Sunday, April 8, 2007
3:00 p.m.
Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
A year ago, the Sunday Times of London wrote of Julia Fischer’s new recording of all of Bach’s works for unaccompanied violin, “It is astonishing violin playing by any standards.” The critic wrote of “the breathtaking intensity of her playing of the great Ciaccona of the D Minor Partita.” It turned out that we heard her play the D Minor Partita here last season, in a duo recital she put together with pianist Milana Chernyavska. We immediately reengaged them for this encore performance.
Performing Arts Series Director Paul Nelson commented, “Last season, when Julia Fisher played at Middlebury, two things were new: her program and her violin. The cellist with whom she and Milana Chernyavska were to play didn’t get his visa in time, and so a few days before her scheduled recital here, she sat calmly with us in the Green Room of Boston’s Symphony Hall, where she was about to play a concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and discussed a duo program she and Milana could play instead. They first played this recital at Union College in Schenectady, after which the Union College presenter, Dr. Daniel Berkenblit, said they had been “sensational,” earning standing ovations after every piece they played. When they played here, the same thing happened—after the Bach, the Schumann, and the Franck. Her ‘new violin,’ a Guadagnini, was a marvel to hear in her hands, very different from and superior to the Stradivarius she played at her first recital here. This season, the program consists of works by J. S. Bach, Debussy, Mendelssohn, and Schubert.”
Reserved Seating: $15/12/5.
http://go.middlebury.edu/tickets
or 802-443-MIDD (6433).
Concert Program:
SCHUBERT Sonatina No. 2 in A minor, D 385
I. Allegro moderato
II. Andante
III. Menuetto. Allegro - Trio
IV. Allegro
DEBUSSY Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, L 140
Allegro vivo
Intermede. Fantasque et
Finale - Tres anime
Intermission
BACH Sonata for Violin Solo No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
Grave
Fugue
Andante
Allegro
MENDELSSOHN Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major (1838)
Allegro vivace
Adagio
Assai vivace
For program notes, please contact Events and Residency Manager Allison Coyne Carroll at carroll@middlebury.edu
Artist Biographies:
Julia Fischer, Violin
The 2006-07 season marks Julia Fischer’s North America debuts with Pittsburgh Symphony (Marek Janowski), the Cincinnati Symphony (Yakov Kreizberg) and the National Symphony in Washington DC (Emmanuel Krivine). Ms. Fischer returns to the Philadelphia Orchestra (Christoph Eschenbach), the Minnesota Orchestra (Yakov Kreizberg) as well as the New York Philharmonic (Lorin Maazel) with which forces and Maestro Maazel she tours Europe in Spring 2007.
Highlights of Julia Fischer’s European engagements include her debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (David Zinman) and return appearances with the Dresdner Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de Lyon, the Orchestra of Radio Svizzera, the Orchestra of the Suisse Romande, the Orquestra de Euskadi, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, the Slovak Philharmonic, the Valencia Symphony Orchestra, and the Vienna Symphony in collaboration with Jiri Belohlavek, Kristjan Järvi, Marek Janowski, Jun Markl, Vladimir Valek, and Walter Weller. She will also tour with the Netherlands Philharmonic (Yakov Kreizberg) and the Kammerorchester Basel (Christopher Hogwood). With the Netherlands Philharmonic Julia Fischer will give the Dutch premiere of the Maazel Violin Concerto.
During the season, Julia Fischer will appear in recital and chamber music as well as conduct Master Classes in the United States, San Juan, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and India.
In 2006-07 PentaTone, Julia Fischer’s exclusive record company, has scheduled three releases: Mozart (Violin Concerti 1, 2 & 5); Tchaikovsky (Concerto for Violin, Valse-Scherzo for Violin & Orchestra, Serenade melancholique in B-flat minor and “Souvenir d’un lieu cher”); and Mendelssohn (Trios with Mr. Müller-Schott and pianist Jonathan Gilad). Upcoming recording projects include the Brahms Violin Concerto and the Brahms Double Concerto (with Mr. Müller-Schott) as well as Mozart’s Concerto for Two Violins in C Major (K 190) and the Sinfonia Concertante (K 364).
A student of famed violinist Ana Chumachenco, Julia Fischer won Germany’s coveted ‘ECHO’ Award in 2005 for her PentaTone recording “Russian Concertos” by Khatchaturian, Prokofiev and Glazounov. Her most recent audio releases include Mozart Concertos 1, 2 and 5 and a Tchaikovsky disc including the Violin Concerto, Sérénade mélancolique and Valse-Scherzo. Her Spring 2006 release of Mozart Concertos No. 3 & 4, was awarded five out of five stars by BBC Music Magazine which publication also chose Julia Fischer in Winter 2006 as the “Best Newcomer of the Year”. Great Britain’s distinguished Gramophone Magazine pictured Julia Fischer on the front cover of their July 2006 issue as one of the major emerging artists to watch.
In addition to her audio recordings, Julia Fischer is showcased in Vivaldi’s "Four Seasons" with Academy of St. Martins in the Fields (Opus Arte).
When not performing, Julia Fischer is Professor of Violin at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main. Ms. Fischer makes her home in Munich, Germany.
Julia Fischer records exclusively for the PentaTone Records.
http://www.juliafischer.com/
Milana Chernyavska, Piano
Milana Chernyavska was born in Kiev in the Ukraine. At the age of five she took her first piano lessons before entering the School for Gifted Children at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire two years later. At seven, she performed her first concert in the Great Philharmonic Hall in Kiev and then went on to win the first international chamber music competition Concertino Praga at only twelve years of age. |
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In 1990 Milana graduated with distinction from the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, where she studied with Professor Sagaidachny. She then undertook masterclasses with Professors Baschkirov, Bloch and others, and continued her studies at the Academy for Music and Theatre in Munich with Professors Hoehenneder and Oppitz.
Her artistic abilities have won her many prizes at both national and international levels, including a Gold Medal at the Vladimir and Regina Horowitz Competition in 1994. Since 1994 Milana has also held the title “Outstanding Artist in the Ukraine”.
Since 1998 Milana has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras, including the Munich Chamber and Ukrainian National Symphonic Orchestras. Additionally, she was recorded at performances with the Bavarian, Hessian, Middle German (MDR) and North German (NDR) Radio; as well as for the BBC, the VRS, Radio France and the National Ukrainian Radio. She has also produced solo and chamber music recordings for EMI, Naxos, Claves, Avie and Ars Musici. With EMI she also produced a CD which was selected as one of the best CDs of 2001 by the BBC Music Magazine.
She has led performances around the world, including Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Herkulessaal in Munich, Chatelet in Paris, the Conservatoire in Moscow, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall and the Santoryhall in Tokyo. Concert tours included most European countries, Canada, the USA and Japan and she has been invited to numerous international festivals. Milana is also much in demand as a chamber musician, working together with Julia Fischer, Elisabeth Batiashwili, Adrian Brendel, Daniel Müller-Schott, Vogler-Quartett, Daniel Röhn, Rudens Turku, Susanna Henkel, Nikolas Koeckert and others.
In addition to her performances she has also taught at the Academy for Music and Theatre in Munich.
Press Quotes:
“… Twenty-three-year-old German violinist Julia Fischer has a stellar future ahead of her if this performance was any indication. She was utterly sensational in the Sibelius, putting forth the solo part with brilliant finger work and a powerful yet singing tone. Her intonation, even in challenging octave passages, was flawless.” --Boston Herald
“That she is a phenomenal musician technically and emotionally is apparent from this remarkable two-disc set of Bach's sonatas and partitas, played with extraordinary insight and intensity. Turn to the most obvious example, the Chaconne from the D minor Partita, and you will hear a technique controlled by musicianship of a very high order indeed.” --Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph, London
“Chernyavska – and what a gift she has – laid out the opening bars sensitively, with a touch of poetry…” --The Vancouver Sun