Blog.naomikudo.com

Legendary pianist Alfred Brendel shares his viewpoint on music with students and the general public as a lecturer and musical coach in his first New York residency since retiring from the concert stage. Two public programs frame a four-day educational residency based at Juilliard and presented by Juilliard in partnership with Carnegie Hall. Alfred Brendel discusses Light and Shade of Interpretation to open his residency on Thursday, November 19 at 6 PM in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater (155 West 65th Street). He focuses on performance practice, interpretation, and the process of approaching the work of particular composers and will perform examples on the piano. These ideas are put into practice in a chamber music concert featuring works by Schubert on Sunday, November 22 at 2 PM, also in The Peter Jay Sharp Theater, programmed and coached especially by Mr. Brendel, featuring musicians of Juilliard and The Academy - a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.


The program for the November 22 features works by Schubert: Der Schiffer, D. 536 (Mayrofer), Nachtstück, D 672 (Mayrofer), and Wilkommen und Abschied, (first version) D. 767 (Goethe) with tenor Paul Appleby and pianist Natalia Katyukova; Impromptu No. 3 in B-flat Major, D. 935 with pianist Naomi Kudo; Piano Trio in E-flat 'Notturno,' D. 897 with pianist Gregory DeTurck, violinist Joanna Frankel, and cellist Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir; from Three Klavierstücke, D. 946 with pianist Angelina Gadeliya; and Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965 (Müller) with soprano Devon Guthrie, clarinetist Moran Katz, and pianist Erika Switzer. Mr. Brendel will be coaching the musicians at Juilliard on November 18, 20, and 21 for the November 22 concert. 





Tickets for the talk on November 19 are $10; FREE tickets are required for the November 22 concert. Tickets for both events are available beginning November 5 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 11 AM to 6 PM. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.

A benefit concert has been organized in honor of Emilio del Rosario, beloved brilliant pianist and distinguished teacher.

Emilio del Rosario taught piano for more than 40 years at the Music Institute of Chicago until his diagnosis with cancer two years ago. He received his Bachelor of Music Magna Cum Laude and Master of Music with honors from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and the Artist's Diploma from the Santo Thomas University in Manila, Philippines. He has studied piano with Leon Fleisher, Mieczyslaw Munz, Erno Balogh, Julio Esteban and his aunt, Isabel Veloso, music composition with Benjamin Lees, Steven Grove and Walter Spencer Huffman, chamber music with William Kroll and Robert Gerle, and conducting with Reginald Stewart and Walter Hangen.

Mr. del Rosario has performed in solo recitals, chamber music concerts, as an orchestra soloist and as a collaborating artist in recitals throughout the United States and Asia. He has appeared at the Carnegie Recital Hall, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., Orchestra Hall in Chicago, the United Nations, the Cultural Center of the Phillipines Symphony and many other of the worlds finest recital halls. Among his honors are the Steinway Prize, the Paul Thomas Prize at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the Philippines Outstanding Artist Award, the Distinguished Teacher Award at the White House, and the National Foundation of the Arts' Distinguished Teacher Award.

Mr. del Rosario has given master classes for several teachers' associations in the United States and Japan, and has been on the faculty of the Young Keyboard Artists' Piano Institute in Michigan, the Peabody Music School in Baltimore and the University of Maryland.


All proceeds from the benefit concert and preceding silent auction will go towards a trust fund set up to help defray Mr. del Rosario's debilitating medical expenses.


The concert will take place at the Nichols Concert Hall of the Music Institute of Chicago on October 10th, 2009. There will be a silent auction preceding the concert at 6 PM, followed by the concert at 7 PM. Colleagues and former piano students will perform works by Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Lutoslawski, Bach, Bartok, and Brahms. Tickets are $40 / adult and $10 / student (grade 12 or younger).
 

For more information, donations, or to obtain tickets, please call 847-905-1500 ext. 108.

January 12th, 2010 at 12:30 PM

Recital

180 Maiden Lane
(between Front and South Streets)
New York, New York 10038

All-Chopin Program

January 15th, 2010 at 8 PM

Juilliard ChamberFest

Paul Hall
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, New York 10023

Stephanie Jeong, Violin
Anna Burden, Cello

Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor Op.50

January 20th, 2010 at 4 PM
Recital

Morse Hall
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, New York 10023

All-Chopin Program

February 3rd, 2010 at 1 PM
Wednesdays at One

Alice Tully Hall
1941 Broadway
New York, New York 10023

Chopin Polonaise-Fantasie Op.61 in A flat major

March 25th, 2010 at 7:30 PM

Pianist Naomi Kudo astounds in Fontana festival

Kalamazoo Gazette
July 9th, 2009
C.J. Gianakaris

  
   Pianist Naomi Kudo, 2008 Gilmore Young Artist, opened the Fontana Chamber Arts 2009 Summer Music Festival Wednesday night with an astounding performance. Both as a soloist and chamber player, Kudo proved an extraordinary artist ready for a successful professional career.


   Playing at the First Baptist Church, on the splendid Fazioli grand piano, Kudo displayed stunning virtuosity with three demanding solo pieces to begin the concert. After intermission, she was joined by violinist Diana Cohen, Concertmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and cellist Julia Sengupta, a newcomer to Kalamazoo though a much-experienced performer in countless chamber groups here and abroad.


   During her solo portion, Kudo began with Hadyn's sparkling Piano Sonata No.60 in C major, risky because it must be played note-perfect at quick tempos with nowhere to hide within its transparent score. Kudo's picture-perfect positioning relative to the keyboard allowed her to strike keys cleanly and forcefully, for ideal articulation. Octave runs and chromatics were superb, and Kudo brought out Haydn's merry melodies.


   Two pieces from Debussy's Preludes, Book I -- number V ("Les collines d'Anacapri") and XII ("Minstrels") -- followed in an entirely different vein. Here, the percussive excellence required of Hadyn was replaced with silky, sweeping phrases. The Fazioli lent additional velvet sheen to Debussy's charming score.


   The final solo featured an incredible performance of Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata, Op.26. It was dazzling and riveting. This Barber piece was written later in his compositional career, when dissonance and atonality attraced him -- it is not heard very frequently in the concert hall.


   But it simply may be too difficult for many pianists, but not for Kudo. There is an integrity and compositional excellence here that Kudo made evident. The very fast tempos and devilishly hard passage work did not faze her, and she projected the full musical value of Barber's work.


   Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in D minor, Op.49, brought Cohen and Sengupta to the stage. From the opening strains of the cello's line to the closing grand climax, gorgeous music dominated. The hall's acoustics were not always kind during the Haydn and Barber selections, but the sound worked better with the Mendelssohn. Cohen and Sengupta offered delectable harmonizing. The "Scherzo" was sheer perfection.


   Even joined with a superb violinist and cellist, Kudo stood out, thanks to enormous musicality and technical brilliance. Kudo's was a spectacular performance.

January 10th, 2009 at 2 PM
Recital Debut in Japan

Tsuda Hall

Tokyo, Japan

Scarlatti 3 Sonatas
Debussy Preludes from Book I and II
Vine Piano Sonata No.1

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Chopin Polonaise-Fantasie Op.61
Chopin Nocturne Op.15 No.2 in F sharp major
Chopin Waltz Op.34 No.2 in A minor
Chopin Waltz Op.posthumous in E minor
Chopin Andante Spinato and Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22 in E flat major

January 22nd, 2009 at 6 PM
Recital

Paul Hall
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, New York 10023

Elizabeth Chung, Cello

Debussy Cello Sonata
Barber Cello Sonata Op.6 in C minor

February 23rd, 2009 at 7 PM
Salon de Virtuosi

Consulate General of Japan
4 East 67th Street
New York, New York

 

Scarlatti Sonata in F minor K.466
Debussy Preludes from Book I
Albeniz "Triana" from Iberia
Chopin Nocturne Op.15 No.2 in F sharp major
Chopin Waltz Op.posthumous in E minor
Chopin Etude Op.10 No.4 in C sharp minor
Chopin Polonaise Op.53 in A flat major

March 30th, 2009 at 8 PM

Graduation Recital

Paul Hall
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, New York 10023

 
3 Scarlatti Sonatas
Stravinsky 4 Etudes Op.7
Albeniz "Triana" from Iberia
Barber Sonata Op.26 in E flat minor

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Chopin Sonata No.3 Op.58 in B minor
Chopin Polonaise Op.53 in A flat major

April 7th, 2009 at 6 PM
Recital

Paul Hall
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, New York 10023

Sean Lee, Violin

Brahms Violin Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78

April 9th, 2009 at 4 PM
Chamber Music Recital

Paul Hall
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, New York 10023

Stephanie Jeong, Violin

Beethoven Violin Sonata No.8 in G major Op.30 No.3
Schumann Violin Sonata No.1 in A minor Op.105
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Arianna Warsaw-Fan, Violin
Elly Suh, Violin
Colin Brookes, Viola
Elizabeth Chung, Cello
Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor Op.34

April 18th, 2009 at 6 PM
Recital "Chopin by Candlelight"
PianoForte Foundation

Private Residence
Oak Park, Illinois

 

Chopin Nocturne Op.15 No.2 in F sharp major
Chopin Sonata No.3 Op.58 in B minor
Chopin Waltz Op.34 No.2 in A minor
Chopin Waltz Op.posthumous in E minor
Chopin Polonaise Op.53 in A flat major

July 8th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Fontana Chamber Arts

First Baptist Church
Kalamazoo, Michgan

Haydn Sonata Hob.XVI/50 in C major
Debussy 2 Preludes from Book I
Barber Sonata Op.26 in E flat minor

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Diana Cohen, Violin
Julia Sengupta, Cello

Mendelssohn Piano Trio No.1 in D minor Op.49



October 10th, 2009 at 7 PM
Emilio del Rosario Benefit Concert

Nichols Concert Hall
Music Institute of Chicago
1490 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201

Works by Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Lutoslawski, Bach,
Bartok, and Brahms by colleagues and former piano students


November 22nd, 2009 at 2 PM
All-Schubert Concert
Curated and Coached by Alfred Brendel

Peter Jay Sharp Theater
155 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023

Der Schiffer D536 (Mayrofer)

Nachtstûck D672 (Mayrofer)

Wilkommen und Abschied (1st version) D767 (Goethe)

Impromptu No. 3 in B-flat Major D935

Piano Trio in E flat 'Notturno' D897

From Three Klavierstûcke D946

Der Hirt auf dem Felsen D965 (Mûller)

December 9th, 2009 at 8 PM
Chamber Music Recital

Morse Hall
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, New York 10023

Stephanie Jeong, Violin

Anna Burden, Cello

Beethoven Piano Trio No.7 in B flat major Op.97 "Archduke"

Naomi will be making her recital debut in Japan in the winter of 2008! These recitals are made possible with the support of the Chopin Foundation of the United States, the Chopin Society of Japan, the Polish Consulate in New York, and the Kawai Music Association.

She will be performing works by Scarlatti, Debussy, Carl Vine, and Chopin at the Fukui Prefectural University on December 23rd, 2008, at 2 PM. She will also repeat the same program at the Tsuda Hall in Tokyo on January 10th, 2009, at 2 PM.

For more information and to obtain tickets, please visit the Kawai Music Association or download the official recital flyer and advertisement below.

 
flyer.pdf 
advertisement.pdf. 

 

Promenade Concert

               
Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
November 11th, 2008
James Conely

  

   An amazing pair of former winners of the Montgomery Symphony's Blount-Slawson Competition continued to amaze a standing room only audience on Monday evening at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.


   Performing in Auburn-Montgomery's Promenade Concerts, violinist Anna Lee, this year's winner of that competition, accompanied by pianist Naomi Kudo, the 2004 winner of the same competition, have already received international acclaim individually in concerts here and abroad along with winning several other competitions. Their remarkable talent was evident in works by Tartini, Saint-Saëns, Chopin, Bartók, and Sarasate.


  Tartini's G minor sonata known as the "Devil's Trill" opened the program. Its subtitle refers to the number of devilish trills for the violin, but the same appellation might just as well have been applied to Saint-Saëns' G minor sonata, which they played next. Both sonatas made exceptional demands on the performers, but the extended, stunning finger work for piano as well as violin in Saint-Saëns' final "Allegro molto" was spellbinding for power, speed, and accuracy.


   Nathan Milstein's arrangement of the C-sharp minor "Nocturne" by Chopin followed, a contrast in style and mood for its haunting, lyrical melody and improvisatory cadenzas for violin. Then the program turned to the jaunty rhythms and quaint melodies of six "Roumanian Folk Dances" by Bartók as transcribed by Zoltan Szekely.


    Continuing with folk idioms, Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen," or "Gypsy Airs," completed the published program, ending with a stunning flourish and blazing finale.


   The whole program was played without intermission or any other break except to acknowledge enthusiastic applause, which brought the performers back on stage for an encore: Edward Elgar's "Salut d'Amour."


    The performance was brilliant by any standard. Playing an Amati violin, Lee's tone was strong but ostensibly unforced, and her technique was equally impressive, even more so considering that she is only 13 years old. At age 21, pianist Naomi Kudo also played with exceptional maturity, sensitivity to the solo violin, and consummate skill.
 

    These two are indeed international artists and seasoned performers even at their ages. They have separate careers as individual soloists but have played together for a little over a year. Hearing them again whenever there is an opportunity to do so would be welcome.

January 12th, 2008 at 6 PM
2008 National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts Gala

Soho Studios at Wynwood Convention Center
2136 NW First Avenue
Miami, Florida

 

Chopin Etude Op.10 No.3 in E major
Chopin Etude Op.10 No.12 in C minor "Revolutionary"

January 19th, 2008 at 8 PM
The Juilliard School's 2008 ChamberFest

Peter Jay Sharp Theater
New York, New York 10023

Pala Garcia, Violin
Sydney Braunfeld, Horn

Brahms Horn Trio in E flat major Op.40.

March 6th, 2008 at 8 PM
"New York-Paris-Vienna"
Chamber music concert with students from the Juilliard School, Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Dans Paris, and the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts

Glaserner Saal/Magna Auditorium at Musikverein
Vienna, Austria

Faure Piano Quartet No.1 in C minor Op.15

March 27th, 2008 at 7 PM
Screening of Tomasz Magierski's "Defining Chopin"

Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York
233 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10016

Haydn Sonata Hob.XVI/20 in C minor
Chopin Waltz Op.64 No.2 in C sharp minor
Schumann-Liszt "Widmung"

April 22nd, 2008 at 6 PM
Chamber Music Concert

St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University
New York, New York

Pala Garcia, Violin
Robert Walker-Lacomba, Clarinet
Elizabeth Chung, Cello

Olivier Messiaen "Quartet for the End of Time"

April 23rd, 2008 at 6 PM
Chamber Music Concert
American Irish Historical Society

991 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028

 

Schumann Carnaval Op.9
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Sean Lee, Violin
Brahms Violin Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78

April 25th, 2008 at 6:30 PM

2008 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival Opening Gala and Dinner

Dalton Recital Hall, Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Haydn Sonata Hob.XVI/20 in C minor
Ravel Sonatine
Schumann-Liszt "Widmung"
Chopin Polonaise Op.53 in A flat major

April 26th, 2008 at 8 PM
2008 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival

Goodrich Chapel, Albion College
Albion, Michgan

Bach French Overture in B minor BWV831
Carl Vine Piano Sonata No.1 (1990)
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Ravel Sonatine
Schumann Carnaval Op.9

April 28th, 2008 at 3:30 PM
2008 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival

Stetson Chapel, Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo, Michgan

Bach French Overture in B minor BWV831
Carl Vine Piano Sonata No.1 (1990)

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Ravel Sonatine
Schumann Carnaval Op.9

April 29th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
2008 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival

Calvin College Fine Arts Center
Grand Rapids, Michgan

Bach French Overture in B minor BWV831
Carl Vine Piano Sonata No.1 (1990)

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Ravel Sonatine
Schumann Carnaval Op.9

May 4th, 2008 at 1 PM
2008 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival

First Congregational Church
Battle Creek, Michgan

Bach French Overture in B minor BWV831
Carl Vine Piano Sonata No.1 (1990)

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Ravel Sonatine
Schumann Carnaval Op.9

May 11th, 2008 at 3:30 PM
2008 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival

Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra
Robin Fountain, Conductor

Mendel Center/Hanson Theatre
Benton Harbor, Michgan

Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 in C major K.467

May 16th, 2008 at 12:15 PM
PianoForte Salon Series
Live on WFMT Radio

PianoForte Foundation
Chicago, Illinois

Haydn Sonata Hob.XVI/20 in C minor
Ravel Sonatine
Schumann-Liszt "Widmung"
Rimsky-Korsakov-Rachmaninoff "The Flight of the Bumblebee"
Chopin Polonaise Op.53

May 17th, 2008 at 3 PM
Pure Piano Series

PianoForte Foundation
Chicago, Illinois

Bach French Overture in B minor BWV831
Carl Vine Piano Sonata No.1 (1990)

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Ravel Sonatine
Schumann Carnaval Op.9

May 23rd, 2008 at 11 AM
The Juilliard School's 103rd Commencement Ceremony
Honoring Placido Domingo, Carmen de Lavallade, Hank Jones, Charles Simonyi, Anna Deavere Smith, Mitsuko Uchida

Avery Fisher Hall
New York, New York 10023

Program to feature a movement of:
Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor Op.34

August 16th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Thy Chamber Music Festival

Kirsten Kjaers Museum
Langvad, Denmark

Craig Goodman, flute
Prokofiev Flute Sonata in D major Op.94

August 19th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Thy Chamber Music Festival

Thisted Musikteater
Thisted, Denmark

Craig Goodman, flute
Prokofiev Flute Sonata in D major Op.94

August 20th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Thy Chamber Music Festival

Viborg Musiksal
Viborg, Denmark

Bence Abraham, violin
Pala Garcia, violin
Torok Matyas, viola
Morten Zeuthen, cello
Dvorak Piano Quintet in A major Op.81.

August 21st, 2008 at 8 PM

Thy Chamber Music Festival

Morup Molle Kro
Bedsted, Denmark

Tibi Cziger, clarinet
Delyana Lazarova, violin
Morten Zeuthen, cello
Olivier Messiaen "Quartet for the End of Time"

August 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Thy Chamber Music Festival

Musikvaerket
Nykobing Mors, Denmark

Bence Abraham, violin
Pala Garcia, violin
Torok Matyas, viola
Morten Zeuthen, cello
Dvorak Piano Quintet in A major Op.81.

August 24th, 2008 at 4 PM
Thy Chamber Music Festival

Thisted Musikteater
Thisted, Denmark

Tibi Cziger, clarinet
Delyana Lazarova, violin
Morten Zeuthen, cello
Olivier Messiaen "Quartet for the End of Time"

September 12th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Opening Concert
27th International Festival "Chopin in Autumn Leaves"

Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra
Adam Klocek, Conductor

Panstwowa Szkola Muzyczna I i II stopnia w Kaliszu
Kalisz, Poland

Beethoven Concerto No.4 Op.58 in G major
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Chopin Concerto No.1 Op.11 in E minor

September 13th, 2008 at 6 PM
Frederic Chopin National Institute
Royal Castle

Warsaw, Poland

Scarlatti 2 Sonatas
Debussy Preludes from Book I and II
Carl Vine Piano Sonata No.1 (1990)
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Chopin Scherzo No.3 Op.39 in C sharp minor
Chopin Impromptu No.3 Op.51 in G flat major
Chopin Etudes Op.10 No.1-5
Chopin Andante Spinato and Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22 in E flat major

September 14th, 2008 at 12 PM

Zelazowa Wola

Frederic Chopin's Manor
Zelazowa Wola, Poland

Chopin Scherzo No.3 Op.39 in C sharp minor
Chopin Impromptu No.3 Op.51 in G flat major
Chopin Etudes Op.10 No.1-5
Chopin Andante Spinato and Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22 in E flat major

September 14th, 2008 at 4 PM
Royal Lazienki Park

Warsaw, Poland

Chopin Scherzo No.3 Op.39 in C sharp minor
Chopin Impromptu No.3 Op.51 in G flat major
Chopin Etudes Op.10 No.1-5
Chopin Andante Spinato and Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22 in E flat major

September 22nd, 2008 at 7 PM

Harvard Club

35 West 44th Street
New York, New York 10036

Scarlatti 2 Sonatas
Debussy, selections from Preludes Book I and II
Carl Vine Piano Sonata No.1 (1990)
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Chopin Scherzo No.3 Op.39 in C sharp minor
Chopin Impromptu No.3 Op.51 in G flat major
Chopin Etude Op.10 No.1-5
Chopin Andante Spinato and Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22 in E flat major

October 15th, 2008 at 9 PM

The Juilliard School's 2008 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition Winners' Concert Live on WQXR Radio


Paul Hall, The Juilliard School
New York, NY 10023

 

Scarlatti Sonata K.492 in D major
Scarlatti Sonata K.141 in D minor
Albeniz "Triana" from Iberia
Chopin Scherzo No.3 in C sharp minor Op.39

Dvorak Slavonic Dance Op.46 No.2 in E minor
Dvorak Slavonic Dance Op.46 No.8 in G minor
with pianist Yoonjung Han

October 24th, 2008 at 12:15 PM
PianoForte Salon Series
Live on WFMT Radio

Sherwood Conservatory at Columbia College Chicago
1312 South Michigan Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60605

Stephanie Jeong, violin
Si-Yan Darren Li, cello

Selected movements from:
Beethoven Piano Trio Op.1 No.1 in E flat major
Schoenfield Cafe Music
Mendelssohn Piano Trio No.1 in D minor Op.49

October 24th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Chamber Music Concert
Nichols Concert Hall

Music Institute of Chicago
Evanston, Illinois

Stephanie Jeong, violin
Si-Yan Darren Li, cello

Beethoven Piano Trio Op.1 No.1 in E flat major
Schoenfield "Cafe Music"

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Mendelssohn Piano Trio No.1 in D minor Op.49

November 10th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Auburn University at Montgomery's
Artist and Concert Series

Wilson Auditorium
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
1 Museum Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117

Anna Lee, Violin

Tartini Sonata in G minor "Devil's Trill"
Saint-Saens Violin Sonata No.1 in D minor Op.75

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Chopin Nocturne in C sharp minor Op.posthumous
Elgar Salut d'amour
Bartok Romanian Folk Dances for Violin and Piano
Sarasate Zigeunerweisen

November 22nd, 2008 at 8 PM

November 23rd, 2008 at 2:30 PM

Southwest Florida Symphony

Michael Hall, Conductor

Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
Fort Myers, Florida

Grieg Concerto in A minor Op.16

November 24th, 2008 at 1 PM                   
Chamber Music Concert
Hudson Valley Music Club

Dobbs Ferry Woman's Club
54 Clinton Avenue
Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522

Tibi Cziger, clarinet

Saint-Saens Clarinet Sonata No.1 in E flat major Op.167
Debussy Premiere Rhapsody

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Franck Violin Sonata in A major (for Clarinet)

December 14th, 2008 at 3 PM

Chamber Music Concert
South Orange Performing Arts Center

One SOPAC Way
South Orange, New Jersey 07079

Sean Lee, violin
Stravinsky Suite Italianne
Prokofiev Violin Sonata No.1 in F minor Op.80

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Debussy Violin Sonata in G minor
Franck Violin Sonata in A major

December 23rd, 2008 at 2 PM                                

Recital Debut in Japan
Fukui Prefectural University

Eiheiji, Fukui
Japan

Scarlatti 3 Sonatas
Debussy Preludes from Book I and II
Vine Piano Sonata No.1

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Chopin Polonaise-Fantaise Op.61

Chopin Nocturne Op.15 No.2 in F sharp major
Chopin Waltz Op.34 No.2 in A minor
Chopin Waltz Op.posthumous in E minor

Chopin Andante Spinato and Grande Polonaise Brillante Op.22 in E flat major

Recipes for Pianistic Success

The Juilliard Journal
October 2008
Salima Barday

  

      Do you have secret ingredients that set your favorite dish apart from your friends'? Those secret ingredients are much like the unique stories that help explain how musicinas develop into the artists they are. These special recipes for success set performers apart on stage, no matter how similar their diligence, hard work, and excellence may be. This is especially apparent in the two winners of this year's International Bachauer Piano Competition, Yoonjung Han and Naomi Kudo, who both began playing piano early on, but with their own spices tossed in the mix.

    
     For Yoonjung, it all began in her birthplace of Korea, at age 3, after one fateful afternoon nap. When she awoke, her mother had stepped out of the apartment, so she leaned out the sixth-floor window to look for her mother on the street. She slipped out of the window and was stuck outside holding on to the windowsill when the fifth-floor resident, a pastor's wife, happened to look up from reading her Bible and helped Yoonjung back to safety. After the shock and minor injuries she sustained during the incident, Yoonjung took a year off from school. Feeling idle and bored, she asked for a piano. Since then, her family has also become religious, influenced by their neighbor.

    Quickly excelling at the instrument, Yoonjung made her solo debut at 13, performing Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. At 15, she received the Most Promising Young Artist award from the Korean Minister of Culture after winning the grand prize in the Korea National Music Competition, and moved overseas to study with Victoria Mushkatkol in Juilliard's Pre-College Division. Away from home before she had had a chance to learn how to cook, Yoonjung depended heavily on her rice cooker. Her father stayed with her for her first semester, but Yoonjung soon found herself independent and fending for herself in the big city. Although she had wanted to come to the States for the performance opportunities, she reflects on her difficult time: "I won't do that to my daughter. I'll keep her [at home] until she gets married."

     After earning her bachelor's degree at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Eleanor Sokoloff, Yoonjung is now in her second year of the master's degree program at Juilliard, studying with Robert McDonald. At 23, she has already performed as a soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Fort Collins Symphony, Houston Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and Milan's I Pomeriggi Musicali, among others. She has won the gold medal at the Nena Wideman Piano Competition and the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition, second prize at the Ettore Pozzoli International Piano Competition, and fifth prize at the Helsinki Maj Lind International Competition.

      Yoonjung says she feels that she made a musical breakthrough with the competitions and festivals that she attended this past summer. She performed the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 in E Flat, K.482, at the Banff Center with the festival orchestra there, playing her own written eingangs and cadenzas, and won the gold medal at the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati. "I used to be obsessed with perfection," she observes, "but learned that it's more heart than fingers. It's a talent and a joy that you can give to people, but you really have to love the music, not fame." She says she finally feels emotionally free to connect with the audience.

      Naomi Kudo also has a unique story. Born in Washington, D.C., she was introduced to the piano at age 4 by her Japanese-Korean parents, who were lovers of classical music though not musicians themselves. She never fought against practicing--but later, when she made violinist friends, she went through a phase of wishing that her parents had started her on the violin. For Naomi, the piano became a gradual attachment in life. Now a fourth-year bachelor's degree student at Juilliard studying with Yoheved Kaplinsky, she says that being in New York made her realize how much she loved music and strengthened her resolve to pursue a musical career.

     As part of her childhood was spent in Chicago, Naomi grew up listening to the Chicago Symphony, dreaming that perhaps one day she could be on that stage. After making her orchestral debut at 16--performing Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra--she got her chance with the Chicago Symphony, playing Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain in Orchestra Hall. Her experience playing with the C.S.O. spanned more than a week and included performing for kids ranging from grade school to high school. She recalls this as "scary and exciting," and says it was a challenge to be alert and ready to play for them every morning at 9.

     Naomi, who attended public school herself, recalls her high school years as "pretty rigorous academically, which was great--but it was also a struggle to balance the work load and music." Now travel is a big part of her life; she has performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Reno Philharmonic, as well as the Ars Viva, Montgomery, Fort Collins, Northbrook, Everett, Oak Park, Southwest Michigan, and Fukui orchestras. Without as much time now for the sports she enjoys (her childhood included ice skating and swimming lessons), she follows them on TV in her free time--and of course, this past summer's Olympic games were a treat. She admires Olympic athletes, finding their training more daunting than her own.  "It's fun to watch the athletes because they are so charismatic," she says. "I think about how much work they go through, because it is so incredible for just those 10 seconds."

     Moving back and forth between Japan and Chicago as she grew up, Naomi was able to draw from the classical music scenes of both places. Her career has been blossoming as she receives numerous awards and wins various competitions; she was recently named a 2008 Gilmore Young Artist, has received the Chopin Prize, and wins the Bachauer competition for the second consecutive year. This season, she is looking forward to performing in Poland and Japan, and also hopes to share her love for music through community work, inspired by performing on one of violinist Midori's outreach concerts at the Isabella Residence in Upper Manhattan.

     Last April, Naomi had the privilege of meeting and chatting with Mitsuko Uchida, one of her favorite pianists, at a private dinner. Only a few weeks later, Naomi performed a movement of the Brahms F-Minor Piano Quintet at Juilliard's 2008 commencement--after only one rehearsal, with four string players she had met just three days before. An impressed Uchida, one of the honorary doctorate recipients, was seated nearby onstage and complimented her afterward. It was a special experience, Naomi said--foreshadowing both the pressures and the rewards of professional life.