Shmuel Ashkenasi
String Theory continues its fourth season by welcoming violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi and pianist Gloria Chien for a March 14 concert at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga.
The program begins with Art Connections at 5:30 p.m. led by Chief Curator Ellen Simak and Maestro Robert Bernhardt who will discuss works from the Hunter Museum collection that relate to the evening's featured music. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. and will feature works by Schubert, Dvorák and Brahms.
String Theory at the Hunter is a chamber music series presented by Artistic Director Chien in partnership with the Hunter Museum of American Art and Lee University.
Review for Shmuel Ashknasi:
Mr. Ashkenasi was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and has been performing violin since the age of eight. He won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1961, and in 1962 he captured top prizes at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia, the Merriweather Post Competition in Washington, D.C., and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Belgium.
Mr. Ashkenasi has toured the former Soviet Union twice and performed extensively in Europe, Israel, the Far East, and the United States. In 1969, he formed the Vermeer Quartet at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont and remained as its first violinist throughout the quartet’s career. The Quartet earned five Grammy nominations and Mr. Ashkenasi a reputation as one of the world’s most outstanding chamber musicians.
Mr. Ashkenasi is also a noted pedagogue, currently holding the posts of Professor of Violin at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and the Curtis Institute of Music.
Review for Gloria Chien:
Dr. Chien made her orchestral debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the age of 16 and has emerged in recent years as one of America’s finest young chamber musicians. She has performed extensively internationally and was a prize winner of the World Piano Competition, Harvard Musical Association Award, and the San Antonio International Piano Competition.
Dr. Chien first made a name for herself in Boston as a graduate student at New England Conservatory, becoming the resident pianist with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston in 2000. The group is well known for its versatility and commitment to new music, and Dr. Chien is still part of the ensemble.
Dr. Chien has participated in such festivals as Music Academy of the West, Verbier Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts, and Chamber Music Northwest. She has participated for six years at Music@Menlo, where she was appointed director of the Chamber Music Institute in 2011 by Artistic Directors, David Finckel and Wu Han. Following a recent performance, Richard Sheinin wrote, “She is a coat-of-many-colors pianist: finely blended sound tapestries emerged from her instrument at Sunday’s 'Carte Blanche' recital.”
Dr. Chien, an associate professor of music at Lee University, earned her doctorate of musical arts, along with her master’s and bachelor’s degrees, from New England Conservatory of Music.
Tickets for the concert are available by calling the Hunter at 267-0968. Individual concert tickets are: $25 for Hunter Museum members and String Theory donors; $10 for students with valid ID; Non-Member Price: $35. (A $5 fee is applied to all tickets sold at the door.)
For more information or to purchase tickets visit http://stringtheorymusic.org/.
Gloria Chien