Ettore Causa, viola; Boris Berman, piano

fa culty a rtis t s eri es

Ettore Causa viola

Boris Berman piano

morse recital hall November 30, 2011 • Wednesday at 8 pm Music by Brahms, Schumann, and Shostakovich

Robert Blocker, Dean

et tore causa violin & boris berm a n piano

November 30, 2011 • Sprague Memorial Hall • Faculty Artist Series

Robert Schumann 1810–1856

Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70

Dmitri Shostakovich 1906–1975

Viola Sonata, Op. 147 Moderato Allegretto Adagio

intermission

Johannes Brahms 1833–1897 arr. Berman/Causa

Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 Allegro non troppo Allegretto quasi minuetto Allegro

As a courtesy to the performers and audience, turn off cell phones and pagers. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.

About the Artists

Quartet. He has frequently been invited to prestigious chamber music festivals, where he has performed with internationally renowned musicians such as the Tokyo String Quartet, Pascal Rogé, Thomas Adès, Natalie Clein, Ana Chumachenco, Alberto and Antonio Lysy, Thomas Demenga, Anthony Marwood, Ulf Wallin, William Bennett, and others.

Italian-born violist Ettore Causa was awarded both the P. Schidlof Prize and the J. Barbirolli Prize for the most beautiful sound at the prestigious Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in England in 2000. He has since made solo and recital appearances in major venues around the world, including Victoria Hall (Geneva), Zurich Tonhalle, Madrid National Auditorium, Barcelona Auditorium, Salle Cortot (Paris), Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Tokyo Symphony Hall, and Osaka Symphony Hall. In addition, he has performed at numerous international festivals such as the Menuhin (Gstaad), Estoril (Portugal), Salzburg, Pontino (Italy), Tivoli (Copenhagen), Perth (Australia), Prussia Cove (England), Savonlinna (Finland), Norfolk (Connecticut), and Lanaudière (Canada).

A devoted chamber musician, Mr. Causa was a member of the Aria Quartet from 2004 to 2009 and currently plays in the Poseidon

Ettore Causa studied at the International Menuhin Music Academy with Alberto Lysy, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, and Johannes Eskar, and later at the Manhattan School of Music with Michael Tree. Upon completing his studies he was appointed first solo viola of the Carl Nielsen Philharmonic in Odense (Denmark) as well as leader of the Copenhagen Chamber Soloists. His first recording, featuring transcriptions of romantic music for viola and piano, was released in 2006 on the Claves label. It garnered overwhelming success and was crowned with the 5 Diapasons.

His new recording of the Brahms viola sonatas has been highly praised by critics worldwide.

Mr. Causa taught both viola and chamber music for many years at the International Menuhin Music Academy, and was appointed as an associate professor of viola at the Yale School of Music in September 2009. He performs on a viola made for him by Frédéric Chaudière in 2003.

About the Artists

Boris Berman has served on the faculties of Indiana (Bloomington), Boston, Brandeis, and Tel Aviv universities. A professor of piano at the Yale School of Music since 1984, he is now the coordinator of the piano department and director of the Horowitz Piano Series.

He conducts master classes throughout the world and is a frequent juror of national and international competitions. In 2005, he was named an honorary professor of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

The artistry of Boris Berman is well known to the audiences of close to fifty countries on six continents. His highly acclaimed performances have included appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Toronto Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Royal Scottish Orchestra. A frequent performer on major recital series, he has also appeared in important festivals such as Marlboro, Waterloo, Bergen, Israel, and Ravinia.

Born in Moscow, Boris Berman studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Lev Oborin. In 1973, he left a flourishing career in the Soviet Union to immigrate to Israel. He quickly established himself as a sought-after keyboard performer and an influential musical personality.

Mr. Berman’s acclaimed releases on the Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, and Melodia labels were followed by two CDs of all the piano sonatas by Alexander Scriabin (Music and Arts) and a recital of Shostakovich piano works (Ottavo), which received the Edison Classic Award in Holland. The first pianist to record the complete Prokofiev solo piano repertoire, Mr. Berman released it on nine Chandos CDs to great critical acclaim. Recent discs show the breadth of his repertoire: Debussy for Children (Ottavo); works for prepared piano by John Cage (Naxos; a BBC Music Magazine Top Recording); Shostakovich and Schnittke quintets with the Vermeer Quartet (Naxos; Grammy nomination); and Scott Joplin’s Ragtimes (Ottavo).

In 2000, Yale University Press published Berman’s Notes from the Pianist’s Bench, which has been translated into several languages. His book Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer followed in 2008. Mr. Berman is the editor of a new performance edition of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas, published by Shanghai Press.

Robert Blocker, Dean

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Yale Baroque Ensemble

december 1

december 4

Morse Recital Hall | Thursday | 8 pm Britten’s Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings; Walton’s A Song for the Lord Mayor’s Table and Façade: An Entertainment. With William Purvis, horn; Dann Coakwell, tenor; Janna Baty, mezzo-soprano; William Boughton, guest conductor; and John McDonough, narrator. Free Admission.

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Robert Blocker, Dean

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