Purchase, NY
Brahms and DvořákSat, Oct 25, 2025, 5:00 pm
Recital Hall, Purchase College
2 hours, including intermission
The pairing of Antonín Dvořák, the Bohemian wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his mentor Johannes Brahms, the undisputed master of the German tradition, offers one of music’s most fertile landscapes. With the profoundest respect for each other’s work (mixed with a tinge of mutual jealousy) the two worked tirelessly at the twilight of the Romantic era, penning an incomparable collection of beloved works.
Program
Fritz Kreisler
(1875–1962)Slavonic Fantasie on Themes by Dvořák for Violin and Piano
(1914)Antonín Dvořák
(1841–1904)Humoresque for Violin and Piano, Op. 101, No. 7
(arr. Wilhelmj) (1894)Johannes Brahms
(1833–1897)Quintet in F major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 88
(1894)Johannes Brahms
(1833–1897)Selected Hungarian Dances for Violin and Piano
(arr. Joseph Joachim) (1868, 1880)Antonín Dvořák
(1841–1904)Quintet in E-flat major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 97, “American”
(1893)
Sahun Sam Hong
Sean Lee
Danbi Um
Matthew Lipman
Milena Pájaro-van de Stadt
Clive Greensmith
Renowned for his “imaginative, intoxicating . . . high-voltage” playing (Sindelfinger Zeitung) and “wide range of rich colors” (San Diego Story), Korean-American pianist Sahun Sam Hong commands the world’s most prestigious stages with his distinctly magnetic tone and effortless vitality. He is a prize winner of numerous international competitions, including the Naumburg Competition, Vendome Prize, Beethoven Competition Vienna, and the American Pianists Awards. In addition to performing, Hong is a prolific arranger and orchestrator recognized for his innovative transcriptions that are featured in the touring programs of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mount Vernon Virtuosi, and ensemble132, which he co-directs. His primary mentors have included John Owings, Leon Fleisher, and Yong Hi Moon. A member of CMS’s Bowers Program and a Steinway Artist, Hong is currently based in New York City and serves on the faculty of CUNY Queens College.
With performances described by the New York Times as “breathtakingly beautiful,” violinist Sean Lee has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for over a decade, following his participation in CMS’s Bowers Program. A recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant, Lee has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, and Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice. Originally from Los Angeles, Lee studied with Robert Lipsett of the Colburn Conservatory and legendary violinist Ruggiero Ricci before studying at the Juilliard School with his longtime mentor, violinist Itzhak Perlman. Lee performs on violins made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz in 1995 and David Bague in 1999, and a bow made circa 1890 by Joseph Arthur Vigneron.
Praised by The Strad as an “utterly dazzling” artist, violinist Danbi Um appears internationally as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She is a Silver Medalist at the Menuhin International Violin Competition, prizewinner of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition and the Naumburg International Violin Competition, and recipient of the Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant. In 2026, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Violin at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Recent and upcoming engagements include performances with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Ridgewood Symphony, and the Phillips Collection. Her second album, Poème Mystique, recorded with pianist Juho Pohjonen, was released in February 2025. Her principal teachers include Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, and Hagai Shaham. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program and a winner of Astral Artists’ National Auditions, she performs on the 1683 “ex-Petschek” Nicolò Amati violin, generously loaned by a private collection.
American violist Matthew Lipman, recognized by the New York Times for his “rich tone and elegant phrasing,” has made recent appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, American Symphony Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra; and at Carnegie Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, and the Zürich Tonhalle. He made his recording debut with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and has since recorded on Sony and Deutsche Grammophon. Lipman has premiered works by Clarice Assad, Andreia Pinto Correia, Joel Thompson, and John Williams, and made his film debut in A. Rimbaud, playing the role of Paul Verlaine. He is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Lipman is on faculty at Stony Brook University and is a visiting professor at Juilliard.
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.
Clive Greensmith has a distinguished career as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. From 1999 until 2013 he was a member of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet, giving over 100 performances each year in the most prestigious international venues. As a soloist, he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, and the RAI Orchestra of Rome. Over 25 years, he has built up a catalogue of landmark recordings, most notably the complete Beethoven string quartet cycle for Harmonia Mundi with the Tokyo String Quartet. He was appointed professor at the Colburn School in Los Angeles in 2014. In 2019, he became the artistic director of the Nevada Chamber Music Festival and was appointed director of chamber music master classes at the Chigiana International Summer Academy in Siena, Italy. He performs on a cello made by Stefano Gibertoni & Valerio Nalin made in Milan 2021 and is a Pirastro Strings Artist.