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A native of Shenyang, China, pianist Yun-Chin Zhou, whose given name means ‘pure melody’, won the Vancouver Recital Society Prize and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York in 2013. His 2014-2015 season includes recital appearances and educational outreach at Saint Vincent College, the Center for Arts in Natick, the Lied Center of Kansas, the Port Washington Library, the Jewish Community Alliance, the Evergreen Museum and Library, the Bedford Chamber Concert Series, and the Harriman-Jewell Series. Mr. Zhou will also give debut recitals in New York and Washington, D.C. on the Young Concert Artists Series.

Last season, Mr. Zhou joined YCA clarinetist Narek Arutyunian in an evening of Armenian chamber music at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Mr. Zhou won First Prize in the 2013 Gina Bachauer Piano Competition at Juilliard, which brought him a full scholarship and an appearance on WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase with Robert Sherman. He won top prizes in the 2007 China International Piano Competition, the 2006 Gulangyu Piano Competition in Xiamen, the Busoni Piano Competition in Italy, and the Cleveland Piano Competition. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout China, including the China National Symphony Orchestra in Beijing.

Mr. Zhou began his piano studies at the age of seven. From the age of 19, he studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald, with whom he continues his studies at the Juilliard School.

Program

DOMENICO SCARLATTI: Three Sonatas
K. 9 in D Minor
K. 380 in E major
K. 455 in G major

FRANZ LISZT: From Années de Pélerinage II (Italia)                                                       
Sposalizio

ALEXANDER SCRIABIN:
Valse in A flat Major, Op.38
Vers la Flamme, Op. 72
Prelude in B major, Op, 11. No.11
Fantasy in B minor, Op.28

CHARLES TRENET: 6 Songs (Transcribed by Alexis Weissenberg)
Coin de rue
Boum!
Vous qui passez sans me voir
En avril, à Paris
Vous oubliez votre cheval
Ménilemontant

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF: Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 36
Allegro agitato
Non allegro
Allegro molto

Series sponsor: The Late Edwina & Paul Heller

Concert sponsor: The Board of Directors of the Vancouver Recital Society

Supported by:

POP OUT PERFORMANCE

BEETHOVEN: THE COMPLETE WORKS FOR CELLO AND KEYBOARD

March 13, 14 & 15, 2015
Vancouver Playhouse

“Isserlis’s playing has spirit to spare. But the fortepiano ensures an even fresher sense of discovery to his cello odyssey.” —The Guardian

Steven Isserlis has described playing the Beethoven Sonatas as “a journey through a life.” In this endlessly moving and thought-provoking series, the duo traverses through the early, middle, and late periods of the monumental composer’s life.

Performance 1: March 13 Program

12 Variations on a Theme from Handel’s Judas Maccabeus  Wo0 45

Cello Sonata in F, Op. 5 No. 1

12 Variations in F on Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen from Mozart’s Die Zauberflote, Op. 66

Horn Sonata Op. 17 (transcribed for cello by Beethoven)

Cello Sonata in A, Op. 69

View Other Events With Steven Isserlis & Robert Levin

Lecture-demonstration: Saturday, March 14 at 3pm, Vancouver Playhouse

Performance 2: Sunday, March 15 at 3pm, Vancouver Playhouse

VRS Subscribers enjoy priority access and save 15% off single tickets to VRS Pop Out Performances. PLUS! If purchasing 2 Concert Package, subscribers receive a complimentary ticket to the Lecture-Demonstration.

*Free for subscribers who purchase 2 concert package

Co-presented with: Early Music Vancouver

We are delighted to welcome back Bash the Trash, a wonderful group of musicians from New York who build, perform, and educate with musical instruments made from junk. Bash the Trash provides a sound journey, combining science, music, and environmental awareness through performances, educational programs, and social initiatives. It’s music with a green twist!

Bash the Trash has jammed with Yo-Yo Ma, Max Roach, and Mister Rogers; performed on straw oboes at Carnegie Hall; and led environmental parades through Washington DC. This interactive performance is ideally suited for children ages 3 to 6 years old.

Tickets: Free for children, $5 for adults ($2.50 for LAC – Leisure Access Card – holders). Call Britannia Community Services Centre at 604-718-5800(2).

Britannia Community Services Centre is located at 1661 Napier Street (off Commercial Drive) in East Vancouver.

POP OUT PERFORMANCE

“A LITTLE NIGHTMARE MUSIC”   

“Alek­sey Igudes­man and Hyung-ki Joo played at my 80th birth­day cel­e­bra­tions. I nearly died laugh­ing. I’d like to invite them back for my 85th, but that might be con­sid­ered reck­less…Great musi­cians, great fun.” – Bernard Haitink, conductor

Violinist Alek­sey Igudes­man and pianist Hyung-ki Joo met at the age of 12 at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. They have since taken the world by storm with their unique and hilarious theatrical shows, which combine comedy, classical music, and popular culture. Their clips on YouTube, to date, have garnered more than 28 million hits!

Many of classical music’s biggest names, such as Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Viktoria Mullova, and Julian Rachlin, have joined the duo in their musical sketches. A Lit­tle Night­mare Music is an inimitable show, full of vir­tu­os­ity, enchant­ing music and zany, out­ra­geous humour.

Ideal for audi­ences aged 8 to 88!

Supported by:

Youth outreach workshop partner:

Pop Out Performance

Bezuidenhout still shapes and shades this music with almost romantic finesse, and releases the historic instrument’s full expressive potential. In every register the sound changes: proudly growling down in the bass, bird-bright in the treble reaches, round and velvety in the middle.

 South African-born, London-based Kristian Bezuidenhout is ranked among the leading keyboard players of his generation. Although he’s best known for his fortepiano interpretations of music by Mozart, his repertory also includes works by Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn. The VRS is thrilled to collaborate with Early Music Vancouver in bringing this inspiring and captivating young artist to Vancouver.

Program

MOZART
Sonata in E flat major, K. 282
Suite in C major, K. 399
Minuet in D major, K. 355
Gigue in G major, K. 574
Rondo in A minor, K. 511
Fantasie in C minor, K. 475
Sonata in A major, K. 331

VRS Subscribers can add Kristian Bezuidenhout’s concert to their package and save 15% off single tickets.

Co-presented with: Early Music Vancouver

“Bostridge is internationally renowned for his interpretation of German lieder, and when he opens his mouth, the reason is clear. The sound floats out, drifting across the surface of the rolling piano accompaniment like a skiff, delicate in appearance but still juggling 20 knots from the south.”
— The Sydney Morning Herald

Ian Bostridge rose rapidly to major prominence in the world of classical music. In opera, he is a regular guest at Covent Garden, English National Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera. His international recital career takes him to the major concert halls of Europe and North America and to the Edinburgh, Munich, and Aldburgh Festivals. Experience a searing and unforgettable performance of Schubert’s iconic Winterreise in the intimate setting of the Vancouver Playhouse.

PROGRAM

SCHUBERT: Winterreise

Series sponsor:

Supported by: