In the next online recital of our Enescu Soirees Romanian-American pianist ANGELA DRAGHICESCU and American violist ELIAS GOLDSTEIN demonstrate, through masterpieces of the Romantic era and beyond, the power of music to lift us above the many concerns of a difficult time. All program’s arrangements are international premieres and will be recorded in 2021.
Program:
R. Schumann - Märchenbilder, Op. 113 I. Nicht Schnell
F. Schubert - Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen, D. 343
J. Brahms - SonataOp. 120 No. 1 II. Andante un poco Adagio
F. Schubert - Sonata “Arpeggione” II. Adagio III. Allegretto
Benjamin Arthur/ arr. William Primrose - Jamaican Rhumba
Watch on our BLOG.
Praised by the New York Times as "elegant and spectacular, pianist ANGELA DRAGHICESCU has established an international reputation as a much sought-after pianist and chamber musician. She has performed in major concert halls across North America and throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Recent engagements have included performances at Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, the Kennedy Center, Kaufmann Center, Konserthus in Stockholm, Oslo Philharmonic, Rudolfinium in Prague, and the George Enescu Philharmonic. She has performed with many of today’s leading artists including James Ehnes, Doc Severinsen, Frank Huang, Liviu Prunaru, members of the Canadian Brass, and collaborated in concerts with Maxim Vengerov, René Felming, and Angela Gheorghiu. She is regularly invited to perform with members of the Chicago, New York, and London Symphonies. Previous performances included among esteemed guests members of the Royal Families of Sweden and England. Deeply committed to expanding the chamber music repertoire she has commissioned and premiered works by composers William Bolcom and Jennifer Higdon. A big proponent of the works of George Enescu, she is one of the artists in residence of the George Enescu International Competition having been selected under the artistic direction of Zubin Mehta and Vladimir Jurowski. Her research on the music of George Enescu has led her to the discovery of Enescu’s first piano trio, a work lost for over 50 years, premiered this year during the Seattle Chamber Music Festival. Angela is the co-artistic director, with internationally acclaimed violist Elias Goldstein, of the newly founded concert series Women Who Score, in collaboration with Seattle’s mayor Jenny Durkin.
Praised by the Chicago Tribune for his "incredible performance" and by the Seattle Times as” ravishing”, violist ELIAS GOLDSTEINhas distinguished himself as one of the great instrumentalists of his generation. Second prize winner of the 2011 world renowned International Primrose Competition, Second Prize Winner of the Bashmet International Competition, Prizewinner in the Tertis International Competition, he has achieved recognition and critical acclaim not only as a champion of his instrument but as a musical ambassador as well. In 2016 he made his debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall where he was the first violist invited to perform all 24 Caprices by Paganini, a program that later toured the United States and Europe. As a recitalist he has performed in many of the greatest halls of the world including Carnegie, Alice Tully, David Geffen, Seattle Symphony’s Benaroya Hall, the Kennedy Center, Salle Cortot, George Enescu Philharmonic, and Musikiitalo Helsinki. Dedicated to the music of our time, he has worked with composers Jennifer Higdon, Paul Chihara, William Bolcom. In 2019 he gave the world premiere of Grammy Award wining composer Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Songs and in 2018 he was personally invited by William Bolcom to perform for the composer’s 80th anniversary concert at Merkin Hall in New York. 2020-2021 highlights include a world tour for his upcoming CD releaseMelanconico with Centaur Records, featuring works by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, and the world premiere recording of George Enescu’s third violin sonata in a minor, all special arrangements made by the artist. He is currently on the faculty staff at University of Delaware and serves on the Executive Board of the American Viola Society. He performs on a beautiful and rare Saint Cecille Vuillaume made in 1850.
