Marlboro, Once Again!

Ellen and I are back at the Marlboro Music Festival. We were here last Friday, but did not come Monday or Tuesday of this week. The program this week is a bit smaller because there is no Friday concert, and thus fewer pieces to rehearse. So we will get to hear everything today and tomorrow. It is going to be hot both days - especially tomorrow - so this will be our escape from the heat. Today we will hear a Brahms Clarinet Quintet and a Mendelssohn String Quartet. Two very nice pieces, I am sure. Right now, the musicians in the Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115, are talking amongst themselves. Those musicians are Yoonah Kim, clarinet; Isabelle Durrenberger, violin; Brian Hong, violin; En-Chi Cheng, viola and Christoph Richter, cello. Here they are (fuzzily!):

The Brahms Clarinet Quintet Group (one violist is behind the cellist). ************************* Who are these folks? Let's start with the clarinetist, Yoonah Kim. "Born in Seoul and raised in British Columbia, Yoonah Kim holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music at The New School, where she studied clarinet under Charles Neidich. She is also currently on the faculty of New York School of Music and Art and maintains a small private studio in New York City. As principal clarinetist of The Juilliard Orchestra and The Mannes Orchestra, Yoonah has performed at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Symphony Space. Rapidly earning recognition as a young artist of uncommon musical depth and versatility, she was, in 2016, the first solo clarinetist to win the Concert Artist Guild competition in nearly 30 years. She has won many other prizes and has performed all over the world."

Yoonah Kim, clarinet.******************************************* We heard the violinist in this ensemble a couple of weeks ago: she is Isabelle Durrenberger,a "rising young artist praised for her vivid musicality, ability to touch audiences, and communicative strength as a chamber musician.  Isabelle is currently completing her graduate studies with Donald Weilerstein and Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Isabelle will spend the summer of 2022 performing at Perlman Music Program, Marlboro Music Festival, and Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. Isabelle’s musical life began at birth; both of her parents are pianists and music educators.  She began playing piano at age 4, but her parents noticed that she loved singing and thought she might enjoy “singing” on the violin — she began lessons at age 7.  Isabelle grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and was extremely lucky to be introduced to Jaime Laredo at age 13.  She attended Meadowmount School of Music for four years, graduated high school a year early, and began her undergraduate program in Cleveland at age 16. She completed her B.M. at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she was mentored by Jaime Laredo.  Her other mentors and influences include Jennifer Koh, Sharon Robinson, Joan Kwuon, Jinjoo Cho, Jan Mark Sloman, and Jun Kim."

Isabelle Durrenberger, violin.************************************** Described in The Times as ‘searching, searing and sublime,’ cellist Christoph Richter performs as soloist and chamber musician throughout the world, with invitations from musicians such as András Schiff, Miriam Fried and Isabelle Faust, festivals including the Salzburg Festival and Marlboro Festival in the US, and composers such as Heinz Holliger and György Kurtág. He was born into a family of musicians and took piano and cello lessons as a child, and when the legendary pedagogue André Navarra heard him play at the age of 15 he invited him to become his youngest ever student.  After graduating with the highest honours he won a state scholarship which enabled him to fulfil a childhood dream to take private lessons with the world-renowned cellist Pierre Fournier, whom he had heard in a recital at the age of 11. He was a prizewinner at international competitions including the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, Rostropovich competition in Paris and the Geneva competition, which led to concertos with many leading orchestras. Richter is Professor of cello at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany and the Royal Academy of Music in London. 

Christoph Richter, Cello.**************************************************** LATER Now we are back after a little lunch break sitting on a bench outside in the shade. It is actually very pleasant today - low humidity and not too hot. So we are lucky. We did not get to hear the Brahms played through. They were working on passages that needed attention. What I got to hear was very nice. The clarinetist was astounding. "Uncommon musical depth and versatility" is an understatement. Now, after lunch, a grouo is rehearsing a Mendelssohn String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 44, No. 3, with Maria Ioudenitch, violin; Ji Won Song, violin; Hayang Park, viola; Christoph Richter, cello. This piece is not familiar to me. They are also working on passages. I think Wednesdays tend to be that way. They record on Tuesdays and listen, and then work on passages Wednesday.

Quartet playing Mendelssohn. Let's learn a bit about these musicians:

Maria Ioudenitch, violin, was born in Balashov (Russia). She began studying the violin at the age of three with Gregory Sandomirsky, Associate Concertmaster Emeritus of the Kansas City Symphony, and has studied with Ben Sayevich at the International Center for Music at Park University in Parkville, Missouri, since the age of seven. She has participated in various master-classes with such eminent musicians as Midori, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ana Chumachenco, Zakhar Bron, Pinchas Zukerman, Gil Shaham, Eric Rosenblith and Noah Geller. She appeared in concert as part of The Top NPR Radio Program at Hodgson Hall at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. This presentation was broadcast on national radio in April 2013. In March 2014 Maria took part in the International Music Academy in the Principality of Liechtenstein and spent a week under the tutelage of Ana Chumachenco.She actively contributes in fundraiser activities for the International Center for Music at Park University and for the Knudson Foundation. Maria is now continuing her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Pamela Frank.

Hayang Park, viola. Korean violist Hayang Park was born in Seoul in 1998 and began playing the viola at an early age. From the age of 13 she attended the Yewon School of Arts, of which she is a graduate, and subsequently completed university studies at Yonsei University (South Korea) with Professor Sang-Jin Kim, where she gained a bachelor’s degree in 2019. From 2018 to 2021, she studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid with Nobuko Imai, funded by a scholarship from Fundación Albeniz. She has attended masterclasses with Lawrence Power, Tabea Zimmermann, Christoph Poppen and Antoine Tamestit. During her studies in Madrid, she was a member of the Freixenet Symphony Orchestra directed by Péter Eötvös and Pablo González. Since October 2021, she has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Nobuko Imai.

Ji Won Song, violin. Korean violinist Ji Won Song delights audiences worldwide with energetic and engaging performances that express her refined perspectives on melody, color and harmony, as well as her deep passion for her instrument. A versatile soloist and chamber musician, she is sought after for her creative approach, vivid sound, and multi-faceted interpretations of classical and contemporary repertoire. Among the renowned international orchestras with which Ms. Song has soloed include The Philadelphia Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Belgium National Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra, and Seongnam Symphony Orchestra. Born in the vibrant city of Seoul, Ji Won Song began formal violin studies at age five with Nam-Yum Kim and Bon-Jiu Koo at the Korean National University of the Arts. She reveled in experimenting with playing techniques and found that the violin’s clear, dynamic voice was an apt vehicle for sharing profound feelings and complex thoughts. At age 10, she emigrated to the United States to study violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music with David Cerone and while studying with him, made her solo debut at the Kennedy Center at age 12. She then studied with renowned violinists Ida Kavafian, Shmuel Ashkenasi and Victor Dachenko at the Curtis Institute of Music, earning her Bachelor’s of Music. Ms. Song then studied with eminent violinists Donald Wilerstein and Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory of Music, earning her Master’s degree. Ms. Song then graduated from prestigious Artist Diploma program at The Julliard School, and currently pursuing Doctor of Music Arts at the New England Conservatory, where she studies with distinguished violinists Donald Weilerstein and Soovin Kim. Ji Won Song plays the “ex-Curtis” Nicolas Lupot, Paris 1799, generously loaned by a patron through the Tarisio Trust.**************************** Christoph Richter, cello - see above.