Don't miss Olga Kern next April!

"It was the sizzle of the musical ensemble that seduced listeners"

-Los Angeles Times

Erika Nickrenz, piano
Sara Parkins, violin
Sara Sant'Ambrogio, cello

The most sought-after trio in the world, the Grammy-nominated Eroica Trio thrills audiences with its flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible enthusiasm and sensual elegance. Whether playing the great standards of the piano trio repertoire or daring contemporary works, the three young women who make up this celebrated ensemble electrify the concert stage with their passionate performances. The New York Times writes, “They play chamber music for the concert hall. There is an edge of the seat intensity to every note they produce”. The Trio won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in a highly successful Lincoln Center debut and has since toured the United States, Europe, and Asia. While maintaining their demanding concert schedule, the Eroica Trio has released eight critically lauded recordings for Angel/EMI Classics Records, garnering multiple Grammy® nominations.

The unique history of the players of the Eroica Trio goes all of the way back to their childhoods. Their first connection was made when ‘cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio and pianist Erika Nickrenz were just 12 years old. Sara’s father, John Sant’Ambrogio, then principal ‘cellist of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, was being recorded by Erika’s mother, Grammy Award winning record producer Joanna Nickrenz. This working relationship led to Erika joining Sara at her family’s music camp in the Berkshire Mountains, Red Fox, where Erika studied piano with Sara’s grandmother, Isabelle Sant’Ambrogio, a renowned pianist and pedagogue.

The trio’s musical connection continued when, a few years later, Sara decided to strike out on her own and attend renowned music camp Meadowmount. There she met, played and became fast friends with violinist Sara Parkins. After playing together that summer, Sant’Ambrogio was invited to finish High School at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and Parkins was accepted to attend Juilliard Pre-College where she met and started playing with Erika. Later, Parkins decided to join Sant’Ambrogio at Curtis where they happily renewed their personal and musical friendship. After a year as roommates and musical collaborators, Sant’Ambrogio was invited to attend Juilliard where she resumed playing with Erika.

A few years later, Sara Parkins and Erika Nickrenz reunited at the Tanglewood Music Festival. That same year the Eroica Trio was formed at the Juilliard School. This intricate web of early connections helped forge a lifelong bond between the three women of the Eroica Trio. Their deeply personal, passionate music-making and uncanny ensemble and chemistry onstage have thrilled audiences world wide.

The Eroica Trio performs the Beethoven Triple Concerto more frequently than any other trio in the world, having appeared with renowned symphonies such as Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Mostly Mozart Orchestra, Nashville, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, New Jersey and Seattle. In addition, The Trio has performed the work abroad with Orquesta Sinfonica de Euskadi in Spain, Haydn Orchestra in Italy, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Budapest Symphony in Germany, and on multiple tours in the United States with the Cincinnati Symphony as well as with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, culminating in a Lincoln Center performance. The Eroica Trio’s recording of the Beethoven Triple with the Prague Chamber Orchestra was so successful it landed this piece on Billboards Top 20 for the first time in recording history. The Trio appeared on the German television program "Klassich!" performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Munich Symphony, which was aired throughout Europe. This season, they toured North America with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Fabio Luisi, culminating in a performance on the “Great Performers at Lincoln Center” series in Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

Program to be announced

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Concert sponsored by Myrna and Robert Witt

James Ehnes

“No collection of virtuoso showpieces demands greater technical prowess than Paganini's 24 Caprices. Yet James Ehnes, whose artistry suggests that in Paganini's age he would have enjoyed similar stature to the great man, succeeds impressively in being more than merely thrilling…this is not simply a high-wire act. It's playing of phenomenal

control, allied to musicianship of the highest order.”

-- The Times (London)

Known for his virtuosity and probing musicianship, violinist James Ehnes has performed in over 30 countries on five continents, appearing regularly in the world's great concert halls and with many of the most celebrated orchestras and conductors.

PERFORMANCES

In the 2012-2013 season James performs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Australia and New Zealand. Season highlights include the Brahms Concerto with Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra at New York's Avery Fisher Hall, a tour to the far north of Canada with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, a solo violin recital at the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, and return engagements with the Philharmonia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and San Francisco, St. Louis, Toronto, Gothenburg and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras. An avid chamber musician, Ehnes will tour with his string quartet, the Ehnes Quartet, and lead the winter and summer festivals of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, where he is the Artistic Director.

RECORDINGS

James Ehnes has an extensive discography of over 25 recordings featuring music ranging from J.S. Bach to John Adams. Recent projects include three CDs of the music of Béla Bartók as well as a recording of Tchaikovsky's complete works for violin and his ballet The Sleeping Beauty. Upcoming releases include concertos by Britten, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev. His recordings have been honored with many international awards and prizes, including a Grammy, a Gramophone, and 6 Juno Awards.

BACKGROUND

James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He began violin studies at the age of four, and at age nine became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and from 1993 to 1997 at The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation. Mr. Ehnes first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The following year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival, the youngest musician ever to do so. At age 13, he made his major orchestral solo debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the first-ever Ivan Galamian Memorial Award, the Canada Council for the Arts' Virginia Parker Prize, and a 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant. In October 2005, James was honoured by Brandon University with a Doctor of Music degree (honoris causa) and in July 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada. On July 1st 2010 the Governor General of Canada appointed James a Member of the Order of Canada.

James Ehnes plays the "Marsick" Stradivarius of 1715. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida with his wife and daughter.

MOZART Sonata in E minor, K. 304

GRIEG Sonata No. 2 in G Major

BRAHMS Sonatensatz

SCHUBERT Fantasy in C Major

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Concert sponsored by Denise and Michael Weiner

“Every once in a while, a performance puts all others in perspective and reminds one that in great music there is always more to be revealed. The Vogler Quartet offered such a performance.”

— Washington Post

Tim Vogler, violine
Frank Reinecke, violin
Stefan Fehlandt, viola
Stephan Forck, violoncello

The Vogler Quartet, still featuring its four original members, was founded in 1985. In the 28 years since its foundation, it has secured a place for itself among the top chamber music ensembles, thanks to its great individual and joint sill, and has been a guest on nearly all the world‘s major concert platforms. It was the quartet‘s sensational success at the 1986 string quartet competition in Evian, France, where they won several prizes, that set the four musicians on the path to a great international career.

The Vogler Quartet‘s repertoire covers both the classical literature for string quartet from Haydn to Bartók and the Second Viennese School, as well as lesser-known and brand-new works, giving them an unusual range. Modern compositions have been written for them by Ian Wilson, Gerald Barry, Frank Michael Beyer, Jörg Widmann, Mauricio Kagel, Erhard Grosskopf and others.
The Quartet‘s versatility and openness is also reflected in their regular cooperation with other well-known musicians, where their spectrum ranges from a quintet featuring a piano, clarinet, viola or cello, to works scored for an octet. One example is the CD they released in 2008 together with the clarinettist Chen Halevi and the pianist Jascha Nemtsov with works of the "New Jewish School", another one the glamorous cooperation with Ute Lemper in 2012.

In the next few years, the Vogler Quartet will be adding to their already extensive discography a complete recording of the Dvorak quartets, the first double album was released in September 2012 on cpo.

The Vogler Quartet has a number of regular commitments: they have their own recital series at the Konzerthaus Berlin, they appear at the annual festival "Music in Drumcliffe" in the Irish town Sligo, and are responsible for the artistic direction of the "Kammermusiktage
Homburg/Saar". In addition, they help run the children‘s music festival in Kassel, which has won several prizes, and do a good deal of teaching work in master classes and workshops for professional quartets both in Europe and overseas.

From 2007 to 2012 the members of the Vogler Quartet were appointed professors for chamber music at the Stuttgart Musikhochschule as successors to the Melos Quartet.

BEETHOVEN String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18 No. 3

SCHULHOFF String Quartet No. 1

SCHUBERT String Quartet in A minor "Rosamunde"

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Concert Sponsored by Denise and Ed Del Beccaro

"Kern's musicality radiates off the stage and saturates the hall, and it is joyously, intensely alive.  Call it star quality."

-- Washington Post

" You can't buy it, you can't teach it. But Kern's got it. And we can be thankful that there is an Olga Kern to carry the great tradition she represents into the future."
-- D Magazine

Now recognized as one of her generation’s great pianists, Olga Kern’s career began one decade ago with her award winning gold-medal performance at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001. Her second catapulting triumph came in New York City on May 4, 2004, with a highly acclaimed New York City recital debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. In an unprecedented turn of events, Olga gave a second recital eight days later in Isaac Stern Auditorium at the invitation of Carnegie Hall.

Ms. Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and began studying piano at the age of five. Winner of the first Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition when she was seventeen, she is a laureate of eleven international competitions and has toured throughout her native Russia, Europe, and the United States, as well as in Japan, South Africa, and South Korea. The recipient of an honorary scholarship from the President of Russia in 1996, she is a member of Russia’s International Academy of Arts. She began her formal training with acclaimed teacher Evgeny Timakin at the Moscow Central School and continued with Professor Sergei Dorensky at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she was also a postgraduate student. She also studied with Professor Boris Petrushansky at the acclaimed Accademia Pianistica Incontri col Maestro in Imola, Italy.

Ms. Kern’s performance career has brought her to the many of the world’s most important venues, including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Symphony Hall in Osaka, Salzburger Festspielhaus, La Scala in Milan, Tonhalle in Zurich, and the Châtelet in Paris; she has appeared as soloist with the Kirov Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theater, the Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, Russian National, China Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic, La Scala Philharmonic, Torino Symphony, and Cape Town Symphony Orchestras. She has also collaborated with the most prominent conductors in the world today, including Valery Gergiev, Leonard Slatkin, Manfred Honeck, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Termirkanov, Pinchas Zukerman, and James Conlon.

In addition to performing, Ms. Kern devotes her time to the support and education of developing musicians. In 2012, the artist and her brother, Vladimir Kern co-founded the ?Aspiration? foundation whose objective is to provide financial and artistic assistance to musicians throughout the world.

With her vivid stage presence, passionately confident musicianship and extraordinary technique, the striking young Russian pianist continues to captivate fans and critics alike. In the 2012-2013 season Olga

will perform with the Symphonies of Nashville, Pittsburgh, Detroit and San Diego and will present recital programs in St. Louis, Dallas, and Scottsdale, Arizona and at Lincoln Center in New York City as a part of the Cherry Orchard Festival. In 2013, in a celebration of Rachmaninoff’s 140th year, Olga Kern will perform all four Piano Concerti and the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini in collaboration with Leonard Slatkin and the Orchestre National De Lyon. Ms. Kern has also performed this special program in South Africa, in Warsaw and in Arizona. Other upcoming European appearances include performances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, orchestras in Germany and Poland and recitals in Italy.

In the 2011-2012 season Olga performed with the Baltimore, Houston, Saint Louis, Colorado and Phoenix Symphonies, the Sacramento Philharmonic and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. In February of 2012 Olga made an extensive recital tour of North America with violinist Vladimir Spivakov, their first chamber music collaboration outside of Europe. Summer 2011 appearances included her debut at Aspen Music Festival, a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and recitals with La Jolla Music Society and Bear Valley Music Festival

Her 2010-2011 season included opening week with the Colorado Symphony and closing week with the Detroit Symphony, as well as subscription weeks with Nashville, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Symphonies. She also presented recitals at Longwood Gardens, Sanibel and Winter Park Music Festivals, Drake University and at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. At Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall she performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1 for the composer’s 200th Anniversary Celebration. In April 2011, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and The Van Cliburn Foundation undertook a special co- presentation of Olga Kern in celebration of her tremendous success of the last ten years.

Other past seasons in North America have seen Olga perform with the symphonies of Nashville, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, New Jersey, and Vancouver. She has presented recital programs in the most esteemed concert halls and alongside artists such as soprano Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall and soprano Renee Fleming at Kennedy Center. Olga has toured North America with National Philharmonic of Russia and the world renowned Moscow Virtuosi, both led by conductor Vladimir Spivakov.

Ms. Kern has an extensive world wide reputation. Recent European appearances have included a tour of Austria and Switzerland with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Maestro Antoni Wit, a tour of Germany with the Czech Philharmonic and Maestro Zdenek Maçal, performances with the orchestras Acadamy of La Scala in Bad Kissingen and Copenhagen and Lyon, and recitals in Milan, Hamburg and Luxembourg. She

made her London debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006 followed by her Proms debut in 2008. Ms. Kern has performed recently with the Orquestra de S?o Paulo the Seoul Philharmonic and in Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, and Israel. In June of 2002, Olga Kern made an extensive tour of South Africa where she returned to tour again in February of 2005 with her brother, Vladimir Kern, conducting. Ms. Kern was the Artistic Director of the Cape Town Festival in South Africa from 2005 until 2010 and returns there annually.

Ms. Kern’s festival appearances include the Interlochen Festival, Bravo! Vail Festival, and the Festival Casals in Puerto Rico in 2007. She has been a recent guest artist at several international music festivals, including the Klavier Ruhr and Kissinger Sommer festivals in Germany, the Radio-France Montpellier and Casadesus festivals in France, the Ohrid Festival in Macedonia, and the Busoni Festival in Italy.

Ms. Kern’s discography includes Harmonia Mundi recordings of Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Christopher Seaman (2003), a Rachmaninoff recording of Corelli Variations and other transcriptions (2004), a recital disk with works by Rachmaninoff and Balakirev (2005), Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Antoni Wit (2006), Brahms Variations (2007) and a 2010 release of Chopin Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3 (2010). She was also featured in the award-winning documentary about the 2001 Cliburn Competition, Playing on the Edge. Most recently, SONY released a recording of Ms. Kern performing the Rachmaninoff Sonata for Violoncello and Piano with cellist Sol Gabetta.

RACHMANINOV Preludes

MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition

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Concert sponsored by the Diablo Regional Arts Association

BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS

Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 2:30 pm

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brings some of the world's finest musicians to your doorstep!