Life of Guangzhou - "Listen to Beethoven" Theme Concert by Duo Concertante

Time: 2008-09-20 20:00
Venue: Tianhe Culture Center Theatre
Tickets: ￥80
Tel: 020-3878 8708

Since forming in 1997, Duo Concertante has been acclaimed for performances characterized by brilliance, subtlety, passion, and stunning ensemble across Canada, the United States and abroad. Hailed for their "artistry, poetry, and impeccable technique" (La Scena Musicale), "exceptional warmth and intimacy" (Ottawa Citizen), violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves have been described as "superb musicians" (Wholenote), who "work together with uncanny perfection" (Waterloo Gazette). Their extraordinary teamwork and “powerfully-charged performances” (The Musical Opinion) set them apart from more conventional violin/piano collaborations, with critics observing: "One doesn't listen to a program of violin music here, but to real chamber music, as it should be"(La Scena Musicale) and "Brilliant, saucy and soulful . . . you hear splendid sweet nuances everywhere; Duo Concertante makes a powerful case for thinking of violin/piano sonatas as duo music, rather than as music for a pianist and a violinist" (San Francisco Classical Voice).

Timothy Steeves and Nancy Dahn have appeared in London (Wigmore Hall), Germany (Am Neuendorfer Anger, Berlin), Chicago (Dame Myra Hess Series), New York City (Music of the Americas; Trinity Church), Ottawa (National Arts Centre), Beijing (Forbidden City Concert Hall), San Francisco (Old First Church), Toronto (Walter Hall), and Montreal (Chapelle du bon Pasteur), and Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). The Duo has also been featured at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Peterhof International Festival of Ensembles (St. Petersburg, Russia), Huntsville Festival of the Arts, Cactus Pear Music Festival (TX), Colours of Music Festival, Sound Symposium, and the Baie des Chaleurs Chamber Music Festival. Recent highlights include an eight-city tour of China which the Duo will repeat in 2008, world premiere performances of works by Chan Ka Nin, Linda Bouchard and five performances of a new concerto written for them by Alice Ho and commissioned by the CBC. Duo Concertante’s collaborative performance with prima ballerina star Evelyn Hart was broadcast nationally on CBC radio.

Their recordings and live performances are heard frequently on national and regional programs of CBC Radio, Radio-Canada International, Société Radio-Canada, as well as in the United States on NPR, WNED (Buffalo), Classical 105.1 K-Mozart (Los Angeles), and WFMT “The Fine Arts Network” (Chicago). CTV, TVOntario, and BRAVO! Television have all featured Duo Concertante. The Duo’s ATMA Classique recordings- `a deux, Of Heart and Homeland, and Wild Honey- were all nominated for Best Classical Recording at the East Coast Music Awards (2000, 2003, 2005). In 2008, the Duo will release its fourth disc featuring encore pieces arranged especially for them by Canadian composer Clifford Crawley.

The Duo Concertante’s committed advocacy of new music has inspired many of Canada’s leading composers. The Duo regularly champions works by Chan Ka Nin, Kati Agocs, Kelly-Marie Murphy, Alice Ho, Omar Daniel, Andrew MacDonald, David Scott, Linda Bouchard, and Jean Lesage, performing at least one on nearly every recital. The Duo Concertante’s disc, Wild Honey (2005), is comprised entirely of works especially written for them with the generous assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, Laidlaw Foundation, and CBC Radio. In 2008, Duo Concertante will add a new work by renowned composer Murray Schafer to their list of commissions.

Duo Concertante has been the recipient of numerous honours and awards including Best Touring Performers Award (Contact East) and Memorial University’s prestigious “President’s Award for Outstanding Research”, which, in competition with all disciplines and faculties, recognized their outstanding contribution to classical performance and promotion of new Canadian music. In 2006, the Duo was also a finalist for Newfoundland Arts Council’s Artist of the Year award.

Sought-after professors at Memorial University dedicated to developing and inspiring young talent, Dahn and Steeves are Artistic Directors of the Tuckamore Festival which attracts outstanding young artists from across North America each summer. They also enjoy giving frequent master classes in Canada at such places as the Glenn Gould Professional School and Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, McMaster University, University of Western Ontario, the Maritime Conservatory, Bishop’s University, the Huntsville Festival, the Colours of Music Festival and the Guelph Spring Festival.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata no. 5 in F Major, op. 24 ("Spring")

Allegro

Adagio molto espressivo

Scherzo: Allegro molto

Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

Kati Agocs (Canada) Supernatural Love (2008)

Chinese Traditional Butterfly Lovers

Intermission

Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata no. 9 in A Major, op. 47 ("Kreutzer")

Adagio Sostenuto – Presto

Andante con Variazioni

Presto