Duo Prism, a violin-piano duo with Rieko Aizawa. He is also a member of Antares, an award-winning ensemble comprised of piano, violin, cello, and clarinet. Mills was an integral part of New Spirit – a new recording on the Verve label by jazz pianist, Makoto Ozone. In 2008, he collaborated with composer/jazz bassist Ben Wolfe on his latest CD, No Strangers Here, which was recently put out by the MaxJazz label. Jesse Mills began violin studies at the age of four. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School as a student of Robert Mann in 2001. He has previously studied with Christiane Pors, Naoko Tanaka and Itzhak Perlman.
Peter Wiley Cellist Peter Wiley joined the Guarneri String Quartet in 2000, succeeding his teacher and mentor, David Soyer. He is also a founding member of Opus One, collaborating with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, violinist Ida Kavafian, and violist Steven Tenenbom. Mr. Wiley was a member of the Beaux Arts Trio from 1987-1998. He has appeared at leading festivals throughout the world, including the Marlboro Music Festival, where Mr. Wiley continues his longstanding association dating back to 1971. In 1986, Mr. Wiley made his concerto debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York String Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Schneider. As a recitalist, he has appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Mr. Wiley entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age 13 as a pupil of David Soyer. At age 20, he was named principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra after having played one season with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Mr. Wiley currently serves on the faculties at Bard College, the University of Maryland and the Curtis Institute of Music.