October 18, 2009 – David Chan, violin; Jeewon Park, piano FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Duo Sonata in A, Op. 162, D. 574, for violin and piano October 18, 2009 – David Chan, violin; Jeewon Park, piano Although Schubert was never a great instrumental virtuoso in the mold of Paganini or Liszt, he grew up in a family that loved music, and he performed from his earliest years as a singer, violinist, organist, and pianist. His schoolteacher father, an amateur cellist, organized family string quartet sessions in which the young Franz played the violin and viola, and he often performed the piano parts for his own songs and chamber works. In 1816, at the age of 19, Schubert composed three sonatas for violin and piano (later published as “Sonatinas”), which demonstrated his hands-on knowledge of both instruments and the influence of Beethoven’s works for that combination. The following summer, his lyrical sensibilities now in full flower, the 20-year-old Schubert wrote the exquisite “Duo” in A major for violin and piano. The entire work is an unbroken stream of graceful, beautifully crafted melody, reflecting his quintessential genius for song. Although the designation “Duo” was not appended to the A-Major sonata until its publication some 23 years after his death, the aptness of the title is justified by the continuous dialogue between the two instruments, particularly in the third and fourth movements. The Allegro moderato begins with a strolling, dotted-rhythm piano figure over which the violin floats a sweet and constantly evolving melodic line. The piano contributes to the thematic dialogue, but the violin dominates the musical texture of this uncommonly lovely movement. Taking a cue from Beethoven, Schubert follows the first movement with an exuberantly heroic Scherzo, featuring leaping intervals, brusque cross rhythms, and unexpected juxtapositions of forte and piano. A soft, sinuous chromatic violin scale announces the contrasting trio, which is characterized by a subtle dynamic range and trimly gliding intervals. The piano fully establishes its musical partnership in the lyrical, 3/8 Andantino. Composed in the ABA form of one of his Lieder, Schubert provides a mellow “duet without words” in which the violin and piano contribute equally to the musical discourse. The final Allegro vivace continues the melodic interweaving of the violin and piano parts. Cast as a whirling Viennese waltz, the movement brings Schubert’s Duo Sonata to a buoyant conclusion. By Michael Parloff Return to Parlance Program Notes

YOON KWON, VIOLIN Described by Dorothy DeLay as a violinist with “staggering imagination” and “one of the most expressive tones I’ve ever heard”, violinist Yoon Kwon’s compelling musicianship and dynamic stage presence have won the hearts of audiences around the world. Her performances have earned her critical acclaim across four continents, garnering remarks such as “magic that transcends mere pyrotechnical flash”, “infinitely beautiful sound… holding an audience spellbound”, and “utterly assured and carefree…a talent that kept us enchanted throughout”. Yoon Kwon began her professional career in 1993 as a thirteen-year-old, youngest winner in the history of the New Jersey Symphony Young Artists Auditions joining the roster of IMG Artists, alongside such artists as Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell. She has since concertized extensively as soloist with major orchestras and in recitals and chamber music appearances with distinguished musicians. Today, still only in her mid-twenties, Yoon Kwon is a seasoned artist with a remarkable and excitingly versatile career. In addition to her solo appearances, she is currently the youngest first violinist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a member of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two, and the lead violinist of her own jazz ensemble, Emergence, appearing regularly in New York City’s jazz clubs. As soloist, Ms. Kwon has appeared abroad with such orchestras as the Cologne Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, (it’s 100th season opening gala) Orquesta Sinfonica de Teatro Colon (Argentina), Euro-Asian Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, Istanbul State Symphony, and the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, to name a few. Her numerous US appearances include performances with the symphonies of Cincinnati, Chicago, Colorado, Greenville, Houston, Honolulu, Phoenix, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, St. Louis, and Wichita, and others. Among the conductors she has collaborated with are James Conlon, Lawrence Foster, Sergiu Commissiona, Paavo Jarvi, Haermann Michael, Stefan Sandering, Alan Gilbert, Tandeuz Strugala, Gurer Aykal, David Lockington, Andre Raphael Smith, and Enrique Batiz. Her recital credits are also numerous: Ravinia Rising Stars Series, St. Louis Great Artist Series, La Jolla Discovery Series, and Aspen Winter Series. During the 1998-2003 seasons, under the auspices of Columbia Artists Community Concerts, Yoon and her sister, pianist Min Kwon, undertook extensive tours of joint recitals and master classes across the US. Yoon Kwon is also a frequent performer at summer festivals, including Marlboro, Aspen, Santa Fe, La Jolla, Tanglewood, Vancouver, Rome and Cassamagiore (Italy), Kuhmo (Finland), and Interlaken, Verbier (Switzerland), collaborating with such distinguished musicians as Andras Schiff, Pinchas Zukerman, Richard Stolzman, Midori, Felix Galimir, Cho-Liang Lin, Robert McDuffie, Daniel Blumenthal, Carter Brey, and members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, and Emerson string quartets. Yoon Kwon released her debut CD on the BMG/RCA Red Seal label in Korea in 1997 to critical acclaim, becoming the first Korean artist to record for the label. She has also recorded You and Me, an album of solo and duo works with pianist Min Kwon, Anthony Newman’s Sonata for Violin and Piano with the composer at the piano. She can be also heard on a jazz album entitled Phoenix on the Songlines label. Yoon Kwon’s captivating and passionate performances have been seen and heard by television and radio audiences worldwide. Ms Kwon has been a feature performer on CBS TV’s New Year’s Eve Peace Concert hosted by Maya Angelou, and broadcast from New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. She has also been featured on NBC TV (USA), TV Stuttgart and WDR (Germany), KBS and SBS TV (Korea), and numerous FM stations across the US. A native of Seoul, Korea, Yoon Kwon began her musical studies at the age of three, studying the piano. At the age of six, she began studying the violin, and two years later was accepted into the Juilliard School, where she studied with the late Dorothy DeLay. In 1997, at the age of the 17, she was the youngest winner in the history of The Juilliard School Concerto Competition, resulting in her Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center debut later that year. Ms. Kwon received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees as well as the prestigious Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School where she studied with Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, Cho-Liang Lin, and Donald Weilerstein. She was the recipient of the Avery Fisher Stradivarius on loan from The Juilliard School and Sennhouser Guarnerius del Gesu on loan from the Stradivari Society. She also enjoys teaching, and has taught at Columbia University’s Young Musicians Program, Kuhmo International Music Course in Finland, and as assistant to Cho-Liang Lin, at The Juilliard School.

STERLING ELLIOTT, CELLO Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Already in his young career, he has appeared with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, with noted conductors Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffrey Kahane, Mei Ann Chen and others. In the 2024/2025 season Sterling Elliott debuts with the Atlanta Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, and returns to the Wilmington Symphony. He joins the Madison Symphony for the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Gil and Orli Shaham and returns to Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by Louis Langree. As the YCAT–Music Masters Robey Artist with the London-based Young Classical Artists Trust he will Tour New Zealand in addition to appearances at Wigmore Hall, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and others. This season he also begins his tenure as a BBC New Generation Artist, and a three-year residency in the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center appearing with CMLSC at Alice Tully Hall and on tour throughout the U.S. Sterling has a long history with the Sphinx Organization where he won the 2014 Junior Division Competition, becoming the first alumnus from the Sphinx Performance Academy to win the Sphinx Competition. Last season, Sterling received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization. Sterling is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim, following completion of his Master of Music and undergraduate degrees at Juilliard. He is an ambassador of the Young Strings of America, a string sponsorship operated by Shar Music. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.

MIDGE WOOLSEY, NARRATOR Midge Woolsey has proudly served the tristate community as a broadcaster for over 30 years. Since joining WQXR in 1993, she has been the Weekend Music host and more recently the Weekday Evening host. As a host on public television’s flagship station Thirteen/WNET she has introduced such specials as Andrea Bocelli’s Emmy nominated Statue of Liberty Concert, The Three Tenors with James Levine live from Paris, and the landmark twenty-four hour event, PBS Millennium 2000. She has also hosted numerous fundraising events, including Josh Groban in Concert and Pavarotti in Central Park. Behind the scenes, Woolsey worked with Jac Venza on Great Performances, the award-winning PBS series of international music, dance and drama programs. She also served as production executive for award-winning producer David Grubin, working with him on several acclaimed historical documentaries for the PBS series American Experience and on the poetry series The Language of Life with Bill Moyers. Woolsey has degrees in theater and music, and has served as a director, performer and choreographer in more than 100 productions with various regional opera and musical theater companies.

ZVI PLESSER, CELLO Israeli cellist Zvi Plesser enjoys a wide-ranging career as a soloist, chamber music performer, educator and music director. He has been on the world stage for more than 30 years playing, teaching and promoting music in varied settings from the most prestigious halls to community settings with equal devotion and excitement. As a soloist Mr. Plesser plays regularly in his home country with all the orchestras. Since his debut with the Israel Philharmonic under Maestro Asher Fisch, he has regularly performed with The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Camerata – Including a tour to Australia and Bangkok, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Haifa symphony and more. Highlights of recent seasons include – Bardanashvilli – "Dialogues" with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Ariel Zuckerman, Gulda Cello Concerto with Israel Symphony Orchestra with Rotem Nir, Haydn Cello Concerto with Jerusalem Camerata and Paul Goodwin as well as with Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva with Noam Aviel. On the world stage he has performed with such orchestras as – Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Saint Martin in the Fields, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, Mexico National Symphony, Shanghai Philharmonic, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra to name a few, under conductors such as – Zubin Mehta, Sir Neville Merriner, Sergiu Comissiona, Karl Heinz Steffens, Steven Sloan, Duncan Ward, Omer Meir Welber and many more. Mr. Plesser devotes much of his time to chamber music. He has played in various chamber music groups throughout the years – the Huberman Quartet and Concertante Chamber Ensemble. In past season he has performed in some of the world's leading stages such as Paris Champs-Elysees, Musee du Louvre and Salle Pleyel, Vienna Konzerthouse, Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall in New York, London Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre among others. He is frequently invited to music festivals around the world including – Four Seasons Festival, Mayfest in the US, Utrecht International Music Festival, Rolandseck, Kuhmo Festival, ClasClas and Salon de Provence in Europe as well as Le Point in Japan, the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival and many more. In the years 2011 - 2021 he served as music director for the” Voice of Music in the Upper Galilee,” festival – Israel’s oldest chamber music festival. Mr. Plesser revitalized the festival by introducing innovative programs that gained the attention of both the audience and the press. In 2022 he founded, together with his friend violinist Guy Braunstein, the Mu-Zi festival. Mr. Plesser is a graduate of the Juilliard School where he studied with Zara Nelsova. His principal teachers include Zvi Harel in Israel and David Soyer in the United States. Mr. Plesser is a professor at the Jerusalem Academy of Music where he served as head of the strings department as well as director of the Nazaryan chamber music program. In the fall of 2024 he will begin teaching at the Juilliard school in New York City. He has also taught at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Hochschule für Musik in Würzburg, Germany. He is frequently invited to give masterclasses and workshops in musical centers around the world. Mr. Plesser is on the faculty of the Perlman Music Program since 2017 where he teaches twice a year in the "Littles" program as well as the Sarasota residency. For the last few years, he has also taught at the Morningside Musical Bridge summer program in Boston. Mr. Plesser has been heard on various radio and television programs and has recorded for Helicon, Kleos, Meridian, Naxos, Alpha and more. A graduate of the Jerusalem Music Center as part of the program for Outstanding Young Musicians headed by Maestro Isaac Stern, Mr. Plesser won the prestigious Francoise Shapira Competition, the 41st annual Washington International Competition and was the recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships.

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April 3, 2016: Sean Lee, violin JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Adagio and Presto from Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1001 April 3, 2016: Sean Lee, violin Though we find precedents for Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for unaccompanied violin in works by Johann Jacob Walther, Heinrich Biber, and Johann Paul Westhoff, Bach’s contributions totally eclipsed these and remain unsurpassed to this day in invention and magnificence. Trained as a violinist in his youth by his father, Bach knew the capabilities of the instrument and expanded greatly upon them. The autograph manuscript, dated 1720, presents three sonatas in alternation with three partitas. The sonatas represent the serious Italian sonata da chiesa (church sonata) form with four movements in a slow, fast, slow, fast pattern; the partitas resemble the sonata da camera (chamber sonata), a series of dance movements, which if Bach had been writing in the French style would have been called a suite. Throughout the unaccompanied violin works and in those for solo cello, Bach showed his mastery at creating a many-voiced texture with what is essentially a single-line instrument, often by the use of double stops or rolled chords, but even more often by implying several melodic lines by artful figuration. He counted on the ability of the ear to pick out and hold onto notes in one register and string them together over time as an independent voice; one can often hear such implied voices in counterpoint, occurring in two or more registers. Bach’s elaborate ornamentation in the G minor Adagio makes a fitting opening to the Sonata and indeed to the entire set of sonatas and partitas. He was not content to simply write out a few chords and a figured bass and leave the rest up to the performer. Rather, his ornamentation is carefully notated, though the Adagio gives a free, improvisatory impression. The Presto closing movement runs along in constant sixteenth-note motion and single-voice texture until the concluding chords of each half. This lighter style provides wonderful contrast to the weightier preceding movements. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

May 6, 2018: Kerry McDermott, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola MARK O’CONNOR F.C.’s Jig May 6, 2018: Kerry McDermott, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola Mark O’Connor has long embraced both folk and classical music, influenced by such giants as folk fiddler Benny Thomasson and jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli as well as classical icons Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Yehudi Menuhin, and Pinchas Zukerman. He has produced some forty-five feature albums—mostly of his own compositions—that have greatly influenced succeeding generations. O’Connor’s multiple Grammy-winning recordings include Appalachia Waltz with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, which was released in 1996 and topped the Billboard classical music charts for a year. The O’Connor Band, which he formed with family members and friends, received the 2017 Grammy Award for “Best Bluegrass Band” with its album Coming Home. His Fiddle Concerto, released on the Warner Bros. label in 1995, has been performed over 250 times, making it the most-performed modern violin concerto composed in the last half century. He has since gone on to write three other violin concertos, one of which is a double concerto that he premiered with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the Chicago Symphony in 2000. At age thirteen O’Connor was the youngest person ever to win the Grand Master Fiddler Championships—competing against amateurs and professionals of all ages—and he is still the only person to have also won national titles on guitar and mandolin. Winner of a record-breaking six Country Music Association Musician of the Year awards, O’Connor has played with a number of influential bands, including the David Grisman Quintet, The Dregs, and Strength in Numbers. In his twenties he appeared on over five hundred albums with all of Nashville’s greatest artists. A dedicated educator, O’Connor has taught at string camps and universities across the country. In 2009 he released The O’Connor Method (2009), based on traditional American tunes, which has been hailed by the New Yorker and teachers across the country for filling a gap in the education of classical violin players. O’Connor’s F. C.’s Jig (short for “Fiddle Concerto’s Jig”) is a duet for violin and cello arranged from the third movement of his popular Violin Concerto. He and Yo-Yo Ma recorded this captivating arrangement on the album Appalachia Waltz. Colorful episodes alternate with the lively refrain, along the way incurring delightful metric hiccups. The piece is heard here in its equally engaging version for violin and viola, maintaining its witty and virtuosic interplay from start to finish. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

2024-2025 ARTIST ROSTER RAFAEL FIGUEROA, CELLO JOHN MUSTO, PIANO STEVEN ISSERLIS, CELLO MICHAEL BORISKIN, PIANO MODIGLIANI QUARTET JAMIE BERNSTEIN, HOST EDWARD ARRON, CELLO ERIN BOURIAKOV, FLUTE PAUL LEWIS, PIANO DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN AMY BURTON, SOPRANO SOOHONG PARK, PIANO CONNIE SHIH, PIANO JEEWON PARK, PIANO QUARTETTO DI CREMONA ZVI PLESSER, CELLO ERIKA BAIKOFF, SOPRANO CARTER BREY, CELLO

2018-2019 ARTIST ROSTER EDWARD ARRON, CELLO MICHAEL BROWN, PIANO BARRY CENTANNI, PERCUSSION TIMOTHY COBB, DOUBLE BASS DAVID J. GROSSMAN, DOUBLE BASS PAUL HUANG, VIOLIN CHELSEA KNOX, FLUTE SEAN LEE, VIOLIN MIHAI MARICA, CELLO KEN NODA, PIANO WEN QIAN, VIOLIN SHERYL STAPLES, VIOLIN JASON VIEAUX, GUITAR PINCHAS ZUKERMAN; AMANDA FORSYTH; ANGELA CHENG ELAINE DOUVAS, OBOE MAURYCY BANASZEK, VIOLA THE CALIDORE STRING QUARTET INN-HYUCK CHO, CLARINET EMERSON STRING QUARTET WENDY BRYN HARMER, SOPRANO PAUL JACOBS, ORGAN PIERRE LAPOINTE, VIOLA QIAN-QIAN LI, VIOLIN ANNE AKIKO MEYERS, VIOLIN GARRICK OHLSSON, PIANO DOV SCHEINDLIN, VIOLA ARNAUD SUSSMANN, VIOLIN GILLES VONSATTEL, PIANO JOEL NOYES, CELLO PASCUAL MARTÍNEZ FORTEZA, CLARINET ALESSIO BAX, PIANO NICHOLAS CANELLAKIS, CELLO LUCILLE CHUNG, PIANO DAVID FINCKEL, CELLO MING FENG HSIN, VIOLIN FRIEDRICH HEINRICH KERN, GLASS HARMONICA KRISTIN LEE, VIOLIN MATTHEW LIPMAN, VIOLA EILEEN MOON-MYERS, CELLO CYNTHIA PHELPS, VIOLA EMILY DAGGETT SMITH, VIOLIN DANBI UM, VIOLIN SARAH CROCKER VONSATTEL, VIOLIN KEVIN ZHU, VIOLIN YOOBIN SON, FLUTE

ADAM COCKERHAM, THEORBO, BAROQUE GUITAR Adam Cockerham Theorbo, Baroque guitar Adam Cockerham has appeared as a continuo player and accompanist with leading ensembles in New York and San Francisco. A specialist in seventeenth-century Italian opera, he has participated in numerous modern premieres with organizations including the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik and Ars Minerva. He earned his doctorate from The Juilliard School.