Polyphony, 1932 - Paul Klee
German Modernism
Thursday, November 12th, 6pm
german consulate general new york
871 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
Prelude and Fughetta in E Minor, BWV 900, (1725) arranged for violin and cello
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
The inspiration of Paul Klee’s painting “In the style of Bach”
On a clear day for piano solo (2004)
Matthias Pintscher (1971)
Inspired by Agnes Martin’s screen print
Four serious songs no.1 & no.4, op121 (1896) for bass and piano
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Dedicated to Max Klinger
Musik für 3 Streicher for violin, viola and cello (1977)
Wolfgang Rihm (b.1952)
Inspired by Antonin Artaud and Swiss Adolf Wölfli
Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60, The Werther Quartet (1875)
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
Performers
William Wei violin
Maren Rothfritz viola
Caleb van der Swaagh cello
Han Chen piano
german consulate general new york
871 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
Prelude and Fughetta in E Minor, BWV 900, (1725) arranged for violin and cello
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
The inspiration of Paul Klee’s painting “In the style of Bach”
On a clear day for piano solo (2004)
Matthias Pintscher (1971)
Inspired by Agnes Martin’s screen print
Four serious songs no.1 & no.4, op121 (1896) for bass and piano
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Dedicated to Max Klinger
Musik für 3 Streicher for violin, viola and cello (1977)
Wolfgang Rihm (b.1952)
Inspired by Antonin Artaud and Swiss Adolf Wölfli
Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60, The Werther Quartet (1875)
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
Performers
William Wei violin
Maren Rothfritz viola
Caleb van der Swaagh cello
Han Chen piano
Maren Rothfritz, viola (Paderborn, Germany), was a student at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, where she was awarded prizes for the most outstanding string quartet and piano quartet and gave a recital in the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she studied with Nobuko Imai at the Conservatory of Amsterdam before she moved to the United States to complete her master’s degree with a focus on Music in Education at New England Conservatory with Kim Kashkashian. Maren was a member of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect from 2014 until 2016 and is currently pursuing a Doctorate degree as a CUNY Graduate Center Fellow, studying with Ettore Causa. Maren is experienced in historical performance practice on viola, violin, and baroque violin. Previous Yellow Barn musician (2018)
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A versatile chamber musician and soloist, cellist Caleb van der Swaagh is a recent alumnus of Ensemble ACJW (now know as Ensemble Connect) – a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. Caleb is the recipient of the Tanglewood Karl Zeise Memorial Cello Prize and the Manhattan School of Music Pablo Casals Award, and was also a grant recipient from the Virtu Foundation. As a chamber musician, Caleb has performed with the Borromeo String Quartet, The Knights, A Far Cry, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and has recently appeared at such festivals as the Chelsea Music Festival, Ottawa ChamberFest, Garth Newel Music Center, Music from Montauk, 23Arts Summer Music Festival Edelio Festival, and Birdfoot Festival. As a recording artist, Caleb’s most recent release is the Carter Clarinet Quintet with Phoenix Ensemble on Navona/Naxos and he has appeared on many chamber music recordings including albums on Albany Records,Bright Shiney Things, Supertrain Records, Linn Records, and Avie Records.
An advocate of contemporary music, Caleb is a member of counter)induction and Ensemble Échappé and has also performed with Argento Chamber Ensemble, Either/Or, S.E.M Ensemble, Hotel Elefant, and the Callithumpian Consort. He has worked with such composers as Steve Reich, Alvin Lucier, Sebastian Currier, Philippe Manoury, and David Lang, and has premiered many works by composers of his own generation. He also performs his own arrangements and transcriptions of compositions that range from Renaissance viola da gamba music to jazz. A native New Yorker, Caleb graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University as part of the Columbia – Juilliard Exchange program with a degree in Classics and Medieval & Renaissance Studies. Caleb received his master’s degree with academic honors from New England Conservatory and later studied at the Manhattan School of Music. His primary teachers are Bonnie Hampton, Bernard Greenhouse, Laurence Lesser, and David Geber. Caleb plays on a cello made by David Wiebe in 2012. |
Han Chen, Taiwanese pianist, was the first prize winner of the 6h China International Piano Competition, prize winner of the International Russian Music Piano Competition, the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Jinqiao National Piano competition in China, among others. Mr. Chen was also awarded the Mieczyslaw Munz Piano Scholarship and 26th Chimei Art Prize Piano Category.
As a soloist, Mr. Chen has appeared with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (under Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy), the China Symphony Orchestra, Macao Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and Xiamen National Orchestra. |
Laureate of the prestigious 2015 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition, Taiwanese violinist William Wei has begun to show his expressive and unique sound to the world. Following William’s Shostakovich Concerto in the final of the Queen Elisabeth with conductor Marin Alsop and the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Belgium Newspaper Le Soir states that “William Wei gets everyone’s attention in the first movement; he expresses all the possibilities in the second movement; William burns all his passion and freedom in the music till the end.”
During his studies at New York, William won the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition in 2013, which gave him the opportunity to perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Severance Hall. He then went on to win the Concerto Competition organized by the Juilliard School and played Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy at the Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall. William began his solo career following the 2015 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition and his recent solo performances began with his first recital debut in Taiwan, followed by multiple concerto opportunities with the Belgium National Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan String Academy, Sejong Soloists, and Mainzer Virtuosi. William has also been invited to perform in festivals and venues such as the Lincoln Center, Alice Pratt Brown Hall, 4string festival in New Jersey, Green Mountain music festival in Vermont, Casalmaggiore music festival in Italy, Henry le Boeuf Hall in Belgium, Gasteig Conert Hall in Munich, Seoul Arts Center, Cremona Stradivari Museum (Museo del Violino) and the Taiwan National Concert Hall. William has worked with renowned musicians such as Gil Shaham, Marin Alsop, Brian Suits, Nai Yuan Hu, and Gilbert Varga. Born in Taiwan, William began his studies on the violin at the age of five. Since entering the Juilliard Pre-College Division at the age of sixteen, he has continued his studies at the school with Hyo Kang and I-Hao Lee. William is currently a recipient of the Jerome L. Greene Foundation Scholarship for his Bachelor degree at The Juilliard School. |
About the program
The evening will focus on the music written by German composers inspired by artworks and literature. We are pleased to present five pieces, including two international renown living composers Matthias Pintscher and Wolfgang Rihm, and two pieces by Brahms and a piece by Bach. The concert will end with Brahms third piano quartet, a masterpiece right after the starting of the era “Belle Epoque”
The vision of this concert is to create an artistically and musically motivating environment where individuals gather and inspire one another through German music inspired by art and literature.
The vision of this concert is to create an artistically and musically motivating environment where individuals gather and inspire one another through German music inspired by art and literature.