RAY CHEN

Violinist Ray Chen captured the First Prize of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition in Brussels, Belgium, bringing him numerous concert engagements, a recording, and a three-year loan of the “Huggins” Stradivarius from the Nippon Music Foundation.  He was the Competition’s youngest participant.  As Grand Prize Winner, he was immediately launched on a concert tour, performing with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden and Aldert Vermeulen, the Orchestre National de Belgique under Rumon Gamba, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg under Emmanuel Krivine, as well as in recitals throughout Belgium. 
   Mr. Chen won First Prize in the 2008-09 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, where he was also awarded the Ronald Asherson First Prize, the Friends of Music Concert Prize, and the loan of a 1721 Stradivarius known as the “Macmillan.”  His performances in the U.S. this season include debut recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on December 8, 2009 and Merkin Concert Hall in New York on January 12, 2010, as part of the Young Concert Artists Series, as well as a debut at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.  He also performs at the Aspen Music Festival with violinist Robert McDuffie, the 2009 Sintra Festival of Music and Dance in Portugal, the Port Washington Library (NY), the West Philadelphia Music Committee, and the Friends of Music Concert Series (NY).
   As Winner of the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition, Mr. Chen came to the attention of Maxim Vengerov, who served on the Competition Jury.  Subsequently, he was engaged for performances including debuts with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in St. Petersburg and at the International Rostropovich Festival with the State Symphony Orchestra of Baku, Azerbaijan, under the baton of Maestro Vengerov.  He will also perform in the opening concert of the next Menuhin Competition in April 2010 in Oslo with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.  Mr. Chen’s other awards include First Prizes in the National Kendall Violin Competition in Australia (2005), and the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition (2002). 
   Born in 1989, Ray Chen began Suzuki violin studies in Australia at the age of four.  He made his solo orchestral debut with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra when he was eight, and the following year was invited to perform at the opening celebration concert for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.  In 2005, he was accepted to The Curtis Institute of Music, where he works with Aaron Rosand.  He has also studied with David Cerone, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and Joseph Silverstein, as well as with Antje Weithaas at the 2005 Beethoven Festival in Bonn.

ANDREW TYSON

At the age of 22, pianist Andrew Tyson is already the recipient of many awards and prizes, including Second Prize at the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition and a Silver Award from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. Entering his final year of studies with Claude Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, Mr. Tyson has performed at a number of prestigious venues, including the National Chopin Foundation in Miami and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York. Mr. Tyson has performed as a concert soloist with the Guilford Symphony Orchestra, the Durham Symphony, the Raleigh Symphony, and the Chapel Hill Philharmonia.
   In 2008, Mr. Tyson attended the Taos School of Music, where he received instruction from Robert McDonald as well as the Borromeo, Brentano and St. Lawrence String Quartets. Since then, he has become an active chamber player, performing this season at Bowdoin College, in the Bay Chamber Concert Series in Rockport, Maine, at the Brevard Music Festival, in collaboration with Roberto Díaz and Joseph Silverstein, and at Festival de Sintra in Portugal with violinist Ray Chen. Andrew recently performed with Ray Chen in Bourlingster, Luxembourg and in Sint Niklaas and Brussels, Belgium. In December of 2009, Andrew will perform Ernest Bloch’s 1919 Viola Suite with Roberto Díaz at the Library of Congress, as part of a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Bloch’s death.

Programme

Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) – Violin Sonata in G minor "Devil’s Trill"
(arr. Kreisler)
   Larghetto affettuoso
   Allegro moderato
   Andante
   Allegro assai-Andante-Allegro assai

Johannes Brahms – Sonata for violin and piano no. 2 in A major, Op. 100
   Allegro amabile
   Andante tranquillo. Vivace
   Allegretto grazioso

J.S. Bach – Chaconne from Partita no. 2 in D Minor

Henryk Wieniawski – Variations for violin on an original theme, Op. 15