This program offers a delightful blend of passion, vitality, and elegance. It begins with Beethoven’s Spring Sonata, a bright and uplifting violin-piano duet that practically radiates optimism, evoking the fresh spirit and renewal of the spring season. Next, Lili Boulanger’s Three Pieces for Cello and Piano bring a touch of introspective beauty, while Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo capriccioso captivates with its mix of profound feeling and dazzling virtuosity. After intermission, the program builds to Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2, a deeply personal and dramatic work that lets the piano shimmer with delicate textures while the strings engage in a passionate interplay.
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770–1827)Sonata in F major for Violin and Piano, Op. 24, “Spring”
(1800–01)Nadia Boulanger
(1887-1979)Three Pieces for Cello and Piano
(1914)Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
(1840–1893)Pezzo capriccioso for Cello and Piano, Op. 62
(1887)Gabriel Fauré
(1845–1924)Quartet No. 2 in G minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 45
(1885-86)
Gloria Chien
Hyeyeon Park
Bella Hristova
Kristin Lee
Milena Pájaro-van de Stadt
Dmitri Atapine
Pianist Gloria Chien has a diverse musical life as a performer, concert presenter, and educator. She made her orchestral debut at age 16 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Dausgaard. In 2009 she launched String Theory, a chamber music series in Chattanooga, and the following year was appointed Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo. In 2017, she joined her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, as Co-Artistic Director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont. The duo became Artistic Directors at Chamber Music Northwest in 2020, and were named the recipients of the 2021 Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music from CMS. Ms. Chien received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from New England Conservatory, where she was named the Advisor for the prestigious Institute for Concert Artists in 2024. She is an artist-in-residence at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee; a Steinway Artist; and an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program.
Described as “a pianist with power, precision, and tremendous glee” (Gramophone) and praised for her "very sensitive" (Washington Post) playing, Hyeyeon Park has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician on major concert stages around the world, performing with orchestras such as the Seoul Philharmonic, KNUA Symphony Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic, Gangnam Symphony, and Seoul Festival Orchestra. A Seoul Arts Center “Artist of the Year” in 2012, she is also a prizewinner of numerous international competitions, including Oberlin, Ettlingen, Hugo Kauder, Prix Amadèo, Corpus Christi, Vittorio Gui, and Plowman. She has appeared on such stages as the Philips Collection, Zankel Hall, Merkin Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Seoul Arts Center. As an active chamber musician, she has performed at festivals including Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Northwest, Yellow Barn, and Santander. She released a critically acclaimed world-premiere recording of Lowell Liebermann’s works for cello and piano, and her solo CD Klavier 1853 was released in 2017. She holds a doctorate degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and degrees from Yale School of Music and Korea National University of Arts. She counts among her teachers Peter Frankl, Claude Frank, Yong Hi Moon and Daejin Kim. Park is artistic co-director of Apex Concerts (Nevada), co-director of Young Performers Program at Music@Menlo and piano professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Acclaimed for her passionate, powerful performances, beautiful sound, and compelling command of her instrument, violinist Bella Hristova has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across the US, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and New Zealand. She was the featured soloist for an eight-orchestra concerto commission, written by her husband, composer David Serkin Ludwig, and recently recorded it with the Buffalo Philharmonic and JoAnn Falletta. Her discography also includes the complete Beethoven and Brahms sonatas with pianist Michael Houstoun. A champion of new music, her project Lineage features six new solo violin commissions by Dai Wei, Gloria Kravchenko, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, Eunike Tanzil, Joan Tower, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. She is a recipient of a 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant and first-prize winner of the Michael Hill and YCA competitions. Hristova studied with Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo, is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, and plays a 1655 Nicolò Amati violin.
A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a top-prize winner of the International Naumburg Violin Competition and the Astral Artists’ National Auditions, Kristin Lee is a violinist of remarkable versatility and impeccable technique who enjoys a vibrant career as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Lee has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Hawai’i Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and many others. She is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Emerald City Music in Seattle. Lee released her critically acclaimed debut solo album, American Sketches, on First Hand Records in November 2024. In 2026, she will collaborate with Grammy-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion, featuring a new commission by Vivian Fung. Lee’s violin was crafted in Naples in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano and is generously loaned to her by Paul and Linda Gridley. She is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program.
Violist Milena Pájaro-van de Stadt has appeared as soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Jacksonville Symphony, and the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, and has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, including an acclaimed 2011 debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall. She was the founding violist of the Dover Quartet, and played in the group from 2008 to 2022. In 2013 the Dover Quartet was the first-prize winner and recipient of every special award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and won the gold medal and grand prize in the 2010 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Her numerous awards also include first prize of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and top prizes at the Sphinx Competition and Tokyo International Viola Competition. Pájaro-van de Stadt has degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
Cellist Dmitri Atapine has been praised for his “brilliant technical chops” (Gramophone) and performances that are “highly impressive throughout” (The Strad). He has appeared at leading venues worldwide and performs frequently with CMS, where he is an alum of the Bowers Program. He has been featured at festivals including Music@Menlo, La Musica Sarasota, Aldeburgh, and Aix-en-Provence. His recordings appear on Naxos, Bridge, MSR, and other labels, and include a world-premiere release of cello sonatas by Lowell Liebermann. He has received awards including first prize at the Carlos Prieto Cello Competition and top honors at the Premio Vittorio Gui and Plowman competitions. He holds a doctorate from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Aldo Parisot. Atapine is cello professor at the University of Nevada, Reno; Artistic Co-Director of Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City; founder of Apex Concerts (Nevada); and Co-Director of Music@Menlo’s Young Performers Program.