Biographies

2020-21 SPRING SEA SON

INON BARNATAN, music director & piano Born in Tel Aviv in 1979, Inon Barnatan started playing the piano at the age of three after his parents discovered he had perfect pitch, and he made his orchestral debut at age 11. His musical education connects him to some of the 20th century’s most illustrious pianists and teachers: he studied first with Professor Victor Derevianko, who, himself, studied with the Russian master Heinrich Neuhaus; and in 1997 he moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music with Maria Curcio – a student of the legendary Artur Schnabel – and with Christopher Elton. This summer is Barnatan’s second as La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest Music Director.

ERIC BROMBERGER, lecturer Eric Bromberger has been program annotator for the La Jolla Music Society since 1983, and he also writes program notes for the Minnesota Orchestra, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, San Francisco Performances, Washington Performing Arts Society, University of Chicago Presents, San Diego Symphony, and others. He lectures frequently for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Upbeat Live series at Disney Hall.

YEFIM BRONFMAN, piano Born in Tashkent in the Soviet Union, Yefim Bronfman immigrated to Israel with his family in 1973. In the United States, he studied at The Juilliard School, Marlboro School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music, under Rudolf Firkusny, Leon Fleisher, and Rudolf Serkin. A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors given to American instrumentalists, in 2010 he was further honored as the recipient of the Jean Gimbel Lane prize in piano performance from Northwestern University and in 2015 with an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music.

RICHARD FU, piano Shanghai-born American pianist Richard Fu is an aspiring recitalist with an affinity for vocal and string repertoire and a developing interest in opera and new music. Fu fell in love with classical music while studying abroad in Vienna and changed his studies to music. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in London, University of Oxford, the Juilliard School, and Kunstuniversität Graz where he currently studies with Julius Drake.

ZLATOMIR FUNG, cello The first American in four decades and youngest musician ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division, Zlatomir Fung is poised to become one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 20-year-old has already proven himself to be a star among the next generation of world-class musicians. Fung’s impeccable technique demonstrates a mastery of the canon and an exceptional insight into the depths of contemporary repertoire.

ROBERT JOHN HUGHES, lecturer Journalist, broadcaster, musician, author, record producer. During his ownership at San Diego FM station, 102.1 KPRi, Hughes interviewed hundreds of musical artists including Sting, Adele, Don Henley and Glenn Frey (Eagles), Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Paul Simon, and Peter Gabriel. As a record producer and member of the GRAMMY® Academy, Hughes created the five disk KPRi Live Tracks CD series that offered over 130 live performances recorded in his home studio and at KPRi studios and events.

KRISTI BROWN MONTESANO, lecturer Chair of the Music History Department at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, Kristi Brown Montesano is an enthusiastic “public musicologist.” She is an active lecturer for the LA Philharmonic, the Opera League of Los Angeles, the Salon de Musiques series, and Mason House Concerts. Her book, The Women of Mozart’s Operas, offers a detailed study of these fascinating roles; more recent scholarly interests include classical music in film, women in classical music, and opera for children.

PHILIPPE QUINT, violin Multi Grammy Award nominee violinist Philippe Quint is internationally recognized for his unique and insightful approach to standard repertoire, championing and rediscovering neglected repertoire and embarking on imaginative, exciting journeys of explorations and collaborations with artists of different genres. Philippe Quint was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia). After moving to the United States in 1991, he earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Juilliard School.

ALISA WEILERSTEIN, cello “A young cellist whose emotionally resonant performances of both traditional and contemporary music have earned her international recognition, Weilerstein is a consummate performer, combining technical precision with impassioned musicianship,” stated the MacArthur Foundation, when awarding American cellist Alisa Weilerstein a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship. In the 2018-19 season, Weilerstein released Transfigured Night on the Pentatone label, joined by Norway’s Trondheim Soloists for three masterworks of the First and Second Viennese Schools: Haydn’s First and Second Cello Concertos and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, from which the album takes its title.