Faculty Artist Series: Ettore Causa

Ettore Causa » viola

with

Ryo Yanagitani, piano

faculty artist series · march 2, 2010 · 8:00 pm

johannes brahms

Six Songs for viola and piano

(1833-1897)

arr. Ettore Causa

Wie Melodien zieht es mir, Op. 105, no. 1 Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer, Op. 105, no. 2 Feldeinsamkeit, Op. 86, no. 2 Verzagen, Op. 72, no. 4 Meerfahrt, Op. 96, no. 4 Ich wandte mich und sahe, Op. 121, no. 2

krzsyztof penderecki Cadenza for solo viola (b. 1933)

benjamin britten (1913-1976)

Lachrymae Reflections on a song of Dowland Intermission

sergei rachmaninov (1873-1943) arr. Vadim Borisovsky

Sonata for cello and piano, Op. 16 Lento – Allegro moderato Allegro scherzando Andante Allegro mosso

As a courtesy to others, please silence all cell phones and devices. Photography of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.

Robert Blocker, Dean

Ettore Causa » viola

Ettore Causa studied at the International Menuhin Music Academy with Alberto Lysy, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, and Johannes Eskar, as well as with Michael Tree at the Manhattan School of Music. Upon completing his studies, Ettore Causa was appointed First Solo Viola of the Carl Nielsen Philharmonic in Odense (Denmark) and became the leader of the Copenhagen Chamber Soloists.

In 2000, he was awarded both the Peter Schidlof Prize and the John Barbirolli Prize for the most beautiful sound at the prestigious Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in England. He has since made solo and recital appearances in major venues around the world, performing in such important halls as Victoria Hall (Geneva), Zurich Tonhalle, Madrid National Auditorium, Barcelona Auditorium, Salle Cortot (Paris), Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Tokyo and Osaka Symphony Hall, and MSM Auditorium (New York). He has played at major festivals including the Menuhin Festival (Gstaad), Festival de Estoril (Portugal), Salzburg Festival, Festival del Pontino (Italy), Tivoli Festival (Copenhagen), Festival of Perth (Australia), Prussia Cove (England), Savonlinna (Finland), and Lanaudiere (Canada).

Particularly devoted to chamber music, he is regularly invited to prestigious chamber music festivals where he plays with renowned colleagues such as Pascal Rogé, Thomas Adès, Natalie Clein, Alberto and Antonio Lysy, Jeremy Menuhin, Anthony Marwood, Ani Kavafian, Ulf Wallin, William Bennett, and others. Since 2004 he has been a member of the Aria Quartet, which has made its name as one of the leading ensembles on the Swiss chamber music scene and with whom he performs regularly in Switzerland and abroad.

In 2001 Ettore Causa was appointed professor of both viola and chamber music at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland. He is regularly invited to give master classes in Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Argentina. He joined the Yale faculty in 2009.

Released in 2006 and featuring transcriptions of romantic music for viola and piano, his first recording for Claves Records was an overwhelming success and was crowned with the 5 Diapason. A new recording (also on Claves) featuring the Brahms viola sonatas has been highly praised by critics worldwide.

Ettore plays on a viola made for him by Frederic Chaudiere in 2003.

Ryo Yanagitani » piano

Ryo Yanagitani has distinguished himself as one of Canada’s most promising young concert artists. His most recent success was winning the gold medal at the 10th San Antonio International Piano Competition, where he was also given special recognition for a performance of the complete Chopin Ballades.

Among other honors, he is also the grand prize winner of the Hugo Kauder International Piano Competition and a laureate of the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition, the Dr. Luis Sigall International Piano competition in Vina del Mar (Chile), and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Ryo has made concerto appearances with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Metropolitan Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and the Moroccan Symphony Orchestra, among others. In the 2010-11 season, he will perform concerti with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra and the Kerrville Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to many solo recitals, he has been in demand as a chamber musician in a wide range of settings, from the duo sonata repertoire to large ensembles. His most recent collaboration with flutist Ransom Wilson has taken him to Moscow for performances of Canadian and American music.

He is an active member of the Musique a la Mode chamber ensemble in New York, specializing in the performance of new music and unusual works seldom heard in public. Ryo Yanagitani is the pianist of Duo Chrysalis, with cellist Jacques Lee Wood. In the upcoming season, their collaboration will take them on a tour of performances across the United States and Korea.

A recipient of many scholarships and awards, Ryo has been endowed twice by the Canadian Arts Council with a grant as an Emerging Artist and has received the Arthur Foote Scholarship from the Harvard Musical Association.

He is an artist-in-residence of the Maxwell Shepherd Fund of Connecticut, and a pianist of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation. Ryo is increasingly recognized not only as a performer but also a pedagogue, and is frequently asked to adjudicate competitions and conduct masterclasses.

Ryo Yanagitani received his Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts degrees from the Yale School of Music under Boris Berman, a bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia under Henri-Paul Sicsic, and an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute under Sergei Babayan.

upcom ing ev ents

http://music.yale.edu MAR 04 New Music New Haven 8 pm | Thu | Morse Recital Hall | Free Aaron Jay Kernis (featured faculty composer): Still Movement with Hymn; Jack Vees: Party Talk (rescheduled from November); and music by graduate composers Reena Esmail, Polina Nazaykinskaya, and Richard Harrold.

MAR 26

Elizabeth Parisot & Kyung Hak Yu 8 pm | Fri | Morse Recital Hall | Free The Faculty Artist Series presents Kyung Hak Yu, violin, and Elizabeth Parisot, piano, performing Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat major, k. 454; Franck’s Sonata for violin and piano; and Mendelssohn’s Trio in D minor, Op. 49, with cellist Ole Akahoshi.

MAR 28

Yale Baroque Ensemble 4 pm | Sun | Morse Recital Hall | Free Les Goûts-Réünis: The Yale Baroque Ensemble plays sonatas of the French and Italian High Baroque.

Robert Mealy, director.

MAR 31

Boris Berman, piano 8 pm | Wed | Morse Recital Hall Tickets $11-$20, Students $6 The Horowitz Piano Series presents the internationally acclaimed faculty pianist Boris Berman in a recital of Debussy’s 24 Preludes.

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operations Tara Deming Christopher Melillo

concerts & media Vincent Oneppo Dana Astmann Monica Ong Reed Danielle Heller Elizabeth Martignetti

piano curators Brian Daley William Harold recording studio Eugene Kimball Jason Robins