event photos: Xiaopei Xu and Chi Wei Lo

Ayano Ninomiya, violin

Praised by The New York Times as "deeply communicative and engrossing," violinist Ayano Ninomiya is committed to creating invigorating live performance experiences from concert stages to private homes and public schools. The Boston Globe wrote that, "A note from her was never just a note...Whatever project she takes on next, it is sure to be worth a listen."

Equally at home as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, Ayano has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Puerto Rico, Europe, China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition to recent performances at Weill Hall, Zankel Hall, and Merkin Hall, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 with the Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Recent performances include solos with A Far Cry and the Jacksonville Symphony, as well as recitals at the Music Mountain Festival, the Sembrich Opera Museum, and the Moab Festival. She will also perform with Beaux Arts Series (FL), Chamber Music International (TX), Boston Chamber Music Series, and Chameleon Ensemble (MA), as well as at the Cooperstown, Orford (Canada), Bowdoin, Morningside Music, Interlochen Arts, and Anchorage chamber music festivals.

She has won numerous awards, including the Naumburg International Violin Competition, the Tibor Varga International Competition, Astral Artists National Auditions, and the Young Performer’s Career Advancement Award (APAP). As a recording artist, Ayano has released a variety of albums including a solo album of works for violin by Larry Bell and more recently, three albums as the first violinist of the Ying Quartet: an album of the complete quartets by Robert Schumann, an album of the complete quartets by Anton Arensky, and a third album, “American Anthem” (Sono Luminus), featuring works by Randall Thompson, Samuel Barber, and Howard Hanson.

In 2012 Ayano was invited to give a TEDx talk at the University of Tokyo. More recently, she has given numerous lecture demonstrations for organizations and festivals on topics ranging from Aikido principles as they pertain to playing the violin to sustaining a varied career. Other past projects include a benefit performance for victims of the 2009 Haiti earthquake, a fundraiser in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake with sumo wrestler Konishiki, and the creation of her own Elderhostel “Day of Adventure” programs in NYC that gave an insider's view of making music. As a recipient of the Frank Huntington Beebe Fellowship, Ayano conducted research of scores at the Bartók Archives in Budapest, Hungary, working with musicologist László Somfai.

During the summers, she has performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Kingston, Skaneateles, Caramoor, Bowdoin, and Moab music festivals, as well as at Prussia Cove's International Musicians Seminar, the Canberra International Festival (Australia), and the Adams Festival (New Zealand), among others. She has been invited to tour France and the west and east coasts of the U.S. and France with "Musicians from Marlboro" (Marlboro Festival) and "Musicians from the Steans Institute" (Ravinia Festival). She is also a founding member of the exciting conductorless string orchestra, ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra), which is composed of soloists and leaders of quartets and orchestras from around the United States. Because of her own experience beginning the violin in a public school program in Boston at the age of seven, Ayano has given numerous programs for children across the U.S. from Bethlehem, New Hampshire to Columbia, Missouri, to Denton, Maryland, including many in the greater Philadelphia area.

Ayano, whose principal teachers and mentors include Miriam Fried, Robert Mann, Eszter Perenyi, Michele Auclair, and Robert Levin, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. She graduated with her Master’s degree from The Juilliard School and then went on to study at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary. From 2010-2015, Ayano was first violinist of the renowned Ying Quartet and Associate Professor at the Eastman School of Music. In the fall of 2015 she joined the violin faculty of New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She has been a volunteer tutor for at-risk high school students at the East Harlem Justice Center and volunteer at the Lighthouse Music School (NYC). In her spare time, she loves to paint and practice Aikido.

Pei-Shan Lee 李蓓珊, piano

"Exquisite balance… finesse and beauty." - The STRAD
"A consummate collaborative pianist." - Washington Post
"Lee supported in tones both feurig und innig..." - Boston Musical Intelligencer
"To end an eclectic evening, violinist Ayano Ninomiya and pianist Pei-Shan Lee plunged into the lush world of Richard Strauss’s Violin Sonata, in which Ninomiya’s long bow strokes contrasted with Lee’s glittering counterpoint. Apart from the magnificent finale, I was moved by the middle movement – sensuous, tender and luminous." - The STRAD

Pianist PEI-SHAN LEE’s active concert career has taken her to The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Cleveland’s Severance Hall, Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, and tours of France, Germany, Belgium, and Israel. Her many summer festival appearances include The Mostly Mozart Festival, Caramoor Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Chautauqua Institute, Music Academy of the West, Heifetz International Music Institute, the International Piano Festival in Spain, the International Piano Festival at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, ProQuartet in France, the Great Wall International Music Academy in China, and the Formosa Chamber Music Festival in Taiwan.

A member of the Collaborative Piano and Chamber Music faculty at the New England Conservatory, Ms. Lee recently created a new MM in Collaborative Piano at the California State University Northridge. She will also head the Collaborative Piano Fellowships at the Bowdoin International Music Festival starting in the summer of 2015.

Since coming to the United States from Taiwan, Ms. Lee has collaborated with some of America’s most important musicians: violinists Donald Weilerstein, Ani Kavafian, Jacques Israelievitch, Joseph Silverstein, Ryu Goto, and Stefan Jackiw; violists Kim Kashkashian, Dimitri Murrath, Edward Gazouleas, and Che-Yen Chen; cellists Paul Katz, Robert DeMaine, Andres Diaz, and Pieter Wispelwey; flutist Jeanne Baxtresser; and pianist James Tocco. Her chamber music partners have included the Jupiter, the Harlem, and the Formosa String Quartets, members of the Bavarian Radio, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, San Diego Symphony Orchestras and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In her hometown of Boston, Ms. Lee has performed at NEC, MIT, Boston Ballet, and in recitals with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also works with BSO’s guest conductors and soloists, and was the Boston pianist seen in rehearsal with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in her documentary “The Portrait”. Her live performances can also be heard on WQXR, WGBH, and WRCJ. In 2006, she was appointed pianist for Itzhak Perlman’s violin studio at the Perlman Music Program and has since joined its faculty in the Sarasota Winter Residency. She also served on the faculty of the Chautauqua School of Music, as staff pianist at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the famed Meadowmount School for Strings. Ms. Lee’s artistry and comprehensive knowledge of the chamber music and collaborative literature have made her a highly sought after partner for many up-and-coming young artists, especially string and woodwind players.

Ms. Lee came to the U.S. for piano study after winning the Youth Division of Taiwan’s National Piano Competition. The Cleveland Institute awarded her the Rosa Lobe Memorial Award in recognition of the highest level of artistic achievement in Collaborative Piano. Her doctoral thesis “The Collaborative Pianist: Balancing Roles in Partnership”, has become an important resource for schools wishing to begin/develop a Collaborative Piano program, and is available at ProQuest. Frequently invited to China and Taiwan for master classes and residencies, her dissertation is currently in the process of being translated by the Chinese.

Degrees: DMA, New England Conservatory; Artist Diploma, Cleveland Institute of Music; MM, The Juilliard School; BM, Manhattan School of Music

鋼琴家李蓓珊近年來活躍於國際舞台上, 現任美國新英格蘭音樂學院之鋼琴合奏及室內樂教授。她曾在甘乃迪中心, 紐約林肯中心的 Avery Fisher 和 Alice Tully 音樂廳, 卡內基大廳的 Weill 演奏廳, 波士頓的 Jordan 音樂廳, 克利夫蘭的 Severance 音樂廳, 台灣的國家音樂廳演奏, 以及法國, 德國, 比利時, 以色列巡演。李蓓珊曾應邀參加林肯中心的 Mostly Mozart 音樂節, Caramoor 音樂節, Great Lakes 室內樂音樂節, 海菲茨國際夏令音樂節, Chautauqua音樂節, Music Academy of the West 音樂節, 北京長城國際音樂夏令營, 西班牙國際鋼琴音樂節, 莫斯科柴可夫斯基音樂學院國際鋼琴音樂節, 以及法國 Pro Quartet 等著名音樂節.

出生於台灣台北, 李蓓珊曾多次獲得音樂學院頒發的優異榮譽。在台灣省鋼琴大賽青少年組得獎后, 她赴美進修鋼琴獨奏與合奏藝術, 曾與多位著名演奏家和室內樂團體合作, 如: 小提琴家 Donald Weilerstein, Ani Kavafian, Jacques Israelievitch, Joseph Silverstein, Ryu Goto (五嶋龍), Stefan Jackiw; 中提琴家 Kim Kashkashian, Dimitri Murrath; 大提琴家 Paul Katz, Andres Diàz; 鋼琴家 James Tocco, 及 Jupiter 和 Harlem 弦樂四重奏。她亦曾與波士頓交響樂團, 紐約愛樂, 芝加哥交響樂團, 辛辛那提交響樂團, 底特律交響樂團, 洛杉磯愛樂, 多倫多交響樂團, 巴伐利亞廣播交響樂團等團員, 以及伊麗莎白女皇, 梅紐因, 慕尼黑, Primrose, 和 Tibor Varga 等國際大賽的首獎選手合作演出.

李蓓珊博士除了在新英格蘭音樂學院 New England Conservatory 鋼琴合奏及室內樂系任教外, 最近還受聘於加州大學北嶺分校 California State University Northridge, 並著手計劃為該校設計創辦鋼琴合奏研究所, 於 2013 年開始招生, 這將會是加州 CSU 各大分校中之第一個鋼琴合奏研究所。她近期與小提琴家 Grzegorz Kotow 合錄的史特勞斯、齊瑪諾夫斯基的小提琴與鋼琴奏鳴曲將由雅砌音樂公司發行。她的現場錄音也經常播放於美國紐約和波士頓的古典音樂電台.

現定居於美國波士頓和洛杉磯, 李蓓珊定期在麻省理工學院, 波士頓芭蕾舞團表演, 以及同波士頓交響樂團團員舉辦演奏會, 並經常與波士頓交響樂團客席指揮和獨奏家合作, 曾參與德國著名小提琴家安索菲穆特之紀錄片 “The Portrait” 在波士頓的攝製。在任教於新英格蘭音樂學院之前, 著名小提琴家帕爾曼聘請李蓓珊為其音樂營之鋼琴合奏老師, 現仍續任於 Perlman Music Program。她亦曾任教於 Chautauqua 音樂夏令營, 及擔任克利夫蘭音樂學院和 Meadowmount 弦樂音樂營之專任合奏老師.

在美深造期間, 李蓓珊成為茱莉亞音樂學院和 Music Academy of the West 錄取年紀最輕的鋼琴合奏學生, 曾在多個知名藝術家的教研室工作, 如: 小提琴家 Donald Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, Midori Goto, Miriam Fried; 中提琴家 Karen Tuttle, Kim Kashkashian; 大提琴家 Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, Joel Krosnick, Richard Aaron; 長笛家 Julius Baker, Jeanne Baxtresser, Paula Robinson。在新英格蘭音樂學院攻讀博士期間, 她組建了柏拉圖鋼琴三重奏 Plato Trio, 被選為該校之榮譽重奏組。其與器樂合奏深厚之藝術造詣及演奏經驗, 使她成為許多新進年輕獨奏家邀約合作的對象.

李蓓珊曾就讀於曼哈頓音樂學院, 茱莉亞音樂學院, 克利夫蘭音樂學院, 新英格蘭音樂學院, 並獲得諸多榮譽, 其中克利夫蘭音樂學院頒發的 Rosa Lobe 紀念獎被視為鋼琴合奏的最高藝術成就。其新英格蘭音樂學院的博士論文 “The Collaborative Pianist: Balancing Roles in Partnership” 深刻探索了音樂學院建立鋼琴合奏系 Collaborative Piano Program 之相關要題, 現正被廣泛閱讀, 收錄於美國 ProQuest, 近期內亦將出版中文譯本。
 

NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
By Dr. Jannie Burdeti


Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): 21 min
Sonata No. 3 in E-flat Major for Piano and Violin, Op. 12, No. 3
Allegro con spirito
Adagio con molta espressione
Rondo: Allegro molto

Ludwig van Beethoven composed his first published set of three Op. 12 violin sonatas between 1797 and 1798. This was a generally happy time in his life: he dined regularly with nobility, the music lovers of the aristocracy adored his piano playing, and the performances of his own works (such as his Second Piano Concerto) led to a growing reputation as a composer. Having arrived in the capitol in 1792, it was not until a few years later, in 1801, when he first confessed of deafness. Among some teachers he studied with during these years, one of them was Antonio Salieri, the dedicatee of his Op. 12 sonatas, from whom he learned the art of setting Italian prosody in vocal music, with the aim of eventually writing an opera.

While Beethoven received tutelage as a violinist, he was by no means a good violinist. In fact, biographer Jan Swafford narrates that one of his closest friends, Karl Friedrich Amenda (himself a violinist) begged him to stop playing the moment he started (“Amenda cried, ‘Have mercy—stop!’”). However, Beethoven undoubtedly possessed a deep understanding of the violin. As a teenager, he worked as a violist in the court orchestra of his hometown, Bonn. He formed friendships with prominent violinists of the day, such as Louis Spohr and Pierre Rode, and took regular lessons from Ignaz Schuppanzigh and Wenzel Krumpholz after arriving in Vienna. The inspiration of Mozart’s great violin sonatas can also certainly be heard in Beethoven’s violin writing.

The third sonata in his Op. 12, is in many ways, the pinnacle of the opus. It pushes the boundary of piano virtuosity even to this day. The work is set in E-flat major, a key Beethoven associated with heroism, epic proportions, and boldness (examples include his “Eroica” Symphony, the “Emperor” Piano Concerto, and his Piano Sonata, Op. 7, a work he would have just recently finished). The work announces the first theme with a flourish in the piano and one senses confidence and an indefatigable energy. In the transition, the pianist bursts in with cascades of notes. The second theme, introduced this time by the violinist, is spritely and jovial. After the exposition, the development is short yet far-reaching in both its modulations and dynamics—it shifts from fortissimo to pianissimo and from C minor to the distant, hushed key of C-flat major—before a dramatic return of the main theme, back in E-flat major.

The second movement begins with a spacious and poignant melody in the piano. Beethoven once wrote in a letter: “The manner of playing the clavier is still the most uncultivated of any instrument; one often thinks one is hearing only a harp [.…] provided one is capable of feeling, one can also sing on the clavier.” Interestingly, this Adagio in C major demonstrates both: one hears the spinning out of a singing and eloquent melody at the beginning, while harp-like accompanimental figurations follow.

The third movement is written in the style of a lively contredanse, a folk dance of English origins that was popular at the time. As will be increasingly true of Beethoven’s compositional approach, especially in later years, the opening rhythmic cell of three notes organically informs the entire movement. Beethoven brings us on a rollicking ride in this finale, which abounds in forward momentum—what starts out as delightful interplay between the instruments, develops into more involved counterpoint, and ultimately culminates in a fugato. After two pedal points (another compositional device to increase exhilaration), the sonata comes to a brilliant close.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828): 25 min
Fantasy in C Major for Violin and Piano, Op. posth. 159, D 934
Andante molto
Allegretto
Tema e Variazioni - Andantino-Adagio
Tempo I
Allegro vivace
Allegretto
Presto

“It sometimes seems to me as if I did not belong to this world at all.”
-Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert lived to only thirty-one years of age. In those short years, he composed some 1,500 works, which included more than 600 songs, nine symphonies, 20 string quartets, sacred music, and 21 piano sonatas, to name only a few categories. Although it was a pity that only a handful of his music received public performances during his lifetime, they were extraordinarily misunderstood — and such a piece was his Fantasy in C major, D. 934.

Composed only eleven months before his death, Schubert’s Fantasy is one of the most hauntingly beautiful evocations of another spiritual world. However, it puzzled the audience to no end. A reviewer remarked, “The Fantasy for piano and violin by Mr. Franz Schubert somewhat exceeded the duration the Viennese intend to devote for spiritual enjoyment. The ball emptied itself little by little, and the present writer admits that he is unable to say anything about the end of this piece.” The performer at the occasion was violinist Josef Slavjk, renowned for his virtuosity. And indeed, the piece is not only emotionally transcendent but demands both instrumentalists to be also technically transcendent. Frédéric Chopin allegedly told Schubert once that Slavjk was a “second Paganini” and “able to play 36 staccato notes in one bow.”

The Fantasy opens with a mystical soundscape of shimmering tremolos and trills in the piano underneath an achingly beautiful soaring line in the violin. Its harmonies, with its major and minor intimations, suggest neither day nor night but a light from another world. When this otherworldly introduction comes to a hiatus, the music transitions to a more lively Allegretto, infused with Hungarian panache. Schubert creates a spirited canon between the violin and piano, shifting the mood to an increasingly earthly reality.

The heart of the Fantasy lies in the theme and variations based on the composer’s own setting of Friedrich Rückert’s Sei mir gegrüsst! (‘I greet you!’), written five years earlier. The lyrics of the song speak of a lost love, with each stanza ending with “I greet you! I kiss you!” What follows are a set of four glorious variations, much in the vein of Paganini’s style. The first variation highlights the violin, with delicate arpeggios and sparkling runs. The next variation features the piano, while the violin has pizzicato. In the third variation, the shimmering trills from the introduction make a return, while the violin part is filled with effervescent thirty-second notes. The final variation brings us back to the lyrical nostalgia of the opening theme, leading the piece back seamlessly to the introductory material of non-earthly tremolos, trills, and long, yearning melodies. A build up brings about the finale, filled with transcendent exuberance and virtuosity. A version of Sei mir gegrüsst is heard once more before the final, exhilarating Presto.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949): 28 min
Sonata in E-flat Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 18
Allegro, ma non troppo
Improvisation: Andante cantabile
Finale: Andante - Allegro

Richard Strauss began learning piano at four years old and violin at eight. His first compositions were written at the age of six, and at the age of eleven, he commenced formal composition lessons. Beyond his many private teachers, his father, Franz Strauss, a French horn virtuoso renowned as the “Joachim of the horn,” exuded a great influence. The elder Strauss nourished his son on the music of the classical masters: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.

During the conception of his Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18, Strauss perfected his mastery of orchestral writing, resulting in a large-scale work of expansive breadth and intoxicating Romantic fervor, evoking the full spectrum of symphonic colors. This orchestral influence may have stemmed from his extensive involvement with orchestral music in the years leading up to that time: he joined his father’s amateur orchestra as a violinist in 1882, trained with Hans von Bülow in the rival schools of Brahms and Wagner (which was considered quite unusual), and served as the third conductor in the Munich Court Opera between 1886-1889. The completion of the violin sonata in 1887, with its symphonic scope, was a crucial stepping stone for Strauss, as he would soon after turn his attention toward the symphonic tone poem in the following years. Last but not least, the nature of his deeply Romantic writing during this period is also said to reflect his burgeoning love for Pauline de Ahna, his future wife, whom he met that year.

The first movement of the sonata opens with a heroic gesture, reminiscent of a brass fanfare. Its energetic rhythmic motive returns in various guises in a “truly symphonic treatment either in Lisztian unison, declamatory phrases, cumulative imitation, or through the tension of ostinato,” as noted by Norman Del Mar. The music balances moments of great tenderness and intimacy, as well as an abundance of melodic material. The second theme is a soaring melody that spans two and a half octaves, highlighting Strauss’s lyrical gifts. Soon after, the development reestablishes the obsessive rhythmic element first heard in the beginning.

Steeped in lyrical elegance, the central movement, “Improvisation,” opens like a song without words. Its ABA form is marked by contrasts: the serene opening melody gives way to a stormy section, which quotes Schubert’s Erlking. It later dissolves into a reprise of the opening melody. Del Mar notes that, despite its ternary structure, the moniker of “improvisation” stems from the moment after the storm: “in the sudden disintegration . . . into an infinitely delicate lace-work of rapid Chopinesque figures.” The coda sneaks in a hidden quote from the Adagio of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata.

The finale begins with a foreboding and somber piano entrance, where Strauss anticipates the principal theme of the ensuing Allegro. This finale returns to the bravura character of the first movement, calling to mind his tone poem Don Juan. He also includes a reference to Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde set amid the rapidly rising figures. Following the vigorous and adventurous development section, a tremendous flourish for the piano heralds the recapitulation.
 

  Post Concert Chinese Press :

Violinist Ayano Ninomiya and Pianist Pei-Shan Lee 李蓓珊 at NEC’s Jordan Hall, October 5, 2024 音樂會後新聞稿

中華表演藝術基金會第36屆音樂季，於10月5日週六晚上八時，在紐英崙音樂學院喬登廳(Jordan Hall) 拉開帷幕, 邀請到兩位令人尊敬的紐英崙音樂學院教授，著名小提琴家 Ayano Ninomiya 與鋼琴名家李蓓珊 (Pei-Shan Lee) 一同聯合演出。音樂會盛大而成功。小提琴家 Ayano Ninomiya 曾經被稱為《紐約時報》讚譽是「一位具有深刻交流能力和吸引力的藝 術家」。 《波士頓環球報》曾寫道：「她演奏的每一個音符都不只是音符，絕對值得一聽。」

《The STRAD》曾讚譽鋼琴家李蓓珊為「極致的平衡、優雅和美感的代表」。 《華盛頓郵報》曾讚譽她為「一位技藝精湛的合作鋼琴家」。當晚，約有300名熱情的觀眾，對這場令人難忘的音樂會和高水平的演出，報以熱烈的掌聲和歡呼，久久不散。音樂會曲目包括：

貝多芬：降E大調第3號小提琴與鋼琴奏鳴曲，作品12之3
舒伯特：C大調小提琴與鋼琴幻想曲，作品後159，D 934
施特勞斯：降E大調小提琴與鋼琴奏鳴曲，作品18。

《波士頓音樂情報》 (The Boston Musical Intelligencer) 的樂評 Julie Ingelfinger 大加讚揚了這場充滿張力、戲劇性與感性元素的音樂會，並詳細討論了每一首作品，寫道：「小提琴家 Ayano Ninomiya 和鋼琴家李蓓珊的完美合作讓觀眾在最後一個音符結束後立刻起立鼓掌！兩位都在紐英崙音樂學院任教，在這場中華表演藝術基金會音樂季的開幕音樂會上打動了觀眾。她們的音樂表現力和對細節的精湛處理加強了音樂的意圖，展現了她們對作曲家的敏感性以及彼此的默契。這場音樂會提醒了我們，中華表演藝術基金會是波士頓的瑰寶。」

在音樂會後的慶祝酒會上，超過20位跨代知名音樂家齊聚一堂，向她們表示祝賀。該音樂會的視頻將放上中華表演藝術基金會 YouTube上. 免費供大家欣賞。

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FCPA/videos

也請關注中華表演基金會的 Instagram: @ cathychanfcpa.