WU DAN VIOLIN. Debutkoncert. Onsdag d. 16. maj 2018 kl Konservatoriets Koncertsal, Julius Thomsens Gade 1

Transcription

1 WU DAN VIOLIN Debutkoncert Onsdag d. 16. maj 2018 kl Konservatoriets Koncertsal, Julius Thomsens Gade 1

2 WU DAN Chinese violinist Wu Dan is currently associate professor at Shenyang Conservatory of Music, one of the most prestigious music schools in China. Ms. Wu Dan has won a number of violin competitions, notably the 3 rd place in the China National Violin Competition (Professional Division) in 2001 and receiving the Best Performance Award at the 4 th Shenyang International Music Festival. She has performed as a soloist with Liaoning Philharmonic and Shenyang Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, which she is also a concertmaster. Playing with virtuoso technique and pure tone, along with exquisite musicianship, Dan s performances have appeared in a series of government sponsored music festivals and concerts, and they have taken her to Europe, Korea, and the United States. In 2012, Ms. Wu was selected to participate in the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, USA, and was invited to return in 2014 where she performed the Stravinsky Violin Concerto. As an active chamber musician, Dan has collaborated with many esteemed international artists such as Lewis Kaplan, Mikhail Kopelman, Boris Slutsky, Michael Carrera, Brian Kilp, and Tianshu Wang. In 2017, as part of the American concert tour, she has given masterclasses at Ohio State University, Indiana State University and Capital University. Both her teaching and performances were enthusiastically acclaimed. In 2016, Dan has completed a three-month program as a visiting scholar at the renowned Royal Danish Academy of Music. She is now working toward receiving the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma, under the supervision of the late Professor Serguei Azizian and Professor Tim Frederiksen. Professor Wu is balancing her performance career with academic responsibilities, as she has published many research papers on violin performance, and given lecture recitals introducing contemporary violin chamber music and solo repertoire. Her students see her as an inspiration and a role model. Well trained from a young age, Wu Dan entered the Shenyang Conservatory of Music Pre-college Division when she was 12 and earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the conservatory. Her teacher was the nationally recognized pedagogue, Wang Guan.

3 PROGRAMME Yongcheng Qin: ( ) Gang Chen: (b. 1935) Richard Strauss: ( ) Tone Poem: By the Sea Shore The Golden Steel - Smelting Furnace Sonata in E-flat Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 18 Allegro, ma non troppo Improvisation: Andante Cantabile Finale: Andante - Allegro INTERMISSION (20 minutes) Johannes Brahms: ( ) Scherzo in C Minor from F.A.E. Sonata Alfred Schnittke: ( ) Maurice Ravel: ( ) Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 Andante Allegretto Largo Allegretto scherzando Tzigane Tianshu Wang, Piano

4 PROGRAMME NOTES Former president of Shenyang Conservatory of Music, YONGCHENG QIN was a prolific composer in China. Tone Poem: By the Seashore was written in 1962, and it has been among the most frequently performed works in the country. Set in ternary form, the A section includes two themes that contrasting in major and minor tonalities. The lyricism is spread through the wavy melodic lines which highlighted by using stepping and leaping intervals. Meter changes and modulations in the B section provide exciting drama. It is a masterwork of displaying the tonal expressions on both instruments. Based on a song that was popular during the cultural revolution (1970s) in China, CHEN GANG (composer of the famous Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto) transcribed the music into a splendid violin virtuoso show piece. The original song title was The Glory of Chairman Mao Lightens the Steel-Smelting Furnace, which reflects a special political era in China. In this transcription, the composer challenges the violinist on the techniques, and the brilliant piano part also helps to build up the musical excitement. The STRAUSS VIOLIN SONATA is famous for its difficult piano score. Written between 1887 and 1888, while the composer fell in love with the beautiful soprano Pauline de Ahna, who later became his wife. The passionate feelings are heard through the lyrical beauty throughout the piece. The first movement is in a typical sonata-allegro form, with thematic materials contrasting between lyricism and virtuosity. The second movement is otherworldly beautiful, marked by the spontaneous conversation between the two instruments. A solemn introduction on the piano opens the finale and the music ends in a triumphant splash. The F-A-E SONATA is a collaborative work of three composers: Schumann, Brahms, and Dietrich that finished in It was Schumann s idea of a gift and tribute to violinist Joseph Joachim. It has four movements which are all based on the notes F-A-E. Brahms wrote the third movement, Scherzo. It follows the traditional ABA form, displaying Brahms signature qualities such as rich harmony, vital rhythm, and full texture.

5 Russian/German composer ALFRED SCHNITTKE wrote his Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in The piece is considered to be one of the most popular post World War II violin sonatas in the repertoire. The work is a consummate synthesis of formal concision, expressive intensity, and cutting attitude. Set in four movements, the composer orchestrated the work in Ravel wrote TZIGANE in It was commissioned by and dedicated to Hungarian violinist Jelly d Arányi, great-niece of the influential violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim. Tzigane means Gypsy in French. The rhapsodic piece is in one movement, and it is a demonstration of dazzling violin techniques. The original instrumentation was for violin and piano, and later in the same year, Ravel orchestrated the piano part. Tianshu Wang

6 TIANSHU WANG Acclaimed by the press as a superbly talented pianist who plays with prodigious technique and eloquent phrasing, Steinway Artist Tianshu Wang has graced concert stages in the United States, China,Mexico,Singapore, Thailand, Korea and Taiwan. Winner of many competitions including a national first prize, she is active in both solo and collaborative performances and has performed with major orchestras in China and the United States. She made her debut in Carnegie Hall in 2016, and has performed live on CCTV. Respected as a distinguished artist and teacher in her native China, she was featured in a cover story of the country s most prestigious piano magazine, Piano Artistry. Dr. Wang is currently Professor and Head of the Keyboard Area at Capital University s Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio. She received the Praestantia Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2011, the highest honor given to a faculty member at the university. Most recently, she was recognized as the 2017 Faculty Scholarship Award recipient. She has been featured in a cover story of the Capital Magazine, Crossing the Musical Boarders. Prior to Capital, she served on the piano faculty of Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Dr. Wang holds degrees from the University of Arizona (M.M. and D.M.A. in Piano Per-formance) and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (B.M. in Piano Performance). Her teachers include Zhu Yafen, who also taught Lang Lang, and Nicholas Zumbro, a student of the legendary Rosina Lhévienne. In 2016, Dr. Wang presented at the national conference of Music Teacher s National Association with a topic One Road to Success: Understanding Motivation and Work Ethic in Asian Culture, and is an artist faculty member of the Cleveland International Music Festival. She also chaired the judging panel at the 2016 China- Korea International Music Competition in Wonju, Korea. Tianshu Wang s biography appears in Who s Who in America, Who s Who of American Women, and Who s Who in China. The CD set Encyclopedia of Chinese Classical Piano Music in which she is featured as a major performer, has been a best seller in China; and her chamber music CDs, which were published by Albany and Mark Records, have been well received by both the public and critics. Her solo album entitled Piano in China that was released on the Albany label was featured on the cover of Fanfare magazine (March/April issue of 2012) with an extensive interview article and some enthusiastic reviews.

7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to dedicate this meaningful concert to my beloved teacher, Professor Serguei Azizian, who passed away unexpectedly in March. When I first came to RDAM as a visiting scholar in 2016, it was him who encouraged and inspired me to pursue a higher goal. He was the resource of my motivation and determination of facing challenges in my career. Who would anticipate that he would be absent at my debut concert today? I am extremely emotional at this moment, and I would play my program - the program he helped me to put together wholeheartedly, as a tribute to Professor Azizian, and I believe he can hear the music I play from heaven above! I would like to express my special gratitude to Professor Tim Frederiksen who has lifted me up from my low point, which was also my crucial point. I can not thank him enough for the invaluable suggestions on my playing in polishing the program, for the tremendous support he has given me. His advice has helped my playing reach a new height in stylish interpretation and musicianship, so today I would have such confidence standing on this stage. A special thank-you to Dr. Tianshu Wang, my pianist who flew from United States to perform with me and to write the program notes. Her passionate and exquisite artistry makes this program such an enjoyable journey! I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Ms. Marianne Jakobsen, for her kind care and support, so my life as an international student in Denmark is easy and pleasant. A heart felt thank-you to Mr. Tuan Hao Tan, along with Ziling Xu, Xuanye Mi, and Yingchun Li from the Confucius Institute, for their friendship and endless support. I certainly will not forget Professor Eszter Haffner and Ms. Berit Johansen Tange for their kind assistance. Last, but not the least, I would like to thank my dear friend Kehan Zhang, and all the friends I have made while studying at RDAM. Because of you, my time at Copenhagen has been such a sweet experience. To everybody who are here tonight: thank you all for coming! Hope you enjoy my music... Wu Dan

8 Rosenørns Allé Frederiksberg C Tlf.: dkdm@dkdm.dk