Yale Collection of Musical Instruments presents
Ani Kavafian, violin Arthur Haas, harpsichord Wei-Yi Yang, piano
in a progam of music by Bach and Debussy
on the occasion of the opening of a special exhibit of the
Andrew F. P etryn Collection 15 Hillhouse Avenue New Haven 19 January 2016 5:30 p.m.
Upcoming performances in the 2015-2016 series February 14 - Lina Tur Bonet, violin 3:00 pm Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord March 6 - Alexei Lubimov, piano 3:00 pm April 10 - Smithsonian Chamber Players 3:00 pm Vera Beths, violin Nicholas Cords, viola Kenneth Slowik, violoncello Robert Nairn, double bass Charles Neidich, clarinet Dolminic Teresi, bassoon with William Purvis, horn
Special Performances February 17 5:30 pm
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Mark Kroll, harpsichord
Tickets should be ordered by telephone at the Yale School of Music box office at (203)432-4158 or over the Internet at: www.yale.edu/ music Tickets -
$25.00 each, reserved seating $20.00 each, senior citizens & Yale staff $10.00 each, students
Yale Collection of Musical Instruments 15 Hillhouse Avenue New Haven
19 January 2016 5:30pm presents
Ani Kavafian, violin Arthur Haas, harpsichord Wei-Yi Yang, piano in a progam of music by Bach and Debussy on the occasion of the opening of a special exhibit of the
Andrew F. Petryn Collection
J.S. Bach Violin Sonata in E Major, BWV 1016 (1685-1750) Adagio Allegro Adagio ma non tanto Allegro Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Sonata in G minor, L 140 (1917) Allegro vivo Intermède: Fantasque et léger Finale: Très animé
Violins by Andrea Guarneri (Cremona, 1676) and Nicolò Amati (Cremona, 1679) Bows by François Tourte Grand Piano by Erard Cie, (1881) Harpsichord by Titus Crijnen (1999) This concert is being recorded and streamed live over the internet. Please turn off all cellphones and electronic devices.
Andrew Frederick Petryn (1918-2013) A native New Havener, Andrew Petryn was the only son of European immigrants: his father, Frederick, was from Austria, and his mother, Helen, came from Poland. A brilliant student, he received notice as a youth for his precocity both as a violinist and as a painter. Graduating from New Haven High School, he received a scholarship to the Yale School of Art where he was awarded the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1943. He went for further training at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and at Harvard’s Fogg Museum. As a young man, Andrew took a position at the Yale Art Gallery in the conservation department, where he rose to the position of Chief Conservator. He gained a wide, and at times, controversial reputation in the art world for his advocacy of conservation, as opposed to restoration of art works that derived from his belief that restoration often was mistakenly undertaken with the illusory idea that a painting could be returned the appearance it had on the day it was completed. He believed that conservation, on the other hand, should attempt to demonstrate the unadulterated work of the artist, and faithfully to reveal and preserve to the extent possible the artist’s original intent. To attain that end, he became a pioneer in developing techniques grounded in physics, chemistry, and even electron microscopy. Although he opted for a career in the visual arts, Andy cultivated lifelong his love of music. An exceptionally talented violinist, he frequently enjoyed performing chamber music with Yale School of Music faculty members in informal soirees. His special knowledge and skills as an art conservator led him to develop a keen interest in the history and construction of the violin. He was a habitué of the ateliers of the leading violin maker/dealers in New York, often in the company of legendary figures in the violin world such as Heifetz, Milstein, Szigeti, and Francescatti at a time when their careers were at their apogees. A friend of the Collection’s former director, Richard Rephann, Andrew was a charter member of the museum’s Board of Advisors. In recognition of his long service on the Board as well as his generous donation of time and talent in restoring the 19th-century oil painting entitled “The Little Flute Player” that hangs in the director’s office, Andrew was named an Honorary Life Member of the Associates of the Collection in 2004.
The Andrew F. Petryn Collection This exhibit that opens this afternoon is comprised of examples from the personal collection of a musician and connoisseur. Formed over a period of five decades, it includes two violins by master makers from the glorious Cremonese school of luthiers; elegant examples of stringed instruments now ob-
solete: a pochette and a pardessus de viole; a quarter-size violoncello; and bows by the finest of the great French school of bow makers. Andrew’s background as an art conservator combined with his acumen as a musician led to his forming close relationships with master luthiers in New York string shops. He spent many days behind the scenes with such legendary figures as Rembert Wurlitzer, Simone Sacconi, Dario D’Attili, Jacques Français, and René Morel exchanging information about woods, varnishes, pigments, glues, etc., and their use. Over many years Andrew used whatever means he could muster on a university staff salary to buy the best instruments he could afford at the time and then “trade up” as funds would allow. He ended up with instruments that would be the envy of any violinist or collector in the world and enjoyed not just the pride of possession but also the supreme satisfaction of making music with them. The Petryn Collection is notable not only for its high quality but for its fine condition as well. Andrew, who was demanding as a musician and as a serious collector, cared for these objects with a true connoisseur’s devotion. In addition to the instruments themselves, Andrew bequeathed a copius archive of documentary information pertaining to the objects. Included are various certificates of authentication, correspondence regarding repairs and maintenance, and the fruits of his extensive researches into the provenance of the objects.
About the Performers Violinist Ani Kavafian enjoys a prolific career as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has performed with virtually all of America’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and many others. She is a renowned chamber musician, and has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1979. Her numerous solo recital engagements include performances at New York’s Carnegie and Alice Tully halls, as well as in major venues across the country. Ani Kavafian continues her association as an artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with a number of appearances in NYC and around the United States. She also serves as concertmistress of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, with whom she has recorded the Mozart Violin Concertos. She has participated in the Heifetz International Music Institute, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Norfok Chamber Music Festival, Great Lakes Festival, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire Festival.
Kavafian appears frequently with her sister, violinist and violist Ida Kavafian. Together they have performed with the symphonies of Detroit, Colorado, Tucson, San Antonio, and Cincinnati, and have recorded the music of Mozart and Sarasate on the Nonesuch label. They celebrated the 25th anniversary of their first performance together at Carnegie Hall in the fall of 2008 with a concert at Lincoln Center, which featured their students and colleagues. With violist Barbara Westphal and cellist Gustav Rivinius, she is a member of the Trio da Salo, and has teamed with clarinetist David Shifrin and pianist Andre-Michel Schub to form the Kavafian-Schub-Shifrin Trio, with whom she tours frequently as violinist and violist. Along with cellist, Carter Brey, she is co-artistic director of the New Jersey 5 concert chamber music series “Mostly Music.” Kavafian has premiered and recorded a number of works written for her, including Henri Lazarof ’s Divertimento for Violin and String Orchestra with the Seattle Symphony; Tod Machover’s concerto, Forever and Ever, for computerized violin and orchestra, with the Boston Modern; and Michelle Ekizian’s Red Harvest with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. In addition, Kavafian gave the west coast premiere of Aaron Kernis’ Double Concerto for Violin and Guitar, with Sharon Isbin and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Born in Istanbul, Turkey of Armenian heritage, Kavafian began piano lessons at the age of three. At age nine, in the United States, she began the study of the violin with Ara Zerounian and eventually with Mischa Mischakoff. She went on to study violin at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, eventually receiving a master’s degree with highest honors. Ms. Kavafian is Professor of Violin at Yale University. She plays the 1736 “Muir McKenzie Stradivarius violin. The American harpsichordist and organist Arthur Haas is internationally renowned as a gifted pedagogue and performer of Baroque and contemporary music. After receiving top prize in the 1975 Paris harpsichord competition, he performed at most major French early music festivals, including the Festival Estival de Paris, Mai Musical de Bordeaux, and the Festival de Saintes. He has also appeared as a soloist in the Festival de Saintes, Spectaculum (Vienna), Festwochen der alten Musik (Innsbruck), Festival di Ascona, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Mostly Mozart (New York), and the Berkeley Music Festival. His partners for duo recitals and concerts with early music specialists include Marius van Altena, Julianne Baird, James Bowman, Phoebe Carrai, William Christie, Alan Curtis, Bruce Dickey, Jan DeGaetani, Laurence Dreyfus, Paul
Leenhouts, Judith Nelson, Paul O’Dette, Stephen Preston, and Marion Verbruggen. Arthur Haas played the premiere performance of William Albright’s Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra in 1994. Currently he is a member of the Aulos Ensemble, Musical Assembly, and Collegium Atlantis. Praised by Le Monde for his interpretation of French keyboard music, he has recorded duo harpsichord music of Gaspard Le Roux with William Christie and solo CDs of music by Jean-Henri d’Anglebert, Forqueray, and harpsichord music of the English Restoration. Mr. Haas is a faculty member of summer early music institutes at Berkeley, Amherst, and the Longy School of Music.
Pianist Wei-Yi Yang has performed worldwide as soloist, recording artist, and chamber musician to critical acclaim. Winner of the gold medal in the San Antonio International Piano Competition, he has appeared on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and major venues across America, Asia, Europe and Australia. Most recently, he was praised by the New York Times in a “sensational” performance of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie at Carnegie Hall. Wei-Yi Yang’s performances have been featured on NPR, PBS, ARTE (Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne), and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company), and on recordings by Ovation, Albany Records, Renegade Classics, and the Holland-America Music Society. Mr. Yang is a frequent guest artist at the festivals of Novi Sad, Serbia; Monterrey, Mexico; Konstanz, Germany; Kotor, Montenegro; La Jolla and Napa, California; and Norfolk, Connecticut. A dedicated chamber musician, Wei-Yi Yang has collaborated with many distinguished musicians, including the Alexander, Brentano, Cassatt, Pacifica, and Tokyo String Quartets; mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; soprano Dawn Upshaw; clarinetists Richard Stoltzman and David Shifrin; violists Ettore Causa, Roberto Díaz, and Roger Tapping; and violinist Axel Strauss, among numerous others. With cellist Clive Greensmith, he performed Mendelssohn’s complete duos for cello and piano on the 1884 Erard Grand piano at the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments. His interest in interdisciplinary projects has led to a collaboration with English actress Miriam Margolyes as part of the “Dickens’ Women” world tour; lecture/recitals on the confluence of music and literature in Czech culture as seen through works by Janácek and Kundera; and multimedia performances
Born in Taiwan of Chinese and Japanese heritage, Mr. Yang studied first in the United Kingdom, and then in America with renowned Russian pianists, Arkady Aronov at the Manhattan School of Music and Boris Berman at Yale. Mr. Yang has also worked with eminent pianists Claude Frank, Peter Frankl, Vera Gornostaeva, Hans Graf, Byron Janis, Lilian Kallir, and Murray Perahia. He is a founding member of the Soyulla Ensemble, who received the prestigious McKnight Fellowship, and recently made its debut at Alice Tully Hall and toured Korea. In demand as a committed teacher, Wei-Yi Yang has presented master classes and performances in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Mexico, Serbia, and Montenegro. He has adjudicated at the Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial Competition, the San Antonio International Piano Competition, and the Concert Artists Guild auditions. In 2004, he received his doctorate from Yale, where he joined the faculty in 2005, and serves as Associate Professor of Piano, Chair of DMA committee, and a Jonathan Edwards Fellow.
Cover Portrait of Andrew Petryn Drawing by Deane Keller, 1967
This concert is made possible by the generous support of the Associate Members of the Collection.