horow itz p ia no s eri es Boris Berman, Artistic Director
Peter Frankl piano
morse recital hall
Music by Mozart and Chopin
November 16, 2011 Wednesday at 8 pm
With the Linden String Quartet and Gregory Robbins, double bass
Robert Blocker, Dean
p eter f ra nkl , p ia no the linden string quartet Sarah Mc Elravy, violin • Catherin Cosbey, violin Eric Wong, viola • Felix Umansky, cello Gregory Robbins, double bass Horowitz Piano Series • Boris Berman, Artistic Director November 16, 2011 • Sprague Memorial Hall Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791
Piano Concerto No. 11 in F major, K. 413 I. Allegro II. Larghetto III. Tempo di minuetto the linden string quartet Gregory Robbins, double bass Menuet in D major, K. 355 Sonata in D major, K. 576 I. Allegro II. Adagio III. Allegretto assai
intermission
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49 Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 I. Maestoso II. Larghetto III. Allegro vivace the linden string quartet Gregory Robbins, double bass
As a courtesy to the performers and audience, turn off cell phones and pagers. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.
About the Artists
Peter Frankl made his name on the international circuit as a young pianist in the 1960s. Following his London debut in 1962 and his New York debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1967, he has performed with many orchestras in the USA (Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Pittsburgh, etc.), the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Orchestre de Paris, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Israel Philharmonic, all the London orchestras, and many others around the world. He has appeared with conductors such as Abbado, Ashkenazy, Barbirolli, Blomstedt, Boulez, Chailly, Davis, Doráti, Fischer, Haitink, Kempe, Kertész, Leinsdorf, Maazel, Masur, Muti, Sanderling, Solti, and Szell, among others. His many tours have taken him frequently to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, playing with orchestras, in recitals, and also in chamber music concerts. He has appeared over twenty times at London’s BBC Promenade Concerts and has been a regular participant at the Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, Verbier, Kuhmo, and Casals Festivals. Among the highlights of his many Edinburgh Festival appearances were his performance of the Britten Concerto under the baton of the composer and the opening televised concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Muti. He was the soloist at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest with the Budapest Festival Orchestra at one of the last concerts Yehudi Menuhin ever conducted.
In the United States, Peter Frankl has been a regular guest artist at the summer festivals in Aspen, Chautauqua, Hollywood Bowl, Marlboro, Norfolk, Ravinia, Santa Fe, and Yellow Barn. For many years the Frankl-PaukKirshbaum Trio traveled the world. He performs with string quartets like the Amadeus, Bartók, Borodin, Fine Arts, Guarneri, Takács, Tokyo, and Vermeer. He has given master classes all over the world, including the Royal Academy and Royal College in London, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, the Van Cliburn Institute in Texas, and in Berlin, Madrid, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Seoul. Among his many recordings are the complete Schumann and Debussy piano works (with András Schiff, the Schumann two-piano and fourhand repertoire); both Brahms concerti and the violin sonatas (with Kyung Wha Chung); Mozart concerti, violin sonatas, and fourhand works (with Tamás Vásáry); Bartók solo works and violin pieces (with Peter Csaba); and piano quintets of Brahms, Schumann, Dvo ř ák, Martinu, and Dohnányi. Peter Frankl studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Professors Hernádi, Kodály, and Weiner and won first prizes at several international competitions. He lives in London and is on the faculty of the Yale School of Music. In recognition of his artistic achievements, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross and Middle Cross by the Hungarian Republic. He is an honorary professor of the Liszt Academy.
About the Artists
Currently the graduate string quartet-inresidence at the Yale School of Music, the Linden String Quartet has been praised for its “remarkable depth of technique and brilliantly nuanced, sumptuous tonality… delivered with a palpable, infectious joy.” The quartet is the gold medalist and grand prize-winner of the 2009 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition as well as winner of the 2010 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. Other awards include first prize at the Sixth Hugo Kauder International Competition and the Coleman-Barstow Prize at the 2009 Coleman National Chamber Ensemble Competition. The quartet previously served both as apprentice to the Cavani String Quartet at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and as quartet-in-residence of the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Dedicated to community outreach and education, the Linden String Quartet regularly performs for elementary through high school audiences around the United States. The quartet’s principal mentors are the Cavani and Tokyo String Quartets, Peter Salaff, and Paul Kantor. Other influential teachers include Donald Weilerstein and
William Preucil of the Cleveland Quartet, Joel Smirnoff of the Juilliard String Quartet, and members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet. The quartet has collaborated with guitarist Jason Vieaux, mezzo-soprano Janna Baty, violinist Geoff Nuttall, and pianist Peter Frankl. The ensemble has spent summers in residence at the Norfolk and Emilia-Romagna Music Festivals, the Banff Centre, and the Music at Port Milford Chamber Music Festival in Ontario, Canada.
About the Artists
Canadian violinist Sarah McElravy received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), studying with Stephen Rose and Paul Kantor. Sarah won CIM’s concerto competition and performed with the CIM orchestra in 2009. A recipient of the Dorothy Richards Starling Foundation Scholarship from CIM, Sarah is also a laureate of the 2008 International Stepping Stone Competition and has won the Silver Medal Award from the Royal Conservatory of Music, first prize at the Ontario Provincial Finals on numerous occasions, and second prize at the Canadian Music Competition National Finals. Sarah has performed as soloist with the Pulawy Festival Orchestra (Poland), Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra (Canada), and Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra (Michigan). Ms. McElravy was a recipient of the Annie Burns Fellowship to perform at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival in 2006 and 2007. She has had the opportunity to collaborate with distinguished artists Gary Graffman and Roberto Diaz, and to be coached by ChoLiang Lin, Lynn Harrell, and the Guarneri and Emerson String Quartets. Ms. McElravy has also participated in the Pacific Music Festival, the Banff Music and Sound Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.
Catherine Cosbey, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan, received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and subsequently earned a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Teachers and mentors have included Paul Kantor, Eduard Minevich, and Erika Raum. Ms. Cosbey has been a participant in the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Banff Chamber and Summer Music Sessions, the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, the Domaine Forget Chamber Music Program, and the Centre D’Arts Orford. Ms. Cosbey began her professional career at the age of fourteen when she joined the Regina Symphony Orchestra. Later that year, she was also accepted into the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She continues her orchestral contribution as a member of CityMusic Cleveland and the Canton Symphony. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Cosbey has performed across Canada and Iceland, most notably with Quartetto Constanze and the Flaming Leafs. She has collaborated with such artists as Edward Arron, Kai Gleusteen, Kyung-Sun Lee, Geoff Nuttall, Erika Raum, and Barry Shiffman. Ms. Cosbey plays on a 1721 Guidantus violin and a Voirin bow generously on loan from the Banff Centre.
About the Artists
Originally from Lafayette, LA, Eric Wong received both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), studying violin with Paul Kantor. While at CIM, he also studied viola with Kirsten Docter and Lynne Ramsey. As a chamber musician, Mr. Wong has played in numerous ensembles around the country. He has performed in chamber music recitals sponsored by the Aspen Institute, SWR Radio (Germany), WVIZ (Cleveland public broadcasting), the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, and the Cleveland Chamber Music Guild. He has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman; with Donald Weilerstein, Peter Salaff, and Paul Katz of the Cleveland Quartet; with Kirsten Docter and Merry Peckham of the Cavani Quartet; and with pianist and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Coaches and mentors include Peter Salaff and the Cavani and Miró Quartets. Mr. Wong won first prize in the 48th Annual Lima Symphony Young Artists’ Competition, the 2007 Ohio Viola Society competition, and the 2006 Louisiana String Teachers’ Association solo competition. He was also the third prize winner of the 2008 Darius Milhaud Competition and won CIM’s concerto competition with Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto in 2007. As guest solo artist, he has performed with the CIM Orchestra and the Acadiana and Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestras.
Felix Umansky, hailing from Carmel, Indiana, began his cello studies at the age of seven. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in 2008 from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), having studied with Richard Aaron, and a Master of Music degree in 2009, also from CIM, as a student of Cleveland Orchestra principal cellist Desmond Hoebig. Other teachers over the years have included Polina Umansky, Yehuda Hanani, Janos Starker, Michael Mermagen, and Eleanor Schoenfeld. Mr. Umansky is currently a member of CityMusic Cleveland, a small chamber orchestra that performs regularly throughout northeast Ohio. Prior to forming the Linden String Quartet, he was the cellist of the Vesuvius Quartet. With Vesuvius, Mr. Umansky performed concerts in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Germany while receiving coachings from members of the Cavani, Cleveland, Takács, Artemis, Tokyo, Miró, and Borromeo String Quartets, as well as the Beaux Arts Trio. The quartet was selected by the Cleveland Chamber Music Society (CCMS) to be the inaugural fellows for a new school outreach program. They worked closely with the CCMS and Annie Fullard of the Cavani String Quartet to bring music to hundreds of third and fourth graders.
About the Artists
Hailed as a “true artist and visionary,” bassist and conductor Gregory Robbins has received acclaim for his diverse career as a performer and classical music entrepreneur. A chamber music devotee, Robbins’ 2010–11 season included a fellowship at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival as well as performances with members of the Tokyo String Quartet, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic. A firm believer in the use of technology as a means to further classical music, Robbins was selected by Michael Tilson Thomas from an international pool of online auditions to join the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra for a concert at the Sydney Opera House. The concert was live-streamed to over 33 million people, making it the most viewed concert in history. This synergy of classical music and technology was the inspiration for the Delphi Chamber Orchestra, of which Robbins is the founder and music director. Over the last year, he has had the privilege to work with such esteemed soloists as Ani Kavafian, Ettore Causa, and Stefan Jackiw. Robbins is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in double bass performance at Yale School of Music, where he studies with Donald Palma. He is a recipient of the George Wellington Miles full scholarship. He earned his Bachelor of Music at Manhattan School of Music, studying with David Grossman, Orin O’Brien, and Linda McKnight.
Upcoming Events
Yale Philharmonia
Ettore Causa & Boris Berman
november 17
november 30
Woolsey Hall | Thursday | 8 pm Mendelssohn: Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, with soloist Lindsay Garriston; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Free Admission
Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Faculty Artist Series Ettore Causa, viola, and Boris Berman, piano. Music of Schumann, Shostakovich, and Brahms. Free Admission
Vocal Britain Benjamin Verdery, guitar
december 1
november 29 Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 8 pm Faculty Artist Series Guitarist Benjamin Verdery plays music by Yale composers: Martin Bresnick, Chris Theofanidis, Ezra Laderman, David Lang, Jack Vees, and himself. Free Admission
Morse Recital Hall | Thursday | 8 pm Britten: Serenade, with Dann Coakwell, tenor; William Purvis, horn; and the Linden String Quartet; Walton: The Bear, with William Boughton, guest conductor. Free Admission
Prokofiev Piano Sonatas december 5 & 7
Lunchtime Chamber Music november 30 Center for British Art | Wednesday | 12:30pm School of Music students perform in a variety of ensembles. Wendy Sharp, director. Free Admission
Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 8 pm Horowitz Piano Series Prokofiev’s complete piano sonatas. Monday, Dec. 5: Sonatas 1, 2, 5, 9, and 4 Wednesday, Dec. 7: Sonatas 8, 6, 7, and 3 Tickets: $5 General Admission
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Robert Blocker, Dean
music.yale.edu