Benjamin Beilman ㅣViolin
Twenty-seven year old American violinist Benjamin Beilman is recognized as one of the fastest rising stars of his generation, winning praise in both North America and Europe for his passionate performances and deep rich tone which the Washington Post called “mightily impressive” and The New York Times described as “muscular with a glint of violence.” The Times also praised his “handsome technique, burnished sound, and quiet confidence [which] showed why he has come so far so fast.” Following his performance of the Sibelius Concerto at the Montreal Competition, the Strad described his performance of the slow movement as “pure poetry.”
In the upcoming season, Mr. Beilman will return to the Philadelphia Orchestra performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 and on tour with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He will also appear in recital on a ten-city tour of Australia – including debut appearances in Sydney and Melbourne. In March 2016, Warner Classics will release his debut recital CD of works by Schubert, Janacek, and Stravinsky. Highlights this season include his debut with Jaap van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony and the world premiere of a new concerto written for him by Edmund Finnis with the London Contemporary Orchestra. He will also return to Europe to play Beethoven with the London Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, and for recitals at the Louvre, and the Wigmore Hall, as well as at the Verbier and Aix-en-Provence Festivals.
Last season, Beilman made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and was invited to play with them again at the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival. He also made his debut in recital at the Berlin Philharmonie, and appeared with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and with Orchestra St. Luke's at Alice Tully Hall. He has recently appeared both in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium with the New York Youth Symphony and Weill Hall, for his recital debut, in a program that included the premiere of a new work by David Ludwig commissioned for him by Carnegie Hall. Mr. Beilman also previously performed with the Basel Symphony, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Eugene Symphony, and Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Abroad, Mr. Beilman has appeared as soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich and Sir Neville Marriner, with Métropolitain de Montréal and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and with the Malaysian Philharmonic and Hans Graf. He has also appeared in recital internationally at the Louvre, Tonhalle Zürich, Wigmore Hall, Spannungen, and Festpiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Mr. Beilman is a frequent guest artist at festivals including at Music@Menlo, Music from Angel Fire, and Chamber Music Northwest as well as at the Bridgehampton, Marlboro, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Sedona Chamber Music Festivals. Mr. Beilman collaborates abroad at the Kronberg Academy in Frankfurt, Spectrum Concerts Berlin, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, and at the Young Concert Artists Festivals in Tokyo and Beijing.
Mr. Beilman is the recipient of the prestigious 2014 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a 2012 Avery Fisher Career Grnt, and a 2012 London Music Masters Award. In 2010, he won the First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and as First Prize Winner of the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition and winner of the People's Choice Award, Beilman recorded Prokofiev's complete sonata for violin on the Analekta label in 2011. In 2010, he won First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and YCA's Helen Armstrong Violin Fellowship.
Mr. Beilman studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago, Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy.
Yekwon Sunwoo │ Piano
Praised by the Examiner for "the soft caressing touches in quiet passages and his total command over the instrument and the expressiveness," pianist Yekwon Sunwoo won First Prize at the 2014 Vendome Prize held at the prestigious Verbier Festival. In addition, he won First Prize at the 2013 Sendai International Music Competiton; First Prize at the 2012 Piano Campus International Concours in France, including the audience prize; First Prize at the 2012 William Kapell International Piano Competition, including audience and chamber awards; Laureate in the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition; and First Prize at the 2009 Interlaken Classics Competition in Switzerland.
Mr. Sunwoo has performed extensively as a soloist with numerous orchestras including The Juilliard Orchestra under Itzhak Perlman at Avery Fisher Hall, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, Orchestre National de Belgique at Palais des Beaux-Artsthe, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Maroc, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie.
Mr. Sunwoo's past recital appearances include Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Hamarikyu Asahi Hall in Tokyo, Wigmore Hall in London, Radio France and Salle Cortot in Paris, and Kumho Art Hall in Seoul. He has been featured on WQXR's McGraw-Hill "Young Artists Showcase" and given numerous recitals throughout Germany, Switzerland, Prague, and Morocco.
Mr. Sunwoo's wide chamber music experience includes an invitation from the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation to tour in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama. He has performed for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Inside Chamber Music Lectures and has collaborated with Ida Kavafian and Peter Wiley on Curtis On Tour and with Roberto Diaz on the Bay Chamber Concerts. He has also performed with the Jerusalem Quartet, Gary Hoffman, Anne-Marie McDermott, and Michael Tree. He has been invited to perform at various chamber music festivals such as the Summit Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival, Music from Angel Fire, and Chamber Music Northwest.
Born in Anyang, South Korea in 1989, Mr. Sunwoo previously studied with Min-ja Shin and Sun-wha Kim in Korea. From 2005, he studied with Seymour Lipkin at The Curtis Institute of Music, where he received Rachmaninoff Prize in Piano. He later studied with Robert McDonald and earned his Master's degree at The Juilliard School, where he won the Munz Scholarship Competition and received the Arthur Rubinstein Prize. He currently works with Richard Goode at Mannes College The New School for Music.
Mr. Sunwoo recorded his first solo album on the Fontec label in 2014 and it features The Wanderer Fantasy by Schubert, selections from 12 Lieder von Schubert by Liszt, Sonata No.2 (1931 Edition) by Rachmaninoff, and La valse by Ravel. He is represented by MOC Production in Korea.
Franz Schubert Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, ‘Duo', D.574
Allegro moderato
Scherzo & Trio. Presto
Andantino
Allegro vivace
Chris Rogerson ‘Once' for Violin and Piano
INTERMISSION
Béla Bartók Sonata for Violin and Piano No.2 in C Major, Sz.76, BB 85
Molto moderato
Allegretto
Franz Schubert Rondo for Violin and Piano in b minor, ‘Rondeau Brillant', D.895
Andante
Allegro - Più mosso