May
2012
Enjoy an evening with two of world’s most critically acclaimed musicians in this unrivaled pairing.
Hailed by the press as “one of the finest flutists of our time,” Eugenia Zukerman is an internationally renowned recitalist and soloist, as well as writer, artistic director, television/web journalist and educator.
Oklahoma-native Yolanda Kondonassis is celebrated as one of the world’s premier solo harpists and is widely regarded as today’s most recorded classical harpist. Hailed as an extraordinary virtuosa she brings a unique brand of musicianship and warm artistry to an ever-increasing audience.
PROGRAM
BENEDETTO MARCELLO (1686-1739)
Sonata in F Major
Adagio
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
ALAN HOVHANESS (1911-2000)|
The Garden of Adonis
I. Largo
II. Allegro
III. Adagio, like a solemn dance
IV. Allegro
V. Grave
VI. Allegretto
VII. Andante molto esprcssivo
VINCENT PERSICHETTI (1915-1987)
Serenade No. 10
Larghetto-Allegro comodo-Andante grazioso-Andante
cantabile-Allegretto Scherzando Adagietto-Vivo
MICHIO MIYAGI (1894-1956)
Haru No Vmi
CARLOS SALZEDO (1885-1961)
Chanson dans la nuit for solo harp
HENDRIK ANDRIESSEN (1892-1981)
Intermezzo
BERNARD ANDRES (b. 1941)
Narthex
JACQUES IBERT (1890-1962)
Entr'acte
Critical acclaim for Yolanda Kondonassis
"Kondonassis's colorful harp playing is smooth, resourceful, ever-musical." The Los Angeles Times
"Soloist Yolanda Kondonassis' performance of Ginastera's Harp Concerto made the ranks in my top 10 of all the shows I've covered in the past 20-plus years. Kondonassis' command of her unwieldy yet angelic instrument is an inspiring alloy ... But Kondonassis is much more than a technician. In tandem with her virtuosity, her musicality borders on the metaphysical, lending the sense of a shaman in the throes of a transcendental ritual." The Tucson Citizen
"An absolutely gorgeous program ... Kondonassis has poise and sensitivity—if your hair doesn't stand on end, you're shaving too close." The New York Daily News
"Kondonassis played with technique, musicianship, and rhythm ... an exquisite evening." The Washington Post
"Yolanda Kondonassis is a harpist who handles the repertory of her instrument with considerable poise and musicainly energy ... powerful playing." The New York Times
"As played by Yolanda Kondonassis with The Cleveland Orchestra last night at Severance Hall, the Ginastera concerto obliterated most notions of the harp as a demure pastoral figure happy to stand in the background. Kondonassis brought remarkable sensitivity and strength to Ginastera's writing ... It was a performance that confirmed the harpist's artistry and affirmed the instrument's soloistic personality." The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"... wit and imagination to spare." The San Francisco Examiner
"Exquisite sensitivity to timbre and shading ... sparkling tone ... both elegant and eloquent." The Miami Herald
“Kondonassis is as close to a superstar as harp virtuosity will allow. [Having Yolanda Kondonassis as a guest artist replacement] was a bit like going to the bullpen and getting Randy Johnson.” The Arizona Republic
“Among today’s concert harpists, Yolanda Kondonassis stands head and shoulders above the rest. What distinguishes her is her phenomenal technical prowess and radiant musicality … Kondonassis put her inspired artistry on display time and time again, mesmerizing her listeners and dispelling any doubt that she is today’s leading harpist.” The Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City, UT)
“A brilliant and expressive player . . .” The Dallas Morning News
"A harpist who has it all." Hi Fi Magazine (Greece)
Eugenia Zukerman bio | Yolanda Kondonassis bio
Eugenia Zukerman, one of the finest flutists of our time, is also a well-known TV personality, arts commentator, and accomplished writer.
As arts correspondent for CBS News' Sunday Morning since 1981, Ms. Zukerman has profiled over 300 artists in her twenty-six years on the program. She has appeared on a variety of other television programs, including PBS' Charlie Rose Show, NBC's Today and A&E's Breakfast with the Arts.
A popular presence on classical stages worldwide, Ms. Zukerman performs as a soloist with orchestras, in duo and solo recitals, and as a chamber musician in a variety of collaborations. As a recording artist, she has over 20 recordings to her credit on a number of labels. Since 1998 she has been Artistic Director of the Vail Valley Music Festival in Vail, Colorado, one of America's most popular and prestigious summer festivals. She has been responsible for its exponential artistic growth - today the festival produces some fifty chamber music and orchestral concerts over a six-week period, including residencies by the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.Recently honored by Young Concert Artists for a "lifetime of achievement," flutist Eugenia Zukerman continues to earn praise as "one of the finest flutists of our time," offering virtuosic technique, sensitive phrasing, and fine articulation in expression of her superb musical intelligence. A radiantly elegant figure on the stage, and as gracious and engaging in her commentaries as she is in her interpretations, Ms. Zukerman is a perennial favorite as a recitalist and soloist across North America and throughout Europe and Asia. She also is a powerful spokesperson for all the arts and an effective champion of young musicians. As Artistic Director of the Vail Valley Music Festival since 1998, she has been responsible for its exponential artistic growth and its entry into the international spotlight. Today, the festival hosts residencies of the New York Philharmonic and the orchestras of Dallas and Rochester as well as world-renowned solo and chamber music artists.
In addition to being called "a bona fide phenom" who brings an impressive breadth of repertoire to her programming, Ms. Zukerman is known as "a true Renaissance woman." While maintaining an enviable performance and recording career, which this season takes her from New York to China, she has been simultaneously a published author, a teacher, a network television correspondent, as well as an artistic director of a major arts festival.
Ms. Zukerman has recorded for Delos, CBS Masterworks, Pro Arte, Vox Cum Laude and Newport Classics. Recent recordings for Delos include: ChinaSong with the Shanghai Quartet; the live recording of American composer Lowell Liebermann's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Aria, a collection of opera favorites; and her solo flute recording, Incantation.
A versatile and compelling author, Ms. Zukerman has published two novels, Deceptive Cadence (Viking) and Taking The Heat (Simon & Schuster); the non-fiction Coping With Prednisone (St. Martin's Press), coauthored with her sister, Dr. Julie R. Ingelfinger; and the nationally acclaimed anthology, In My Mother's Closet (Sorin Books), featuring the thoughts of accomplished female artists on the subject of mother/daughter relationships, as well as articles in such prominent periodicals as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Esquire and Vogue.
Ms. Zukerman is a member of the faculty of New York University's Department of Music and Performing Arts, and she is in demand for master classes, yet her artistic reach extends far beyond the rehearsal room and stage. Since 1981, she has produced more than 300 profiles as the arts correspondent for CBS SUNDAY MORNING. She also has appeared on a variety of other television programs, including PBS's Charlie Rose Show, NBC's Today and A&E's Breakfast with the Arts.
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ms. Zukerman entered Barnard College as an English major, but soon transferred to The Juilliard School, where she studied with the renowned flutist Julius Baker. Early in her career, she won the Young Concert Artists Award.
Yolanda Kondonassis is celebrated as one of the world’s premiere solo harpists and is widely regarded as today’s most recorded classical harpist. Hailed as “an extraordinary virtuosa” and “sheer luminescence at the harp,” she has performed around the globe as a concerto soloist and in recital, bringing her unique brand of musicianship and warm artistry to an ever-increasing audience.
Since making her debut at age 18 with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, Ms. Kondonassis has appeared as soloist with numerous major orchestras in the United States and abroad such as The Cleveland Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Dallas Symphony, New York Chamber Symphony, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico, Phoenix Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and Florida Orchestra, to name a few. Other solo appearances include engagements at Lincoln Center, the 92nd Street Y and Taiwan’s National Concert Hall.
Her fifteenth album on the Telarc label was recently released, featuring the world premiere recording of Bright Sheng’s Never Far Away: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, written for and premiered by Ms. Kondonassis. With well over 100,000 albums sold worldwide, her recordings have earned universal critical praise as she continues to be a pioneering force in the harp world, striving to make her instrument more accessible to audiences and to push the boundaries of what listeners expect of the harp. “Certainly, the harp can be heavenly – and should be at times – but that’s only the tip of the iceburg when it comes to this incredible instrument,” Ms. Kondonassis said in a recent interview.
Ms. Kondonassis’ extensive discography includes her recent Grammy-nominated release of music by Takemitsu and Debussy entitled Air, as well as Salzedo’s Harp, Debussy’s Harp, The Romantic Harp, her own (and the first-ever) harp transcription of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with the Orchestra of Flanders, an all-Hovhaness album, featuring the world premiere recording of his Spirit of Trees, Quietude, A New Baroque, Pictures of the Floating World, Dream Season, Sky Music, and her debut album, Scintillation. Her recording of Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp, with flutist Renée Krimsier and the English Chamber Orchestra, was released on the Channel Classics label.
Chamber music is a passion for Ms. Kondonassis and she enjoys every opportunity to indulge, including a recent tour of New Zealand with the Still/Chase/Kondonassis Trio and frequent appearances on chamber music series throughout the United States. She has appeared at numerous festivals such as the Marlboro, Spoleto, Tanglewood, Vail, Bay Chamber, Strings in the Mountains, Innsbrook, Great Lakes, and Mainly Mozart Festivals and has collaborated with members of the Alban Berg, Guarneri, Shanghai, Rossetti, Biava, and Vermeer string quartets.
As an author, composer, and arranger, Ms. Kondonassis has published three books to date: On Playing the Harp, a comprehensive guide to harp technique and methodology that has quickly become a standard in the harp pedagogy literature, The Yolanda Kondonassis Collection, a compilation of her many original transcriptions, arrangements and compositions for the harp, and The Yolanda Kondonassis Christmas Collection, featuring Ms. Kondonassis’ most popular arrangements from her acclaimed disc, Dream Season: The Christmas Harp. All of Ms. Kondonassis’ works are published by Carl Fischer Music.
Her long list of national and international honors includes top prizes in the Affiliate Artists National Auditions in New York and the Maria Korchinska International Harp Competition in Great Britain. The first harpist to receive the Darius Milhaud Prize, she is committed to the advancement of contemporary music through both the performance and commissioning of new works for the harp. The recipient of two Solo Recitalists Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Ms. Kondonassis has been featured on CNN and PBS television as well as National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, St. Paul Sunday Morning, and Performance Today. In addition to her active performing and recording schedule, Ms. Kondonassis heads the harp departments at The Cleveland Institute of Music and Oberlin College Conservatory, and has presented master classes around the world.
Ms. Kondonassis carries her passionate artistic commitment to issues regarding the protection of natural resources, air quality, and climate change. Royalties from several of her projects are donated to earth causes and she is the founder and director of Earth at Heart, a non-profit organization devoted to earth literacy and inspiration through the arts. Her first children’s book, entitled Our House is Round: A Kid’s Book About Why Protecting the Earth Matters was released on Earth Day, 2010.
Ms. Kondonassis was born in Norman, Oklahoma and attended high school at Interlochen Arts Academy. She continued her education at The Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as a student of Alice Chalifoux. Yolanda Kondonassis plays a Lyon & Healy Salzedo Model harp.
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© 2012