Sharing the stage at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall
are two winners of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions

Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts
Presents
Pianist Chu-Fang Huang
and Double Bassist DaXun Zhang
With collaborative pianist Tomoko Kashiwagi

Sat. January 10, 2009, 8 p.m.
NEC's Jordan Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
 

DaXun Zhang, double bass

"If the bass is finally to produce a headliner, the instrument can have no better champion," wrote The Washington Post of double bassist Daxun Zhang [張達尋], who has indeed made his mark as a soloist on this unusual instrument.

In April 2007, Mr. Zhang won an Avery Fisher Career Grant, only the second double bassist in the history of this prestigious award. This summer he was invited by cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han to participate in the chamber music festival Music@Menlo in California and performs Schubert’s "Trout" Quintet at the Indiana University Summer Chamber Music Series. During the 2007-2008 season he continues his residency with Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two, and performs with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project in a series of concerts and cultural exchanges in China. He performs as soloist with the University of Northern Colorado Symphony and gives recitals at Indiana University, Rodef Shalom Congregation (PA), and McCain Performances (KS).

Mr. Zhang has performed extensively with the Silk Road Project, including concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall, and in Japan and California. With Mr. Ma he recorded the soundtrack to a 10-part documentary series on the Silk Road, which aired in Japan on NHK Television. The CD was released as "Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon" on Sony Classical. He has also joined with fellow Silk Road musician and pipa player Yang Wei and pianist Tomoko Kashiwagi to form the innovative chamber ensemble Qi Lin.

As concerto soloist, Mr. Zhang has appeared with orchestras including Orange County’s Pacific Symphony, the Monroe Symphony Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra. He has given recitals at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, the University of Georgia, Missouri State University, and at the Chinese Embassy in the Embassy Series in Washington, DC. He has also performed chamber music at the La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, the Linton Chamber Music Series in Cincinnati, the Strings in the Mountains Music Festival and the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival.

DaXun Zhang is the first double bass player to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and start a career under the auspices of Young Concert Artists. He made his New York debut sponsored by the Claire Tow Prize and his Washington, DC debut as a co-presentation with Washington Performing Arts Society. He also won the La Jolla Music Society Prize, the Orchestra New England Soloist Prize, and The Fergus Prize. In April 2006, Mr. Zhang performed Bizet’s Carmen Fantasy in at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall with Keith Lockhart conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

DaXun Zhang comes from a family of bassists in Harbin[哈尔滨], China. He has been playing the instrument since the age of nine, and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing[北京中央音乐学院] beginning at the age of eleven. He continued his studies in the U.S. at the Interlochen Arts Academy and received his Bachelor of Music at the Indiana University School of Music, where he worked with Lawrence Hurst. He has served on the faculty of Northwestern University and was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Double Bass at the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Zhang was the first double bassist ever to win First Prize in the 2003 WAMSO (Women's Auxiliary of the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra) competition, leading to a performance with the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra with Osmo Vanska, conducting. In 2001, Mr. Zhang was the youngest artist ever to win the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. He has also received the Grand Prize of the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition.

低音提琴手張達尋出生在哈爾濱的一個音樂家庭。從三歲就開始學鋼琴, 四歲的時候學小提琴, 七歲的時候拉大提琴, 從九歲的時候開始學習低音提琴。張達尋十歲離鄉進入北京中央音樂學院附中, 十六歲考入美國密西根州藝術高中, 隨後就讀印第安那大學音樂學院, 師從勞倫斯・赫斯特(Lawrence Hurst), 專攻低音提琴的演奏。並在四年級時受聘為芝加哥大學音樂學院聘低音提琴教師。

2003年張達尋獲得美國"青年音樂家獎"(The Young Concert Artists International Auditions), 為該獎項成立44年來首位以低音提琴得獎的演奏家。2005年3月張達尋在華盛頓甘迺迪中心的獨奏音樂會, 以其饒富感情、極具詩意、引人入勝的細膩與優雅, 自然而然地駕馭並超越低音他提琴技巧上的先天限制, 讓華盛頓郵報的樂評倍感驚喜, 譽之為「無人能出其右的低音大提琴冠軍」。同年12月張達尋應中國駐美大使館文化處及使館系列音樂會組織的邀請, 於使館大廳舉辦了「張達尋低音提琴獨奏音樂會」。2007年張達尋獲頒聲譽卓著Avery Fisher Career Grant。

近年來, 張達尋除繼續成為林肯中心的室內樂協會的一員, 亦經常與美國各地樂團合作演出, 並受邀於博物館、大使館、大學中演出。他同時也是馬友友一系列絲路演出計畫中的一員, 隨著馬友友於中國大陸舉行音樂會與文化交流, 並同為著日本電視台NHK八十週年的一套十集絲綢之路節目作配樂。張達尋目前為德州大學奧斯汀分校低音大琴的助理教授。今年(2008) 11月張達尋受知名鋼琴家郎朗的邀請, 與二胡演奏家果敢、琵琶大師楊唯, 於芝加哥交響音樂廳, 攜手推出一場中國風味濃厚的音樂會。上千中外樂迷, 同享中西樂器結合的獨特樂音, 四位音樂家的完美演出, 贏得全場觀眾如雷的掌聲。

張達尋被譽為進入二十一世紀難得的頂尖華人低音大提琴獨奏家, 由他演奏的《流浪者之歌》、《卡門主題幻想曲》之類小提琴炫技名曲, 令人由衷讚歎低音提琴這一樂器的獨奏性能幾乎完全可以和最炫技的小提琴媲美。

Pianist Tomoko Kashiwagi has been actively performing as collaborative and chamber music pianist for many years. She was the staff pianist at University of Texas-Austin as well as the Interlochen Arts Camp and the piano faculty/coach at the Ithaca College Suzuki Institute. She received intensive training on chamber music at the renowned Kent/Blossom Music Festival where she was a full scholarship recipient in 2003. Kashiwagi has performed across the country and internationally with the double bass soloist DaXun Zhang including such prestigious venues as the 92nd St. Y in New York, the Gardner Museum in Boston and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

A native of Japan, she began her piano studies at the age of 6. She completed her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Performer Diploma in Piano Performance at Indiana University. Currently, Kashiwagi is pursuing Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Collaborative Piano with Professor Anne Epperson at the University of Texas-Austin.
 
來自日本的鋼琴家 Tomoko Kashiwagi 於美國印第安那大學取得鋼琴演奏碩士學位與藝術家文憑, 她多年來致力於伴奏與室內樂的演出。她目前除於德州大學奧斯汀分校攻讀博士外, 並於該校擔任鋼琴教師, 同時也於 Interlochen Arts Camp 教授鋼琴、另指導Ithaca College Suzuki Institute. Kashiwagi 長年隨著低大琴家張達尋於國內外演出, 曾經於許多知名的地點演出, 包括紐約的92nd St. Y 、波士頓的Gardner 博物館及華盛頓的甘迺迪中心(the Kennedy Center)。 
 

Chu-Fang Huang, pianist

Chinese pianist Chu-Fang Huang [黃楚芳]’s extensive orchestral and recital appearances throughout the U.S. and abroad have elicited enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics alike, leading The Birmingham News to declare, "Clarity, poise, lucid phrasing and dead-on technique were in abundance at the electrically charged recital."

Ms. Huang’s busy 2008-2009 season includes concerto performances with the Illinois, Fort Smith (AR), Wichita Falls (TX), Stockton (CA), Southwest Michigan, Maryland, Colgate University and Longview (TX) symphony orchestras and the Bellevue Philharmonic (WA). She also gives recitals at the Louvre Museum in Paris, and in the U.S. with the Green Lake Festival of Music (WI), Strings in the Mountains Music Festival (CO), Fredericksburg Festival of the Arts (MD), Northeast Kingdom Classical Series (VT), Paramount Theatre (MN), University of Minnesota Morris, Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts (MA), East Carolina University (NC) and Pro Arte Musical in Puerto Rico.

In April 2007, Ms. Huang performed Grieg’s Concerto in A minor in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in YCA’s gala Irene Diamond Concert and made her Kennedy Center debut in the Young Concert Artists Series. She has appeared as soloist in the U.S. with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Fort Worth, Springfield (MO), Flagstaff, Florida West Coast, Fargo-Moorhead, Bakersfield, Charleston, Hilton Head, Mid-Texas, Fort Collins, and Orange County’s Pacific Symphonies and the Boise Philharmonic; in Canada she has soloed with the Victoria Symphony, in Australia with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra, and in China with the Shenzhen and Liaoning Philharmonics. She has performed at festivals including the 2008 Young Concert Artists Festival Week at Nexus Hall in Tokyo, the Honest Brook and Bard Music Festivals in New York, and on tour with Charles Wadsworth and Friends.

Ms. Huang made her Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall in November 2005. She has given recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Fort Worth, and Palm Beach. In Europe, she has been re-engaged three times at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and twice at the Klavier Festival Ruhr in Germany. She has also performed at the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Beijing Zhongshang Concert Hall[北京中山音乐堂] and Liaoning Grand Opera House[辽宁歌剧院] in China.

As First Prize winner of the 2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition and a finalist in the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas in 2005, Ms. Huang has made concert appearances throughout the U.S. She has recorded a CD, soon to be released on the Naxos label, as part of her Cleveland Competition prize. She won the 2006 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and was also awarded the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Slomovic Orchestra Soloist Prize, the Embassy Series Prize, the Lied Center of Kansas Prize, and the Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists, and holds the Mortimer Levitt Piano Chair of YCA.

Ms. Huang began studying the piano at the age of seven and received a full scholarship to the Shenyang Music Conservatory[沈阳音乐学院]’s pre-college division at the age of 12. She made her U.S. recital debut at the age of 15 in the La Jolla Music Society’s Prodigy Series. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Claude Frank, and her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, as a student of Robert McDonald. She currently resides in New York City and is in the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at Juilliard.

被譽為「中國的Argerich」的鋼琴家黃楚芳與屢獲音樂大獎的低音大提琴獨奏家張達尋, 應中華表演藝術基金會的邀請, 將於1月10日晚間八時假紐英崙音樂學院喬登廳(Jordan Hall)演出。兩位年輕的音樂家都是國際青年藝術家比賽 (The Young Concert Artists International Auditions) 的得主, 為當今樂壇備受矚目的新星。兩位音樂家將分上下半場分別演出, 精彩可期的節目, 不容錯過。

鋼琴家黃楚芳來自中國瀋陽, 七歲開始學習鋼琴, 十歲時便已獲得無數鋼琴比賽的獎項。1998年進入世界著名的費城寇蒂斯音樂學院(Curtis Institute of Music), 師從Claude Frank教授。" 2004年她以"寇蒂斯最傑出的優秀學生"的榮譽取得了鋼琴演奏學士學位, 並以全額獎學金進入了茱莉亞音樂學院深造, 師從鋼琴家Robert McDonald。2006年黃楚芳以贏得朱麗亞音樂學院最優秀畢業生"阿圖爾魯賓斯坦大師獎"取得碩士學位, 目前仍於朱麗亞音樂學院攻讀藝術家文憑。

黃楚芳獲獎曾獲國際青年藝術家比賽 (The Young Concert Artists International Auditions) 第一名、希爾頓國際鋼琴比賽(The Hilton Head International Piano Competition)第一名。2005年黃楚芳進入Van Cliburn鋼琴大賽決賽, 隨後並贏得了當今世界獎金最高（美金 54,000 元）的Cleveland piano Competition 第一名, 同時獲得 Beethoven 和 Chopin 作品演奏最佳詮釋獎, 並獲得 NAXOS 公司的唱片邀約, 以及未來三年近百場巡迴演出的合約。

著名鋼琴家範．克萊本稱她為"今日少見的集技巧與音樂為一身的年輕人"；耶魯大學教授、寇蒂斯音樂學院教授克勞迪弗朗克在黃楚芳的學士畢業典禮中說："…楚芳在音樂上的造詣已超出我所能教給她的範圍了…"；日本音樂界權威中村弘子更為她的才華所驚訝, 並立即邀請她到日本文化部舉辦的"世界百位鋼琴家"音樂會系列中, 繼齊莫爾曼、普來特涅夫、阿斯肯納其和佩拉西亞等知名鋼琴家之後舉辦個人音樂會。 音樂界、報界和輿論界對她的高度評價使她在國際上受到了注意力, 除了已在全美50個州的演出外, 她還在法國MIDEM 國際音樂節演出過, 在日本、韓國和馬來西亞也舉行了個人巡迴演出, 並3次受荷蘭國際音樂節的邀請在阿姆斯特丹皇家音樂廳演出。

黃楚芳在紐約林肯中心舉行個人演奏會後, 紐約時報評論道："…黃楚芳的演奏有著驚人的彈性, 加之她堅固的技巧和對作品成熟的個人理解使她理所當然的在克利夫蘭獲得金獎。" 芝加哥日報評論家John von Rhein 在評論中稱黃楚芳的李斯特B小調奏鳴曲"我所聽過此曲的最佳詮釋之一。"伯明罕日報評論道："線條清晰, 詮釋精準, 每一個演奏出來的音符, 都是經過審慎的思慮與權衡。完美的技術, 連機器都相形失色……她無疑是中國的 Argerich ！德國的今日音樂雜誌稱黃楚芳為"中國的Argerich"。美國最權威的《華盛頓郵報》評論到："格裏格鋼琴協奏曲中的主奏者黃楚芳, 已是世界各大比賽中的常勝將軍。 "