Prometheus Ensemble, Mayuko Kamio, Wayward Sisters, James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong, Gabriele Baldocci, Anthony Molinaro
Event on 2012-09-09 13:30:00
Prometheus Ensemble
Resident chamber ensemble of the International Beethoven Project.
Mayuko Kamio
Japanese violinist Mayuko Kamio, the gold medalist of 2007 International Tchaikovsky Competition, is widely praised for her luxurious silken tone, long expressive phrasing and virtuoso techniques. Recent and future appearances include the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek, Munich Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta (South America tour), National Philharmonic of Russia under Vladimir Spivakov, Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer (Japan tour), Israel Philharmonic under Yaron Traub and Calgary Philharmonic under Roberto Minczuk. Recital highlights include Alice Tully Hall, Sala Verdi and Suntory Hall. Ms. Kamio made her concerto debut in Tokyo at the age of ten under the baton of Charles Dutoit, in a concert broadcast on NHK television. Since then, she has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart, the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich with Mstislav Rostropovich, the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. She has toured with the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Spivakov, the Prague Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic; and appeared in Japan as soloist with the Tokyo, NHK and Yomiuri Nippon symphony orchestras; and the Japan and Tokyo philharmonics. Mayuko Kamio has made recordings with Sony Classical International, Paganini/Caprices Op.1 and Tchaikovsky/Violin Concerto being her most recent releases. Ms. Kamio was born in Osaka, Japan in 1986, and began to play the violin at the age of four. Her early teachers were Chikako Satoya, Machie Oguri and Chihiro Kudo, and she worked with Koichiro Harada at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. Ms. Kamio studied in the U.S. with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki at the Aspen Music Festival and the pre-college division of The Juilliard School. She currently attends the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Zurich, where she works with Zakhar Bron. Ms. Kamio received a grant from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts. She is also a recipient of the prestigious Idemitsu Music Award and Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award. Her instrument is a 1727 Stradivarius, on loan from Suntory Holdings Limited.
Wayward Sisters
Wayward Sisters is Beth Wenstrom (baroque violin), Anne Timberlake (recorders), Anna Steinhoff (baroque cello), and John Lenti (theorbo and guitar). In 2011, Wayward Sisters won the Early Music America/Naxos recording competition, and will record their debut CD with Naxos during the 2011-2012 season. Critics have praised Wayward Sisters' "imaginative program and alert, stylish performances," as well as the group's "polished and spirited playing and well-balanced ensemble" (Chicago Classical Review). Since debuting in 2009, Wayward Sisters has excited and inspired audiences across the United States, including appearing as Emerging Artists on the Newberry Consort's 2010-2011 concert season. Members of Wayward Sisters have studied historical performance at Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, and The Juilliard School. The name "Wayward Sisters" refers not only to Henry Purcell's vivid conjuring of Shakespeare's witches, but to the group members' scattered lives and continuing commitment to making music together.
James Ehnes
Known for the ease of his virtuosity and thoughtful musicianship, violinist James Ehnes has performed in over 30 countries on five continents, appearing regularly with many of the world's most well-known orchestras and conductors. James maintains a challenging balance of concerto concerts, chamber music, and recitals throughout the season and has added two new roles to his repertoire: that of Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society and conductor. An avid chamber musician, he recently formed the Ehnes Quartet with violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, violist Richard O’Neill, and cellist Robert deMaine, which has already performed to enthusiastic audiences and critics in Seattle, Miami, Macon (Georgia) and Montreal. James Ehnes: In the 2012-2013 season James performs in Canada and the US, England, Spain, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Australia and New Zealand. In the UK James will be heard with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. As well, he undertakes a tour of Spain with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales performing both the Dvorak Violin Concerto and Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Performances of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 take him to Gothenberg, Sweden, Korngold’s Violin Concerto to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and the Elgar Violin Concerto to Hannover, Germany. Following an absence of several years, the spring of 2013 will see James returning to Australia and New Zealand for concerts in Adelaide and Auckland. While there, he will participate as a jury member for the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand. James’s North American dates feature his first tour to the far north of Canada with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, a concert in St. Louis and a US west coast tour with the St. Louis Symphony conducted by David Robertson, and a performance of Brahms Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra, led by Valery Gergiev in New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. He also appears in concert in Quebec City, Regina, Toronto, Montreal, Rochester, Madison, Costa Mesa (California), Seattle, San Francisco, Calgary, Naples, Portland, and Victoria. Recitals will take him to London (Ontario), Sarasota, Santa Monica, and to Toronto’s Koerner Hall where he will perform with baritone Russell Braun and pianist Carolyn Maule in a program featuring a new work by John Estacio. James recently added to his extensive discography of over 25 recordings with the release of two recordings of Bartok:Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 1 with Andrew Armstrong (first of a three-disc set) and Bartok’s two Violin Concertos and theViola Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda (Chandos) both of which have earned stellar reviews: “… I challenge any reader to name a version that is more moving or more beautifully played” (Gramophone) and “the appeal of his performances…goes beyond the fireworks produced by his hands to the ideas infused into the music by his vivid musical intelligence (Classical Review). Other recent releases include Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, Serenade Melancolique, Valse Scherzo, and Souvenir d’un lieu cher with the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy (Onyx) and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Octet (ONYX). His recordings have been honoured with many international awards and prizes, including a GRAMMY, a GRAMOPHONE, and 6 JUNO Awards. In 2009 he released a new recording of the repertoire that launched his recording career, Paganini’s 24 Caprices (ONYX), which he first recorded in 1995 for Telarc. His JUNO Award-winning release of HOMAGE (Onyx), a CD/DVD set featuring performances on 12 of the greatest violins and violas ever made, all belonging to the extraordinary Fulton Collection continues to garner exceptional reviews. Other recent releases include Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (Onyx) and a disc of works by Paul Schoenfield with pianist Andrew Russo (Black Box). James’s CD featuring the violin concertos of Korngold, Walton and Barber with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey conducting (CBC Records) was widely considered a highlight of 2006 and won the 2008 GRAMMY and JUNO Awards. In January 2006, he celebrated the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth with the release of a recording of Mozart's complete oeuvre for solo violin and orchestra. The five Violin Concertos and three single movement works– Adagio K 261, Rondo K 269, and Rondo K 373 – features an ensemble of extraordinary musicians which Ehnes gathered from around the world and directed himself (CBC Records) and has widely received top praise making it “a clear first choice in the field” (Classic FM). James Ehnes has recorded repertoire ranging from Bach Violin Sonatas to John Adams Road Movies. His CBC recordings with l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal of Max Bruch’s Concertos nos. 1 and 3 (with Charles Dutoit) and Concerto no. 2 with the Scottish Fantasy (with Mario Bernardi) won back-to-back JUNO Awards for Best Classical Recording. His Six Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin by Bach (Analekta) won both a JUNO Award and earned James the title of Young Artist of the Year at the Cannes Classical Awards. James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He began violin studies at the age of four, and at age nine became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and from 1993 to 1997 at The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation. Mr. Ehnes first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The following year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival, the youngest musician ever to do so. At age 13, he made his orchestral solo debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the first-ever Ivan Galamian Memorial Award, the Canada Council for the Arts’ prestigious Virginia Parker Prize, and a 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant. In October 2005, James was honoured by Brandon University with a Doctor of Music degree (honoris causa) and in July 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada. On July 1st 2010 the Governor General of Canada appointed James a Member of the Order of Canada, and in April 2012, the UK's Royal Academy of Music’s Governing Body awarded James an Honorary Membership (Hon RAM). James Ehnes plays the "Marsick" Stradivarius of 1715. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida with his wife Kate and daughter.
Andrew Armstrong
Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences around the world. He has performed solo recitals and appeared with orchestras in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, including performances at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Warsaw's National Philharmonic. He has performed with such conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak Perlman, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and in chamber music with the Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets, as a member of the Caramoor Virtuosi at the Caramoor International Music Festival, and as a member of the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York City. Armstrong’s future engagements reflect his steadily growing career, performing with major orchestras, including debuts with the Vancouver Symphony, Omaha Symphony and San Antonio Symphony during 2009/10. During the 2008/09 season, Armstrong is the soloist in Mozart’s Concerto K.488 at the Chautauqua Music Festival under the direction of Stefan Sanderling, before embracing Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with both the Fairfax Symphony (Gregory Vajda conducting) and the Nashville Symphony under Günther Herbig. He is also to appear with the Toledo, Fairfax, Augusta, Waukesha and Missoula symphonies, and overseas the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico. 2007/08 offered an array of engagements with the Florida Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Boise Philharmonic, and the symphonies of Tallahassee, Charlottesville, Stamford, Harrisburg, Bellevue and Ridgefield, among others. Last summer, he shared the stage with Jennifer Frautschi and Eward Arron to perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Peter Oundjian conducting. During the summer, he performed a pre-concert recital at the Mostly Mozart Festival. During his 2006/07 season, Armstrong performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the the Charleston Symphony, Saint-Saëns’ 5th Piano Concerto with the Monterey Symphony in a return engagement, Prokofiev No. 3 with the Bridgeport Symphony, and Mozart’s A-major Concerto K. 488 in his debut with the Columbus Symphony under the baton of Günther Herbig. He also played two concertos at the Peninsula Music Festival (the Chopin F minor Concerto and Prokofiev No. 3 under V. Yampolsky) and Rachmaninov’s massive Concerto No. 3 with the Brevard Symphony, Florida. Earlier in 2006 he was the featured soloist with Naumburg Concerts at New York City’s Central Park (Mozart’s Concerto K. 491). In 2004 he performed the World Premiere of Lisa Bielawa’s “The Right Weather” for piano solo and chamber orchestra with the American Composers Orchestra at the sold-out Carnegie Zankel Hall. Having performed over 35 concertos, Armstrong has impressed his international audiences with a large repertoire ranging from Bach to Babbit and beyond. Before beginning his career as a concert pianist, Armstrong received over 25 national and international First Prizes. In 1996, he was named Gilmore Young Artist. At the 1993 Van Cliburn Competition, where he was the youngest pianist entered, he received the Jury Discretionary Award. The New York Times wrote, "Armstrong may have been the most talented player in the competition….He's a real musician. We'll hear more from him." As the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported, Van Cliburn himself, "in a rare showing of enthusiasm for an individual competitor," called Mr. Armstrong "Fabulous! Fabulous!" Andrew Armstrong’s debut CD, featuring Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, was released in 2004 to critical acclaim. The critic Bradley Bolen opined: “I have heard few pianists play [Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata], recorded or in concert, with such dazzling clarity and confidence” (American Record Guide, Nov/Dec, 2004). His follow-up CD was issued in November 2007 on Cordelia Records and includes works by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, and the world premiere recording of Bielawa's Wait for piano & drone. Andrew Armstrong is devoted to outreach programs and playing for children. In addition to his many concerts, his performances are heard regularly on National Public Radio and WQXR, New York City's premier classical music station.
Gabriele Baldocci
Gabriele Baldocci was born in Livorno (Italy), where he started studying piano at the age of six with Ilio Barontini. He won several competition, and he gave concerts in the most important halls worldwide. Very active as a teacher, he is regularly invited to give Masterclasses and is Piano Professor at Potenza State Conservatory. In 2003 he was the winner of the Special Honorable Mention at the Second Martha Argerich Piano Competition in Buenos Aires, receiving enthusiastic appreciations from the legendary argentinan pianist, with whom he now often collaborates.In February 2008 he started his piano duo with Argerich and he had performed with her regularly since then. He gives concerts in Europe, America and Asia both as a soloist and with important orchestras. In 2009 he started a piano duet with the argentinian pianist Daniel Rivera, with whom he is going to release a recording of Russian music. Gabriele Baldocci is official Ambassador and Artistic Director of the Martha Argerich Presents Project in the world.
Anthony Molinaro
Since his victory at the 1997 Naumburg International Piano Competition in New York City, Anthony Molinaro's stunning performances and unique versatility have captivated audiences and critics alike. Acclaimed for his "edge-of-the-seat brilliance" and "musically imaginative mind," Mr. Molinaro's performances have taken him to major music centers throughout the country including Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York's Alice Tully Hall and Chicago’s Symphony Center. He has been featured on Ravinia's Rising Stars Series, The Young Artist Series at the Kravis Center, The Irving S. Gilmore Festival, The Charles Vanda Master Series in Las Vegas, and at The Santa Fe Jazz Festival, The Toronto Jazz Festival, The Grand Teton Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival among many others. He has appeared as guest soloist with nearly fifty symphony orchestras including the Arkansas, Boise, Lake Forest, Louisville, Napa Valley, Naples, Richmond, and Syracuse Symphony Orchestras. He has also performed with the Canton, Cape Cod, Eugene, Flint, Savannah and Catskill Symphonies as well as with the Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Jazz Orchestra and Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. Outside the U.S. Anthony has recently concertized in France, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Canada.
at The National Pastime Theater
941 W. Lawrence Ave, 4th floor
Chicago, United States
Prometheus Ensemble, Mayuko Kamio, Wayward Sisters, James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong, Gabriele Baldocci, Anthony Molinaro is a post from: Education Aid