TINE THING HELSETH, trumpet & leader
MAREN INGEBORG TJERNSLI, trumpet
GURO BJØRNSTAD KRAFT, trumpet
ELIN HOLMEN KURVERUD, Flugelhorn
LENA WIK, horn
HEIDI SOLEM, tuba
MARIE NØKELBY HANSSEN, trombone
INGEBORG KLOVHOLT, trombone
TONE CHRISTIN LIUM RØSSLAND, trombone
ASTRI KAROLINE ELLANN, bass trombone
In 2012 we presented our first-ever trumpet recital featuring Tine Thing Helseth in her Canadian debut. Tine is now considered one of the world’s leading trumpeters in addition to being an artist who challenges the boundaries of genre with an intensely creative, open-minded philosophy. We’re delighted to welcome her back to the VRS, this time at the helm of tenThing, a Norwegian 10-piece all-female brass ensemble which she founded with her closest musical friends. Be prepared for a lively, fun afternoon of music with a richly varied program.
GRIEG: Prelude from the Holberg suite
LULLY: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
CHAMINADE: Rondeau, Op. 97
BOULANGER: 2 pieces
PRICE: Adoration
ALBÉNIZ: Asturias from Suite Espagnole
HIGDON: Ten of Hearts
WEBB: Share my yoke
SÆVERUD: Kjempeviseslåtten
COPLAND: Hoe-Down from Rodeo
BACEWICZ: Oberek No.1
BACEWICZ: Mazovian Dance
PIAZZOLLA: Verano Porteño
HOLIDAY: God bless the child
GERSHWIN: Summertime
BERNSTEIN: I feel pretty (from West Side Story)
BERNSTEIN: A boy like that/I have a love (from West Side Story)
BERNSTEIN: Tonight (from West Side Story)
“A joyful blast from start to finish.” — The Independent
Ticket prices: A: $88 B: $63 C: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert sponsors: Laurie & Tony, Rick Carswell & Maxine Spearle
Additional Support:
“The Rach 3 heard round the world” was how it was described when 18-year-old South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim astonished listeners with his rendition of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His breathtaking performances at the Cliburn secured his place as the youngest person ever to take home the gold medal, and a star was born. He was dubbed an “immediate sensation” by The New York Times, and the official video of that Rach 3 performance has since garnered over 14 million views on YouTube. Moments after his victory, Lim revealed that the next piece he intended to learn for performance was J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. He has made good on that promise, and we’re thrilled to present him in his Vancouver debut playing Bach’s crowning keyboard achievement.
J. S. BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
“That rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.” — Marin Alsop
Ticket prices: A: $120 B: $98 C: $82 D: $68 E: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert sponsors: Joyce & Tony
Additional Support:
Post-performance Talk Back
23-year-old Swedish/Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene won the prestigious Carl Nielsen Competition in 2019 and since then has performed with leading orchestras and has been heard in celebrated recital halls. His ability to make his Stradivarius “sing like a master”, coupled with his refreshingly honest musicality and engagement with musicians and audiences alike, has won him countless admirers. In 2022 he was named Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year. We welcome him in his Canadian debut with Sahun Sam Hong, a highly regarded collaborative pianist.
SCHUMANN: Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105
RAUTAVAARA: Notturno e danza
RAVEL: Tzigane
LUTOSŁAWSKI: Partita for Violin and Piano
GRIEG: Sonata No. 2, in G major, Op. 13
“Johan Dalene’s artistry is quite an ear-opener. His stage manner is unfussy and grounded, and his virtuosity illuminates the music with infectious directness.” — Classical Source
Ticket prices: A: $63 B: $48 C: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Next Generation Artist sponsor: The Estate of Edwina and Paul Heller
Concert sponsor: Quesnel Foundation
Additional Support:
Pre-concert Talk at 2:15pm
Steven Osborne is one of Britain’s most treasured musicians with an immense depth of musicality and exceptional refinement of expression across diverse repertoire, be it in Beethoven or Messiaen, Schubert or Ravel, Prokofiev or jazz improvisations. His numerous awards include the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year, two BBC Music Magazine Awards, and two Gramophone Awards. His residences at London’s Wigmore Hall, Antwerp’s deSingel, the Bath International Music Festival, The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra are a testament to the respect he commands. We are thrilled with the program he has chosen for Vancouver!
SCHUMANN: Arabesque
DEBUSSY: Nos. 4, 2, 5, 3 from Children’s Corner
DEBUSSY: Two Arabesques
SCHUMANN: Kinderszenen
MARION BAUER: “White Birches”, From the New Hampshire Woods, Op. 12 No. 1
MEREDITH MONK: Railroad (Travel Song)
RZEWSKI: “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues” from Four North American Ballads for Piano
OSBORNE: Improvisations
KEITH JARRETT: My Song (trans. Osborne)
GERSHWIN: I Loves You Porgy (trans. Osborne)
HANLEY & MACDONALD: Indiana (trans. Osborne)
“Vast technical command is balanced by penetrating insight and an expressivity that seems to derive from a more than unusually empathetic instinct for the nature of the composers in question.” — The Guardian
Ticket prices: A: $88 B: $63 C: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert sponsor: Elaine Adair
Additional Support:
Pre-concert Talk at 2:15pm
Captivating musicianship and compelling expressive integrity will be at the forefront when Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov return to the VRS. Both artists are celebrated and respected international soloists, but clearly these friends enjoy making music together. As long-time musical collaborators, they’ve released recordings of Beethoven’s cello sonatas and, more recently, Chopin and Rachmaninov’s cello sonatas, both of which received rave reviews from critics. Queyras and Melnikov last appeared on our stage as a duo for our wonderful ‘Winterlude’ series in 2017. We can’t wait to welcome them back!
BEETHOVEN: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 4 in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
BEETHOVEN: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 5 in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
DEBUSSY: Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor
RACHMANINOV: Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19
“Queyras and Melnikov sustained the intimacy of the music with playing of extraordinary refinement.” — The Guardian
Ticket prices: A: $88 B: $63 C: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert sponsor: Stephen M. Fitterman
Additional Support:
Pre-concert Talk at 6:45pm
From child prodigy to international superstar, Evgeny Kissin has travelled the world and brought audiences to their feet wherever he appears. Kissin’s musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have solidified his position as one of ‘The Greats’. We are thrilled to present this riveting artist in his fifth appearance for the VRS. Mark your calendars — you won’t want to miss this performance!
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10 No. 3
CHOPIN: Nocturne in G minor, Op. 15, No. 3
CHOPIN: Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 55, No. 2
CHOPIN: Nocturne in E minor, Op. 72, No. 1
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61
SHOSTAKOVICH: Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, Op. 87, No. 8
SHOSTAKOVICH: Prelude and Fugue in D-flat major, Op. 87, No. 15
SHOSTAKOVICH: Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Op. 87, No. 24
“Without question he is a phenomenal pianist, a deeply intuitive and sensitive musician” — New York Times
Ticket prices: A: $120 B: $98 C: $82 D: $68 E: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert Sponsor: The Martha Lou Henley Charitable Foundation
Additional Support:
REFLECTIONS IN WORDS AND MUSIC
Join cellist Yo-Yo Ma for an evening of music and words. In this one-night-only event, Yo-Yo will pair repertoire from the centre of his musical firmament with reflections on how it has shaped his thinking about art, human nature, and our search for meaning. Together, the cellist’s music and words ask us to consider what music is for, and how it can guide us on a path towards hope.
“That Ma has instead used his gifts in the service of spreading humanistic values — via cross-cultural musical collaboration, civic engagement and huge amounts of heart — means that his connection with the public goes far deeper than mere admiration.”
— New York Times
Ticket prices: A: $200 B: $148 C: $98 D: $72 E: $50
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert sponsor:
Additional Support:
PRE-CONCERT TALK AT 2:15PM
Compelling repertoire. Captivating musicians. Sizzling performances. These remarkable artists — all successful soloists — have joined forces to perform as a trio in just two cities in the 2023-24 Season: Vancouver and San Francisco. Each musician is very special in his own right, and all are seasoned chamber music players. Juho Pohjonen has given several wonderful performances for the VRS over the years. Stephen Waarts made his long-overdue debut in Vancouver in the 2021-22 Season in a memorable recital, and Jonathan Swensen will make his Vancouver debut following in the footsteps of his father, violinist Joseph Swensen, who made his debut on our stage in 1985!
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8
JANÁČEK: Pohádka (Fairy Tale) for cello and piano
JANÁČEK: Violin Sonata
FRANCK: Piano Trio No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1, No. 1
Ticket prices: A: $88 B: $63 C: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert sponsor: Robert & Denise
Additional Support:
CANADIAN DEBUT!
POST-PERFORMANCE TALKBACK
Israeli pianist Ariel Lanyi has been on our radar for a while and it has been a thrill to witness his career skyrocketing. In 2021, Ariel won 3rd Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition and was a prize winner in both the Young Classical Artists Trust YCAT (London) and Concert Artists Guild (New York) International Auditions. That same year, during the height of the pandemic, we shared Ariel’s Virtually VRS recorded performance on our YouTube channel. Fast forward a few years and we are thrilled to welcome him to our stage in person for a live performance. You won’t want to miss his Canadian debut!
“Innate intelligence and a sense of flawless rhythm. He has that specific combination of brain and heart.” — Cultuurpakt
BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109
CHOPIN: Mazurkas, Op. 59
CHOPIN: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
REGER: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Bach, Op. 81
Ticket prices: A: $63 B: $48 C: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Next Generation Artist sponsor: The Estate of Edwina and Paul Heller
Concert sponsor: The Martha Lou Henley Charitable Foundation
Additional Support:
“The Great Danes” return for the fourth and final installment of their innovative Doppelgänger project, in which they pair one of Schubert’s timeless string compositions with a newly-commissioned work.
For this fourth concert, the quartet will be joined by Finnish cellist Johannes Rostamo to perform Schubert’s epic String Quintet, which was written during the final weeks of the composer’s life. It is regarded as one of the all-time great works of the chamber repertoire. Its Doppelgänger will be a new work by composer Thomas Adès “one of the most accomplished and complete musicians of his generation” (The New York Times). The VRS is a proud co-commissioner of the Doppelgänger project.
SCHUBERT: String Quintet in C major, D. 956
THOMAS ADÈS: Wreath for Franz Schubert (Canadian premiere)
SCHUBERT: Die Nebensonnen (from Winterreise). Arr. Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen
“This was ensemble music at its purest — a consensus interpretation, rendered selflessly in service of the group as instrument.” — New York Times
Ticket prices: A: $88 B: $63 C: $28
BUY 3 concerts or more and receive a 15% discount
BUY 5 concerts or more and receive a 20% discount
BUY 8 concerts or more and receive a 25% discount
Season sponsor:
Concert sponsor: Elizabeth Arnold-Bailey & Robert Bailey and Kate Ker & Paul Cobban
Additional Support:
