ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ana Sofía Ramírez, violin
Sofia began studying violin in her native Coahuila, Mexico and was a member of local and national youth orchestras before beginning her formal studies at the Universidad Autómata de Zacatecas in Mexico. She has participated in multiple festival and forums, and has received masterclasses from Sergei Gorbenko, Natalia Gvosdetskaya, Cuauhtémoc Rivera, Jorge Risi, as well as the “Cuarteto White,” the “Cuarteto Latinoamericano,” "Amethyst Quartet," among others.
Sofia currently serves as the Graduate Assistant for the West Chester University Wells School of Music String Department under the guidance of Professor Carlos Rubio.
Thomas Hsu, piano
Thomas Hsu is a senior finishing his degree in Piano Performance, studying under Dr. Igor Resnianski, his teacher since high school. Since then, Thomas has had the opportunity to perform Chopin’s Scherzo No. 1 live on the WRTI classical radio station in 9th grade; won the second prize and the award for the best performance of a virtuosic etude in the Chicago International Music Competition in 2023; and was the Eastern division winner and a national finalist in the MTNA competition of the same year. He has also performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra following PianoTexas’ junior concerto competition in 2021.
VIOLINCONCERTO –KHACHATURIAN(1940)
Aram Khachaturian was a respected Soviet composer with Armenian roots. He grew up surrounded by popular songs and dances that became a core foundation for his compositional style His most famous pieces are the Masquerade Suite, the ballet Spartacus, and his concertos for violin, and piano He also explored different genres and even created the score for over 20 films.
His violin concerto was dedicated to violinist David Oistrakh. Khachaturian began the project during the summer of 1940, and the work was premiered by the end of that same year with Oistrakh as the soloist and Khachaturian as the conductor. Armenian folklore is interwoven in the piece through its rhythms and scales. The concerto has an exciting and rhythmic first theme that later gives way to a luscious lyric theme. Orchestra and soloist share moments of conversation and interchange melodies throughout the first movement.
VIOLINSONATA –CÉSARFRANCK(1886)
During his life, César Franck shined for his work as an organist rather than a composer. His violin sonata helped him establish himself as an important figure of the French repertoire. Franck composed the sonata as a wedding gift for his friend and violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, who added the piece to his repertoire and performed it frequently for the rest of his career.
This sonata consists of four movements which share thematic material between them. The first movement is slow and reflective. Both themes are dolce in character, and they form the core of the work because they constantly come back in following movements. The second movement is completely contrasting to the first. It begins with a turbulent piano introduction answered with similar impetus on the violin. The energetic drive is briefly interrupted by lyrical interludes, but the dramatic force always returns The Recitativo Fantasia is another complete contrast to the previous movement, it is contemplative, and it reminisces heavily on the first movement. The fourth movement is a lyrical conclusion, with a recurring graceful theme played in canon. Themes from the third movement appear in the middle section only to give way to the lyrical melody once more and it ends in an optimistic note.
THREEPIECESFORVIOLINANDPIANO –SILVESTREREVUELTAS(1932)
Silvestre Revueltas is one of the largest figures in Mexican music. He has won prestige all around the globe with pieces such as Sensemayá and Música de Feria. He is frequently described as a nationalist, although recently he is contextualized as a vanguardist. He explored many styles and genres and frequently experimented with rhythm and atonality He composed the 3 pieces for violin during one of his more abstract periods. The set as a whole is a kaleidoscope, that explores the many possibilities of the instrument. The first of this set is an energetic mosaic of sounds. Contrasting ideas change abruptly and constantly and it keeps the attention and the curiosity of the audience.