Joel Wizansky and Friends

Joel Wizansky piano

with

Victor Fournelle-Blain, violin Isabella Mensz, viola Yan Levionnois, cello

Music of Bartók, Brahms, and Fauré February 13, 2014 • Morse Recital Hall

Robert Blocker, Dean

Joel Wizansky and Friends Thursday, February 13, 2014 • 8:00 pm • Morse Recital Hall

Johannes Brahms 1833—1897

16 Waltzes for piano, Op. 39

Béla Bartók 1881—1945

Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano, Sz. 75 I. Allegro appassionato II. Adagio III. Allegro molto Victor Fournelle-Blain, violin

intermission

Gabriel Fauré 1845—1924

Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15 I. Allegro molto moderato II. Scherzo: Allegro vivo III. Adagio IV. Allegro molto Victor Fournelle-Blain, violin Isabella Mensz, viola Yan Levionnois, cello

As a courtesy to the performers and audience, please silence all electronic devices.

Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.

Artist Profiles

Pianist Joel Wizansky has been acclaimed by audiences and musicians alike for his combination of fiery pianism and probing musicianship.

Since making his debut with the San Francisco Symphony at the age of 17, he has performed frequently in recital and with orchestras across the United States, in Europe and in Asia. Among his numerous awards are first prize in the Helen Hart International Piano Competition and fifth prize in the prestigious Marguerite Long International Competition. He is also a noted chamber musician and collaborator, and has appeared in duo recitals at such venues as Weill Recital Hall in New York, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and the Seoul Arts Center in Korea. His recordings include the complete violin and piano works of Benjamin Lees, and a solo disc, A Brahms Recital. Mr. Wizansky is a graduate of the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Leonard Shure, and earned the Artist Diploma as a student of Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory, where he has also served as Adjunct Piano Faculty. He is currently a staff pianist at the Yale School of Music.

Canadian violinist Victor Fournelle-Blain received his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music as a student of Ani Kavafian. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma in violin and viola with André Roy at McGill University in Montreal, where he is also a charter member of the Parcival Project String Quartet. Winner of the Prix d’Europe 2012 and awards from the OSM Standard Life Competition and Canadian Music Competition, he has appeared as soloist with Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières, and Orchestre des Jeunes de Montréal.

A native of New Haven, violist Isabella Mensz holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory

and New England Conservatory, and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Yale School of Music. In addition to regular appearances throughout New York and New England, she has performed internationally in Austria, the Netherlands, and Poland, and at the Aspen, Norfolk, Prussia Cove, and Holland Music Sessions festivals. Her principal teachers are Ettore Causa, Victoria Chiang, Garth Knox, Kim Kashkashian, and Dimitri Murrath.

French cellist Yan Levionnois, first prize winner in the André Navarra and In Memoriam Rostropovich international competitions, was nominated in 2011 as a “solo instrumentalist rising star” at the prestigious national award ceremony Victoires de la Musique. He has appeared as soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsovia, and the Orchestre National de France, as well as in recitals and festivals throughout France, and in the duo Les Pierrots Lunaires with violinist Mélanie Clapiès. His first solo CD, Cello Solo, was released in 2013, receiving a ffff rating from the French journal Télérama. His discography also includes the Rachmaninov Second Elegiac Trio with Renaud Capuçon and Denis Kozhukhin, recorded live in Lugano, for EMI classics. Mr. Levionnois plays a cello made for him in 2005 by Patrick Robin.

Upcoming Events

La Bohème

Guitar Extravaganza

february 14–16 Fri & Sat, 8 pm| Sun, 2 pm | Shubert Theater Yale Opera A new production of Puccini’s beloved classic, La Bohème. Giuseppe Grazioli conducts, and Michael Gieleta is the stage director.

With the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale.

Tickets $19–50, Students $13, available at the Shubert Theater Box Office, 247 College St. www.shubert.com • 203 562-5666

february 22 Special Events All Day | Sprague Hall & Sudler Hall Concerts, talks, master classes, workshops, and more. Benjamin Verdery, artistic director.

Guest artists include David Tanenbaum, René Izquierdo, Elina Chekan, Van Stiefel, and Sergio Sorrentino, among others. For the full schedule, visit: music.yale.edu/concerts/guitar-extravaganza

Artis Quartet

Yale Percussion Group

february 18 Oneppo Chamber Music Series Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 8 pm Quartets by Mozart, Zemlinsky, and Brahms.

Tickets start at $35 · Students $12

february 23 YSM Student Ensembles Morse Recital Hall | Sunday | 8 pm Robert van Sice, director.

Free Admission

Peter Frankl, Wei-Yi Yang, and Boris Berman

Conducting Fellows

february 19 Horowitz Piano Series Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Music of Brahms and Schumann for piano four hands and two pianos, including Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56b, and Sonata in F minor, Op. 34b.

Tickets start at $12 · Students $6

february 28 Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale Morse Recital Hall | Friday | 5 pm With Jonathan Brandani and Louis Lohraseb, conductors. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, “Eroica”; Copland: Music for the Theater; Wagner: Siegfried Idyll.

Free Admission

Concert Programs & Box Office: Krista Johnson, Carol Jackson Communications: Dana Astmann, Monica Ong Reed, Austin Kase Operations: Tara Deming, Chris Melillo Piano Curators: Brian Daley, William Harold Recording Studio: Eugene Kimball P.O. Box 208246, New Haven, CT · 203 432-4158

music.yale.edu

Robert Blocker, Dean