Marlboro Again!

We drove home from Lake Winnipesaukee yesterday (Friday). We came back a different way - we took Route 11 all the way from Ames Farm Inn to Bellows Falls, VT! That brought us back via Andover. NH, Lake Sunapee, Claremeont, NH, etc. Andover is where The Proctor School is located - where Ellen's father, Frederick Barnes Tolles, went to high school. It seemed like a short trip. I didn't time it, bit it seemed shorter than the trip over. It also avoids Concord, though Laconia is almost as built up and crowded. The weather is great - last night was cool, and great for sleeping. Rehearsal at Marlboro started at 11 a.m. with the Mendelssohn Piano Trio in D-Minor, Op. 49, with Jonathan Biss, piano; Yebin Yoo, violin; and Oliver Herbert, cello. Jonathan Biss is co-director of the Festival, and we have heard him often in the past. Oliver Herbert we heard last week in the Shostakovich. I don't remember having heard Yebin Yoo before. She is 23 years old and from South Korea. She won the New England Conservatory's 2023-2024 Violin Concerto competition, playing the Hindemith violin Concerto (1939). The Trio is a lovely piece, as Mendelssohn usually is, though not as dramatic as the Shostakovich Quartet, but then, what is? Nothing!

Musicians playing Mendelssohn Trio.

Yebin Yoo, violin. ************************* The second piece we heard was the Brahms String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 67. The program notes read: "Most people would be overjoyed to be deemed a successor of an influential figure in their life, but this was not the case for Brahms, who was declared Beethoven’s heir by Robert Schuman. Ever the perfectionist, being named Beethoven’s successor likely only increased the feelings of pressure and inadequacy that weighed on his mind. These feelings are attributed by scholars as the reason why the composer felt the need to destroy many of his works throughout his compositional career. Fortunately, despite the large shadow Beethoven cast over the genre of string quartets, three works made it through to publication. Of these, the Opus 67 is acknowledged as a strikingly innovative and passionate work, and demonstrates Brahms’ intentionality and creativity through explorations in cyclical composition that drive the variations of the final movement. The work is respected and beloved by many, even Brahms’s harshest critic, himself. He described the third movement as “the tenderest and most impassioned I have ever written.” The participants are Julian Rhee, violin; Itamar Zorman, violin; Cara Pogossian, viola; Taeguk Mun, cello. We heard Itamar Zorman last week, and I wrote about him then. I'm pretty sure we have heard Cara Pogossian and Julian Rhee previous years, but I'm not sure about Taeguk Mun.

The musicians in the Brahms String Quartet. *********************** Cara Pogossian: Armenian-American violist Cara Pogossian is currently a student at the New England Conservatory, where she is pursuing a Master of Music degree with Kim Kashkashian. She is a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree under the tutelage of Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory. Cara served as Co-Principal Viola of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra during the 2019-20 season, which included a US tour in early 2020. Prior to her studies at Curtis, Cara attended the Colburn Music Academy, where she worked with Paul Coletti and Che-Yen (Brian) Chen. As an AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union) Scholarship recipient, she has performed at several high-profile concerts, including a joint recital with her brother, Edvard, at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. An avid chamber musician, Cara has attended numerous summer festivals, including the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Taos School of Music, Perlman Music Program, and Yellow Barn Young Artists Program. In 2022, Cara was the winner of the Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, and also toured with the Curtis Institute, performing Schubert’s Cello Quintet in various US cities with Ida Kavafian and Peter Wiley.

Cara Pogossian, viola. ****************** LATER. It is now after three in the afternoon, and we are hearing the delightful Schubert Octet in F-Major, D. 803.. The octet is composed of two violins, viola, clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello and bass viol. It is an hour long, and quite varied. We are fortunately getting to hear each movement uninterruptedly. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon! Before the Schubert we had an hour from 1p.m. to 2p.m. to eat a little picnic lunch outside. The weather today is ideal for that. Program notes: The unusual combination of instruments in Schubert’s octet (string quartet, double bass, clarinet, horn, and bassoon) add one extra violin to the Beethoven septet model said to have in part inspired the work. The octet can also credit Count Ferdinand von Troyer, an amateur clarinetist, for the work’s existence. Count Troyer commissioned the piece, and the clarinet part was written for, and later premiered by him. The work also suited Schubert’s compositional goals; he wrote in a letter at the time, “I have tried my hand at several instrumental works, for I wrote two quartets […] and an octet, and I want to write another quartet; in fact I intend to pave my way towards a grand symphony in this manner.” The motivations behind the Octet are certainly brought to life here in this epic 60-minute work. Sunday’s concert marks its 23rd Marlboro performance. Participants: Sang Yoon Kim, clarinet; Joshua Butcher, bassoon; Ryan Williamson, horn; Itamar Zorman, violin; Angela Sin Ying Chan, violin; Ao Peng, viola; Annie Jacobs-Perkins , cello; Tobias Vigneau, double bass.

The Schubert Octet.************************* About Annie Jacobs-Perkins: Cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins (who I don't remember having heard before) is an interestng person! According to her website, "(she) wants to do more than make art; she wants to turn her life into a piece of art. Annie’s love of interdisciplinary work has led her to collaborate with painters, dancers, potters, cheesemongers, fashion designers, boxers, composers, poets, woodworkers, essayists, knitters, and farmers. She believes that it is the responsibility of an artist to protect beauty that already exists in the world, and as such, is a passionate participant in local, sustainable agriculture and boycotter of fast fashion. Music is one of the ways she digs her toes into the earth around her. Praised for anything from “hypnotic lyricism, causing listeners to forget where they were for a moment” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker) to "delightfully pluck[ing] and slapp[ing] her cello like a rockabilly upright bassist" (The Democrat and Chronicle), Annie is known for “eras[ing] all kinds of boundaries” (USC Thornton School of Music) with her music. Annie is the winner of the 2023 Pierre Fournier Award. As part of the award, she will present a recital in London’s Wigmore Hall, record her debut album on the Champs Hill label, and perform as soloist with the London Philharmonia in the coming seasons. After winning the 2022 Father Merlet Award from the Pro Musicis Foundation, Annie commissioned composers Stratis Minakakis and Daniel Temkin to write two works for cello and piano responding to the climate crisis. Working with living composers such as Timo Andres, Brett Dean, Konstantia Gourzi, Jessie Montgomery, Jeffrey Mumford, and Jörg Widmann has been some of the most rewarding work of her career. Annie is Artist-in-Residence at the EstOvest Festival Contemporary Cello Week in Turin, Italy and Artist-in-Residence of the Austin Chamber Music Center in Austin, Texas for the 2023-24 season, and was a 2021 Young-Artist-in-Residence at NPR’s Performance Today. Annie is 1st prize winner of the 2022 Chamber Orchestra of the Springs Emerging Soloist Competition, 2019 New England Conservatory Concerto Competition, and 2016 Hennings-Fischer Young Artist Competition. ​ ​ Annie is a member of Berlin-based Trio Brontë, 1st prize winner of the 2023 Ilmari Hannikainen Piano Chamber Music Competition in Finland, and a Britten Pears Young Artist for the '24-'25 season. She has performed in venues such as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Het Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Jordan Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Carnegie Hall. Annie participates regularly in festivals such as Krzyzowa Music, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Yellow Barn, Marlboro Music, La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, and Perlman Music Program, where she has collaborated with artists such as Anthony Marwood, Miriam Fried, Tabea Zimmermann, Viviane Hagner, the Mark Morris Dance Company, and members of the Verona and Kuss Quartets. Annie writes program notes for the Yellow Barn Festival every summer. She holds minors in English and German Studies from the University of Southern California, where she was a Trustee Scholar and recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Graduate Award. In 2020 Annie guest lectured at McGill University on the topic of writing engaging program notes. Annie currently is an Artist Diploma candidate at the Barenboim-Said Akademie where she studies with Frans Helmerson. She received masters degrees from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin with Troels Svane and the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser, where she held the Laurence Lesser Presidential Scholarship. She received her Bachelor of Music from USC’s Thornton School of Music with Ralph Kirshbaum. Other influential teachers include Kathleen Murphy Kemp, Guy Fishman, David Geringas, Geoff Dyer, and Thomas Gustafson. Annie spends her free time foraging for indigenous edible plants, relearning the history of the United States from the perspective of BIPOC, feminist, and LGBTQ+ communities, pretending to be a dog with her dogs Georgie and Farley, and adoring her nephews Charlie (human), Robin (human), Arthur (dog), and Dusty (cat). Annie’s historical role models are the Ice Princess of the Ukok Peninsula, Hypsicratea, Veronica Franco, George Eliot, Jane Austen, and Ennio Bolognini."

Annie Jacobs-Perkins, cello. LATER STILL: It is now 4:20p.m., and we are hearing R. Schumann's String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 41, No. 1, with musicians Leonard Fu, violin; Angela Sin Ying Chan, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; and Annie Jacobs Perkins, cello. Two of these just spent two hours+ playing the Schubert Octet. What stamina!

Schumann Quartet. Unfortunately, someone sat down in front of me seconds before I took the photo!*********** One of those with great stamina is Angela Sin Ying Chan. “Ms Angela Chan shows that she has a very special charisma, made of natural sensibility and high level control of sound. She achieves to bring all her skills into a global expression which expresses a variety of colors and a great diversity of characters. She knows how take good risks…With no hurry, she constantly brings fresh and personal ideas. The quality of sound is amazing, especially the high notes which have a special richness…Technically speaking, every aspect is perfectly under control, without any rigor. Poetry, elegance, charm, breathing phrases: every aspect of her interpretation shows that she is a great artist… She perfectly knows how to express the synthesis of western and eastern culture. -Emmanuel Hondré************* “Chan plays her violin lovingly, with graceful movements and a nice variety of vibrato…in fact, I noticed even her slowest, narrowest vibrato was noticeably beautiful.” -Laurie Niles, violinist.com ************ “Angela’s playing is very natural and very elegant. She never forces the sound but create big dynamic range and always has good articulation. Technical passages are treated musically, and she seems to manage to make them sound effortless” -Weigang LI, Shanghai Quartet************* Praised for her sensitivity and incredible tone, Chinese violinist Angela Sin Ying Chan has found success both as a soloist and a chamber musician. Top prize winner of the Singapore International Violin Competition, Louis Spohr, Shanghai Issac Stern, Harbin, Nomea,ArsClassica, and Michael Hill International Competitions, and founder of the AYA piano trio, she is fast emerging as one of the most unique and polished violinists of her generation. As a soloist, Angela has appeared with numerous orchestras including The Staatskapelle Weimar Orchestra of Germany, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, EOS Orchestra of Beijing, and the Hong Kong Symphonia. In 2016, Ms. Chan was selected as a soloist to a tour around the states with The Curtis Chamber Orchestra. She has also played in 9 concerts with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in their “2017 Europe Tour”. Ms. Chan has held many recitals in various cities such as Philadelphia, Hong Kong, Beijing, Xiamen, and Guizhou. As an active chamber musician, Angela has collaborated with world famous artists such as Nobuko Imai, Phillip Setzer, Hsinyun Huang, Peter Wiley, Gary Hoffman, Marcy Rosen etc. As the violinist of the AYA piano trio, the trio has won first prize of the WDAV Chamber Music Competition and Yellow Spring Chamber Competition. Angela’s festival appearances as a soloist and chamber musician include Heifetz Institute of Music as Artist-in-Residence, Verbier Festival Academy, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. In summer 2024, Ms. Chan will be attending the renowned Marlboro Music Festival. Born in Hong Kong, Angela started playing the violin at the age of 3 under her mother. She continued her violin studies with Michael James Ma, Vera WeiLing Tsu in Beijing, China, and Shmuel Ashkenasi, Pamela Frank, and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music. With full scholarship granted, she is currently studying with Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory of Music. She is also scholarship recipient of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance fund and the Lin Yao Ji Foundation.

Angela Sin Ying Chan, violin.************************ Playing first violin with Angela Chan is Leonard Fu, a Chinese-German violinist. "(His) love for music began at an early age when his two older sisters were practicing the violin and the piano and he started imitating the melodies on the piano by ear. Despite being non-musicians themselves, his parents saw his potential and enabled his first piano lesson at age four and his first violin lesson at age seven. Since then, Fu has performed in several countries across continents, amongst them Germany, China, Russia, the United States, Italy, and Spain. He is an active soloist and chamber musician and has played concerts with major orchestras (Bremer Kammerphilharmonie, NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburger Sinfoniker, etc.), working with distinguished conductors such as Alexander Shelley, Andrew Manze, Elias Grandy, Marc Niemann, and Dietger Holm. His chamber partners amongst others include Janine Jansen, Amihai Grosz, Jens-Peter Maintz, Laurence Lesser, Kim Kashkashian, Jörg Widmann, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, Thomas Riebl, Manuel Fischer-Dieskau, Nimrod Guez, Gregor Horsch, Peijun Xu, and Lucy Chapman. In his young career he has already been laureate of major competitions, such as the Joseph Joachim, Andrea Postacchini, Rodolfo Lipizer, TONALi, Ton & Erklärung, and most recently the Schadt International String Competition in March 2022, at which he received the First Prize. Fu has special interest in the performance of old music and dedicates time to the study of Historical Performance Practice.. He has worked with important figures such as Guy Fishman of the Handel & Haydn Society, Bernhard Forck of the Academy of Ancient Music Berlin, Gerhart Darmstadt, leading pedagogue of the HIP movement in Germany, and Audrey Axinn, esteemed fortepianist and Mozart expert. Furthermore, he is an advocate for contemporary music and has received acknowledgment for performances of A. Schnittke’s Violin Sonata, L. Berio’s Sequenza VIII for Violin solo, W. Lutoslawski’s Partita for Violin and Piano, and M. Davidovsky’s String Quartet No. 4 as well as his own compositions. He closely collaborates with the upcoming generation of American classical composers such as Lingbo Ma, Robert Bui, Lila Wildy Quillin, and Daroo Lee. Together with his colleague and friend Yiliang Jiang, he was dedicated a violin duo (“Calligraphy”, 2020) by Lila Wildy Quillin, which premiered in Jordan Hall in November 2020. Fu has studied under Lara Lev and Tanja Becker-Bender and is currently enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music as an Artist Diploma student of Donald Weilerstein and Catherine Cho to whom he serves as a teaching assistant. Other musical influences have been Vivian Weilerstein, Ran Blake, Ian Swensen, Krzysztof Wegrzyn, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Hankus Netsky, Roger Tapping, Peter Salaff, and Efstratios Minakakis. Outside of classical music, Fu has recently begun to explore writing and playing jazz music. Other interests include political activism, philosophy, languages, and baking. Graduating as the valedictorian from a science-oriented high school, he is a scholar of the prestigious Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes which promotes and supports Germany’s best students across all disciplines and subjects. He holds further scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Leonard Fu, violin.