Czech Brilliance
| 1. | Introduction | 00:00:50 |
| 2. | Janáček: Sonata for Violin and Piano | 00:20:37 |
| 3. | Dvořák: Quartet in A-flat major for Strings, Op. 105 | 00:37:02 |
| 4. | Closing | 00:00:30 |
The country known as Czechia today, has a long history of artistic expression, military occupation, diverse landscapes, and an overall pride in its homeland. The musical compositions that have come out of this region have long honored that history. Composed as war broke out across Europe in 1914, Janáċek’s Sonata for Violin and Piano hints at the apprehension its composer felt dealing with the uncertainty of a Russian invasion with repetitive sharp motifs and anxiety-laden melodies. A mere 20 years earlier, Dvořák returned to his home of Bohemia from New York City and finished his final string quartet, his Quartet in A-flat major. This would also mark his final composition of ‘absolute music’ — instrumental music that is not representational of anything — before focusing on his opera. While only guesses can be made as to whether this was inspired by his time in America, or by the freedom felt upon returning to his homeland, the quartet moves between dark and stormy themes and folk-inspired melodies.
PROGRAM
|
Leos Janáček (1854–1928) |
Sonata for Violin and Piano (1914–15) Adam Barnett-Hart, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano |
|
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) |
Quartet in A-flat major for Strings, Op. 105 (1895) Shanghai Quartet (Weigang Li, Yi-Wen Jiang, violin; Honggang Li, viola; Nicholas Tzavaras, cello) |
| Title | Date |
|---|---|
| Streaming live | {{ViewModel.StreamingOn.date}}, {{ViewModel.StreamingOn.time}} |
| Available on-demand until | {{ViewModel.AvailableUntil.date}}, {{ViewModel.AvailableUntil.time}} |
{{ViewModel.BuySubscription.prompt}}
Juho Pohjonen
Shanghai Quartet
Lauded for his “impeccable technique” (Washington Post) and “elegant musicianship” (New York Times), pianist Juho Pohjonen is in demand internationally as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber performer. An ardent exponent of Scandinavian music, Pohjonen’s growing discography offers a showcase of music by Finnish compatriots such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho, and Jean Sibelius.Recent engagements include the German Radio Philharmonic; Taiwan, BBC, and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras; Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras; the Symphonies of San Francisco, Atlanta, New Jersey, and Colorado; and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, and Mostly Mozart Festival. He has also collaborated with today’s foremost conductors, including Marin Alsop, Lionel Bringuier, Marek Janowski, Fabien Gabel, Kirill Karabits, Osmo Vänskä, Pietari Inkinen, Stefan Asbury, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, Markus Stenz, and Pinchas Zukerman. He has performed in recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Steinway Society in San Jose, Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, and in San Francisco, La Jolla, Philadelphia, Detroit, Savannah, and Vancouver. He made his London debut at Wigmore Hall and has played recitals throughout Europe in Antwerp, Hamburg, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, and Warsaw.An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, he enjoys an ongoing association with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2019, Pohjonen launched MyPianist, an AI-based app that provides interactive piano accompaniment.
Over the past 40 years, the Shanghai Quartet has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. The quartet’s elegant style, impressive technique, and emotional breadth allows the group to move seamlessly between masterpieces of Western music, traditional Chinese folk music, and cutting-edge contemporary works. Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, soon after the end of China’s harrowing Cultural Revolution, the group came to the United States to complete its studies; since then the members have been based in the US while maintaining a robust touring schedule at leading chamber music series throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
Recent performance highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Freer Gallery (Washington, DC), the Festival Pablo Casals in France, the Brevard Music Center, the Beethoven Festival in Poland, and throughout China. The quartet also frequently performs at Wigmore Hall, the Budapest Spring Festival, Suntory Hall, and with the NCPA and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras. Recent highlights include the premiere of a new work by Marcos Balter for the Quartet and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo for the Phillips Collection, return performances for Maverick Concerts and the Taos School of Music, and engagements in Los Angeles, Syracuse, Albuquerque, and Salt Lake City.
Among innumerable collaborations with eminent artists, they have performed with the Tokyo, Juilliard, and Guarneri Quartets; cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell; pianists Menahem Pressler, Peter Serkin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Yuja Wang; pipa virtuoso Wu Man; and the vocal ensemble Chanticleer. The Shanghai Quartet appears regularly at many of North America’s most prominent chamber music festivals, including annual performances for Maverick Concerts, the Brevard Music Center, and Music Mountain.
The Shanghai Quartet has a long history of championing new music, with a special interest in works that juxtapose the traditions of Eastern and Western music. The quartet has commissioned works from some of the most important composers of our time, including William Bolcom, Sebastian Currier, David Del Tredici, Tan Dun, Vivian Fung, Lowell Lieberman, Zhou Long, Marc Neikrug, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi, and Du Yun. The quartet had a particularly close relationship with Krzysztof Penderecki; they premiered his third quartet, Leaves From an Unwritten Diary, at the composer’s 75th birthday concert and repeated it again at both his 80th and 85th birthday celebrations. Recent commissions include new works from Judith Weir, Tan Dun, and Wang Lei.
The Shanghai Quartet has an extensive discography of more than thirty recordings, ranging from Schumann and Dvořák piano quintets with Rudolf Buchbinder to Zhou Long’s Poems from Tang for string quartet and orchestra with the Singapore Symphony. The quartet has recorded the complete Beethoven string quartets and is currently recording the complete Bartók quartets.
Serving as Quartet-in-Residence at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University since 2002, the Shanghai Quartet joined the Tianjin (China) Juilliard School in fall 2020 as resident faculty members. The Quartet also is the Ensemble-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and visiting guest professors of the Shanghai Conservatory and Central Conservatory in Beijing.