~Program~

Leo Weiner (1885-1960)
String Trio in G minor, Op. 6
I. Allegro con brio
II. Vivace
III. Andantino
IV. Allegro con fuoco
(24’)

Paul Wiancko (1983-)
A Sanguine Clockwork
(9’)

Gideon Klein (1919-1945)
String Trio
I. Allegro
II. Variations on a Moravian Folksong: Lento
III. Molto vivace
(14’)

~Intermission~

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Divertimento in E-flat major, K. 563
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Menuetto
IV. Andante
V. Menuetto
VI. Allegro
(45’)


 

Stella Chen, violinist
First Prize, 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition
https://stellachen.com

2021/2022 authorized by artist management.

"Her performance sounded fresh and spontaneous, yet emotionally profound and intellectually well-structured." -The Jerusalem Post

"Stella Chen looks to tell a story and does it with beautiful nuances and beautiful intentions." -Le Soir(translated from French)

Praised for her "phenomenal maturity" and "fresh and spontaneous, yet emotionally profound and intellectually well-structured performance" (Jerusalem Post), American violinist Stella Chen garnered worldwide attention with her first-prize win at the 2019 Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition, followed by the 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant and 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award.

Following debuts with the Chicago Symphony and Chamber Orchestra of Europe in summer 2021, her auspicious 2021-22 season sees her recital debut at Carnegie Hall and recital, concerto, and chamber music appearances throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, including debuts with Kremerata Baltica, German State Philharmonic, and New Japan Philharmonic, as well as appearances with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both in New York and on tour. 

Stella’s most recent engagements include appearances with the Belgian National Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic and the Luxembourg Philharmonic and at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, Salzburg Mozarteum, Ravinia, and Kronberg Academy Festivals. Stella has appeared as a chamber musician in festivals including the Perlman Music Program, Music@Menlo, the Sarasota Festival, and YellowBarn.

She is the first recipient of the Robert Levin Award from Harvard University, the top prize winner of the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition and youngest ever prize winner of the Menuhin Competition. Stella plays on the 1700 ex-Petri Stradivarius, on generous loan from Dr. Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.

Matthew Lipman, viola

American violist Matthew Lipman has been praised by the New York Times for his “rich tone and elegant phrasing,” and by the Chicago Tribune for a “splendid technique and musical sensitivity.” Lipman has come to be relied on as one of the leading players of his generation, frequently appearing as both a soloist and chamber music performer.

Lipman will debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at the Rheingau Music Festival in the summer of 2021. Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the Juilliard Orchestra. Lipman has worked with conductors including Edward Gardner, the late Sir Neville Marriner, Osmo Vänskä, and Nicholas McGegan. Lipman was a featured performer with fellow violist Tabea Zimmermann at Michael Tilson Thomas’s 2019 Viola Visions Festival of the New World Symphony in Miami. His recent debuts include at the Aspen Music Festival, Seoul’s Kumho Art Hall, Wigmore Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and in recital at Carnegie Hall.

Ascent, his 2019 release by Cedille Records, was celebrated by The Strad as a “most impressive” debut album while Lipman is praised for his “authoritative phrasing and attractive sound.” The album marks the first ever recording of the recently discovered work by Shostakovich, Impromptu for viola and piano and of Clarice Assad’s Metamorfose for viola and piano, which Lipman commissioned for the recording. He has also been featured on the recording of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with violinist Rachel Barton Pine and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by the late Sir Neville Marriner. The album topped Billboard’s Classical Chart and has received praise by both the press and public.

Named the 2019 Artist-in-Residence for the American Viola Society, Lipman has additionally been featured on WFMT Chicago’s list “30 Under 30” of the world’s top classical musicians, and is a published contributor to The Strad, Strings and BBC Music magazines. He was featured on the second season of PBS’s ‘Now Hear This’ performing Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata with pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen. He performs regularly on tour and at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at music festivals including the Morizburg Festival, St. Petersburg’s White Nights, Music@Menlo, Marlboro, Ravinia, Bridgehampton, Seattle, Saratoga, and Kissinger Sommer festivals. His regular chamber music partners include Tabea Zimmermann, Mitsuko Uchida, Itzhak Perlman, Sir András Schiff, Jeremy Denk, Stella Chen, and Pinchas Zukerman. Dedicated to expanding the repertoire for the viola, Lipman has also performed the premieres of works for viola by composers Helen Grime, Clarice Assad, David Ludwig and the American premiere of Monochromer GartenVI by Malika Kishino.

Lipman is the recipient of a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, a Kovner Fellowship, and the Jack Kent Cooke Award, and is also a major prize winner in the Primrose, Tertis, Washington, Johansen, and Stulberg International Viola Competitions. He studied at The Juilliard School with Heidi Castleman, and was further mentored by Tabea Zimmermann at the Kronberg Academy. As an alum of the Bowers Program, Lipman occupies the Wallach Chair at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He performs on a 1700 Matteo Goffriller viola loaned through the generous efforts of the Pine Foundation.

Brannon Cho, cellist
https://brannoncho.com

Described by Arto Noras as “a finished artist, ready to play in any hall in the world,” cellist Brannon Cho has emerged as an outstanding musician of his generation. He is the First Prize winner of the prestigious 6th International Paulo Cello Competition, and is also a prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth, Naumburg, and Cassadó International Cello Competitions.

Brannon Cho has appeared as a soloist with many of the top orchestras around the world, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, and Orchestre Philharmonique Royale Liège, under world-renowned conductors such as Susanna Mälkki, Stéphane Denève, and Christian Arming.

As a lover of chamber music, Brannon Cho has shared the stage with artists such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christian Tetzlaff, Gidon Kremer, and Joshua Bell. His recent festival appearances include Marlboro, Kronberg Academy, Music@Menlo, and Verbier. In addition, Brannon Cho is a scholarship holder in the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, and the recipient of the 2019 Ivan Galamian Award, which was previously held by James Ehnes.

Brannon Cho’s recent and upcoming solo performance highlights include debuts in Wigmore Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, Konzerthaus Berlin, Seoul Arts Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.

Born in New Jersey, Brannon Cho received his Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music under Hans Jørgen Jensen. He was awarded the prestigious Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser. Today, he is in the Professional Studies program at the Kronberg Academy, under the tutelage of Frans Helmerson. Brannon Cho is sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld, and performs on a rare cello made by Antonio Casini in 1668 in Modena, Italy.