PHILLIPS MUSIC2017 / 2018 Season

WELCOME

Dorothy KosinskiDIRECTOR

MUSIC STAFF Caroline Mousset | Director of Music

Roberto Alcaraz | Music Operations AssistantEdward J. Kelly | Recording Engineer

Kathryn Rogge | Manager of Academic Programs and Phillips MusicDenyce Graves and Laura Ward, September 25, 2016

Caitlin Meredith | Phillips Music Coordinator

Attending a Phillips Music concert offers a special encounter with music and the visual arts. As we prepare for our spring 2018 exhibition Ten Americans: After Paul Klee, I ponder the lovely lifelong appreciation of Klee’s subtly poetic paintings by eminent French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez. Boulez was not tracing literal transpositions between image and musical composition; nor did he write about thematic similarities. Rather Boulez valued Klee’s attention to structure, rhythm, and repetition, explaining that in music and in painting, structure balanced with imagination opens up new possibilities—le pays fertile (a fertile land), as Klee called it. I hope your experience at the Phillips is a fertile place for creative imagination and poetic exploration.

The 2017/2018 season of Phillips Music features an astonishing number of debuts alongside an international roster of recognized artists. Imaginative programming of classical and new music along with the exciting innovations of Leading International Composers guarantee the continued vitality of the concerts. Phillips Music is deeply grateful for the dedicated support of our valued Season Sponsors and Phillips Chamber Society members, who ensure the success and longevity of the series as an international landmark for chamber music. We owe this community of supporters—along with each of our visitors that come to the museum to experience music and art together—an enormous debt of gratitude.

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CELEBRATING PHILLIPS MUSIC

Phillips Music celebrates its 77th season with performers from around the globe—a group of brilliant artists that is more international in its reach than ever before. No season is limited to a strict theme, but this season’s musicians and the music they have chosen to perform share a common thematic thread rife with the potential to discover silences within music on many levels.

“Silence . . . is the essence of the music itself, the vital ingredient that makes it possible for the music to exist at all.”

—Alfred Brendel

Caroline MoussetDIRECTOR OF MUSIC

The counterpoise between silence and music is something that will have struck anyone who has attended a Phillips Music concert. One often leaves a profound performance within the walls of our Music Room before winding through galleries in the museum and going out into the acoustic chaos of our city.

It is for this reason that many composers and performers throughout history retreat to remote studios to write or record their music. I think of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, where the likes of Etta James, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, and Paul Simon recorded some of their most popular songs. It is why Gustav Mahler spent countless hours of the summer months in his secluded composing huts at Steinbach and Maiernigg in Austria, why Olivier Messiaen retreated to the idyllic surroundings of his small home at Petichet in the mountains south of Grenoble in France, and why Leading International Composer Erkki-Sven Tüür lives and writes on the wooded island of Hiiumaa in his native Estonia.

Beyond the natural acoustics of the venue are the “active” silences musicians use. Silence is among the most potent tools an artist can employ and all music lends us the opportunity for silent reflection, alongside sonorous inspiration. We can treasure these silences, whether during, between, or after the sound of music itself.

We hope that you will join us this season, noticing the intensity and beauty that silence brings to chamber music.

Alina Ibragimova, March 8, 2015

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILLIPS MUSICDuncan Phillips was fascinated by the relationship between music and visual art and incorporated music in his museum’s activities from the beginning. In the 1930s, the Washington Chamber Music Society put on concerts in the Music Room, and it was an obvious step for the Phillips to start its own series. A series of 30 or more concerts began in 1941, running throughout World War II with military musicians providing the solace of music during dark times. The Sunday Concerts are now the longest continuously running series in Washington, DC.

Offering a platform to young musicians was always an important aspect of the concerts and among them was Glenn Gould, who made his sensational US debut at the Phillips in 1955. Paul Hume wrote in The Washington Post: “It is unlikely that 1955 will bring us a finer piano recital.” Phillips Music has been a catalyst in the professional careers of such artists as Gary Graffman, Emanuel Ax, Jessye Norman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lynn Harrell, and Hilary Hahn.

From 1941 until 1972, the Director of Music at the Phillips was Elmira Bier who encouraged artists to present unusual and challenging programs. Bier was followed by Charles Crowder who retired in 1997. His successor, Mark Carrington, commissioned new works from composers such as Bright Sheng. In 2009, Caroline Mousset became the fourth Director of Music. Inspired by Duncan Phillips’s vision for introducing new artists to Washington audiences, Mousset pioneered the Leading European Composers series in partnership with embassies in Washington, and as of 2016 also with the University of Maryland. Further innovation came in the 2012/2013 season with the establishment of the Phillips Camerata, a chamber orchestra in residence with a flexible roster of some of the East Coast’s leading instrumentalists.

Today, diverse audiences are brought together through Phillips Music to hear Washington and US debut performances of the finest musicians from around the world, remaining true to Bier’s concept for the series: “The byline of the Gallery is ‘A Gallery of Modern Art and Its Sources.’ This is as exciting in music as it is in painting.”

—Nigel Simeone, 2017

Timo Andres, January 11, 2015

SUNDAY CONCERTS

Performances begin promptly at 4 pm unless otherwise noted. Please note the museum’s new Sunday hours of noon-6:30 pm. General admission seating is first-come, first-served beginning 45 minutes prior to concert start time.

Tickets are $40, $20 for members and students with ID; museum admission for that day is included. Advance reservations are strongly recommended; tickets can be reserved online until 12 hours before each concert.

Please note ticket release schedule listed here. Season Sponsors and Chamber Society members may reserve in advance for any concert of the 2017/2018 season beginning August 15.

PRESERVING THE HISTORIC MUSIC ROOM The original Phillips family house—where Duncan Phillips first opened his museum to the public in 1921—is currently undergoing a preservation project until early 2018. The project is carefully designed to enhance the 1897 building’s historic character and preserve the museum’s celebrated collection for years to come.

As the Phillips’s Music Room is unavailable during the project, Sunday Concerts from October through the completion of the project will take place next door at the Cosmos Club’s Warne Ballroom.

The historic Cosmos Club is located next to The Phillips Collection at 2121 Massachusetts Ave, NW. The elegant Beaux Arts Warne Ballroom was completely restored to its turn-of-the-20th-century splendor in 2012.

The dress code for the Cosmos Club is waived for Phillips Music concert goers. Enter via the front entrance and the Warne Ballroom is up one flight of stairs or via the elevator. Will call tickets can be claimed at the Cosmos Club.

CONCERTS ON SALE DATE

October concerts August 15November concerts September 1December concerts October 1January concerts November 1February concerts December 1March concerts January 1April concerts February 1May concerts March 1

All artists and programs are subject to change. Visit PhillipsCollection.org/music for up-to-date concert details, ticket policies, and venue information.

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OCTOBER 8 l Sergei Babayan, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

Ensemble 4.1 was founded in Germany in 2013 by four leading orchestral wind players and pianist Thomas Hoppe to perform quintets for piano and wind instruments alongside pieces for smaller combinations. The first half of this concert is devoted to chamber works by Francis Poulenc, whose music for wind instruments is some of the most delightful of the 20th century. From the ebullient Trio written in 1926 to two works from the 1950s: Elégie for horn and piano written in memory of the great horn player Dennis Brain, and the Clarinet Sonata, commissioned by Benny Goodman. The final work on the program is a rarity: the 1919 Quintet for Piano and Wind by the great pianist Walter Gieseking.

OCTOBER 15 l Ensemble 4.1, woodwinds and piano l DC DEBUTOCTOBER 1 l Alexander String Quartet l PHILLIPS DEBUT

Founded in New York City in 1981 and based in San Francisco, the Alexander Quartet has long been established as one of the finest string quartets in the US. The program includes Kodály’s memorably beautiful String Quartet No. 2, completed in 1918 and influenced by Debussy’s Quartet, as well as Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 9, composed in 1964, one of his most outgoing quartets dedicated to his third wife. These two 20th-century classics flank a new quartet by British composer Tarik O’Reagan. His work, Gradual, was written for the Alexander Quartet and first performed by them in Boise, Idaho, in October 2016.

Hailed by Le Figaro for his “unequaled touch, perfectly harmonious phrasing, and breathtaking virtuosity,” Armenian-American pianist Sergei Babayan brings deep understanding and insight to a diverse repertoire, which includes a performance history of 54 concertos. As a soloist, Babayan has collaborated with the likes of Martha Argerich, Yuri Temirkanov, and Neeme Jarvi. Babayan’s most recent recording of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Mariinsky Orchestra was released in 2016 to great acclaim. Babayan’s experience has taken him to preeminent venues such as Salle Gaveau, Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Herkulessaal, and Victoria Hall. This concert will include works by Ryabov, Bach, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff.

SUNDAY CONCERTS

Following the completion of his doctorate at the University of Huddersfield in England, cellist Seth Parker Woods returned to the US and is now based in Chicago. An innovative musician with interests in dance and movement, he is currently Curator of Inclusion and Discoveries at Chicago’s Fulcrum Point New Music Project. His program ranges from Bach’s Suite No. 2 in D minor to a major contemporary work for solo cello: Khse Buon (1980) by Chinary Ung, born in Cambodia in 1942 and based in the US since 1964, and winner of the 1988 Grawemayer Award for musical composition.

OCTOBER 22 l Seth Parker Woods, cello l DC DEBUT

2017/2018 SEASON OPENING CONCERT

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Formed in 2012, the Van Kuijk Quartet won first prize at the Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition in 2015. Resident at ProQuartet in Paris, they have studied with members of renowned ensembles including the Alban Berg, Artemis, and Hagen Quartets. The Van Kuijk Quartet has quickly established an international reputation with concerts in London, Paris, Verbier, and at the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival. For their recording of quartets by Mozart for the Alpha label, The Guardian wrote: “All four players contribute to the extensive color palette, precise blending and, where apt, the sense of fun that makes these well-judged, serious performances so vivid.” Their program also includes Debussy’s only String Quartet, as well as some works by Mozart.

NOVEMBER 12 l Van Kuijk Quartet l DC DEBUT

Born in Scotland in 1971, Steven Osborne is one of the finest pianists of his generation. Osborne performs a wide repertoire, with particular specializations in French, Russian, and British music. His spontaneity, technical brilliance, and spiritual depth are ideally matched to Messiaen’s monumental cycle Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, completed in 1944. Osborne’s acclaimed recording of the Vingt Regards was released in 2002, and he has since given hugely successful live performances of the cycle. A series of contemplations on the Christ child evoked in music of emotional power, the work was inspired by Messiaen’s deeply-held Catholic faith and is unquestionably one of the most original piano works of the 20th century. This will be Osborne’s third performance at the Phillips.

Please note that this concert’s duration is 2 hours without intermission.

OCTOBER 29 l Steven Osborne, piano

SUNDAY CONCERTS

NOVEMBER 5 l Victor Julien-Laferrière, cello & Guillaume Bellom, piano l US DEBUT

French cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière won the Grand Prize in the renowned Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2017, the first time this prestigious competition has been dedicated to the cello. For his prize-winning performance, Julien-Laferrière played the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Shostakovich, and he ends his Phillips recital with the powerful Cello Sonata by the same composer. Alongside this he will play Brahms’s passionate and brooding E minor Cello Sonata, sets of virtuoso variations by Beethoven and Martinů on themes by Mozart and Rossini, and the expansive Nocturne by the living French composer Thierry Escaich.

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NOVEMBER 19 l Annie Wu, flute & Feng Niu, piano l DC DEBUT

Born in California, Annie Wu first appeared at Carnegie Hall at age 12, as the youngest winner of the National Flute Association’s High School Soloist Competition. Since then she has developed a solo career alongside studies at Harvard and the New England Conservatory, and she works regularly with pianist Feng Niu. Their recital celebrates important flute and piano works by American composers alongside a rarely-heard sonata by the great French flutist Philippe Gaubert, and an arrangement of Debussy’s sultry and epoch-making Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, the work which Pierre Boulez considered to be the beginning of modern music.

Winner of a coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2016, Alexi Kenney was born in Palo Alto, California, in 1994. Pianist Renana Gutman was born in Israel and now lives in New York City. Both these young artists have been praised for their rare musical insights as well as their virtuosity, and both have studied with distinguished teachers: Kenney with Donald Weilerstein and Miriam Fried, Gutman with Richard Goode and in masterclasses with Leon Fleisher. This recital features Baroque works for solo violin, including Bach’s mighty Chaconne alongside Esa-Pekka Salonen’s unaccompanied Lachen verlernt. The works for violin and piano are Schubert’s expansive late Fantasie and Respighi’s stirring late-Romantic Sonata in B minor.

DECEMBER 3 l Alexi Kenney, violin & Renana Gutman, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

Kentucky native Tessa Lark is an Avery Fisher Career Grant winner and recipient of a Leonore Annenberg Fellowship grant in 2014. An experienced soloist and chamber musician, she plays on the “ex-Gingold” Stravidarius violin made in 1683. Pianist Roman Rabinovich has enjoyed an international career since winning the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. These artists perform two very different masterpieces of the violin and piano repertoire: Brahms’s idyllic G Major Violin Sonata and Bartók’s intense, harmonically daring Violin Sonata No. 1.

DECEMBER 10 l Tessa Lark, violin & Roman Rabinovich, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

DECEMBER 17 l Chalaca Trio, harp, clarinet, and percussion l DC DEBUT

This exciting new ensemble was founded to explore the infinitely rich musical traditions of South America and the Caribbean, and the ways in which these have nourished the work of living composers who have settled in the US. With its unusual combination of instruments, Chalaca’s concert will demonstrate the migration of styles and rhythms in the work of modern composers as well as their debt to masters of traditional folk music. Please note this holiday concert takes place at the Thomas T. Gaff House, currently the residence of the Ambassador of Colombia to the US, at 1520 20th Street, NW.

SUNDAY CONCERTS

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SUNDAY CONCERTS

Renowned violinist Vadim Gluzman was born in the former Soviet Union in 1973, and moved to Israel in 1990. Much encouraged by Isaac Stern, Gluzman was the recipient of the Henryk Szeryng Foundation Career Award in 1994. Since then he has appeared as a concert soloist and performed in recitals throughout the world, and has also recorded extensively. Angela Yoffe, originally from Riga, Latvia, is Gluzman’s regular recital partner and they have made several recordings for the BIS label. Their program includes the early Violin Sonata by Richard Strauss, as well as 20th-century works by Stravinsky, Bloch, and Arvo Pärt, alongside Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s brilliant and witty transcription of themes from Rossini’s Barber of Seville.

JANUARY 7 l Vadim Gluzman, violin & Angela Yoffe, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

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The intoxicating rhythms and melodies of South America and Eastern Europe are brought to life by Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux and French-born bandoneón player Julien Labro. The music of Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla brought Vieaux and Labro together for their collaboration on the album Piazzolla, released in 2011. This concert also features the work of Brazilian composer Radamés Gnattali, as well as a haunting work by American jazz musician Pat Metheny and a piece by Bulgarian composer and guitarist Rossen Balkanski.

JANUARY 14 l Jason Vieaux, guitar & Julien Labro, bandoneón l DC DUO DEBUT

JANUARY 21 l Goldmund Quartett l DC DEBUT

One of Europe’s most exciting young string quartets, the Munich-based Goldmund Quartett, made its debut at Munich’s Prinzregententheater. Since then, the quartet has appeared at international festivals in Aix-en-Provence, Granada, and Ludwigsburg, as well as recitals in Denmark, France, Norway, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, China, and the US. With a repertoire anchored in the Viennese masterpieces of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, the Goldmund Quartett has attracted glowing reviews for its debut album of quartets by Haydn. Their Phillips program features works by Haydn and Beethoven, including the second of the Razumovsky Quartets, one of the boldest and most serious of Beethoven’s middle-period works.

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Born in Israel and a student of Emanuel Ax at the Juilliard School, Shai Wosner has become one of the most sought-after interpreters of the Viennese Classics as both soloist and chamber music partner. He is also noted for his passionate advocacy of contemporary music. Among his recordings, the coupling of concertos by Haydn and Ligeti was chosen as one of the Best Classical Recordings of 2016 by The New York Times. Long admired for his Schubert playing, including a recording of two late sonatas praised by Gramophone for its “unfaltering authority and character,” Wosner presents two recitals that offer a very rare chance to hear Schubert’s last six piano sonatas in sequence. These masterpieces were composed between 1825 and 1828, and the last three sonatas were all completed in an astonishing burst of creativity during September 1828.

JANUARY 28 & FEBRUARY 4 l Shai Wosner, piano

SUNDAY CONCERTS

Ukrainian violinist Aleksey Semenenko came to prominence in 2015 after his success at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium. He has performed in Russia, throughout Western Europe, and in the US where he was the New Artist of the Month in Musical America for March 2015. His regular recital partner is pianist Inna Firsova, who also has a successful solo career. As a duo, they were awarded “Best Concert” at the 2016 Dubrovnik Summer Festival. Their program includes Viennese classics by Mozart and Schubert alongside one of Ysaÿe’s solo violin sonatas, arrangements of music by Debussy, and Wieniawski’s dazzling fantasy on themes from Gounod’s Faust.

FEBRUARY 11 l Aleksey Semenenko, violin & Inna Firsova, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

FEBRUARY 18 l Miriam Fried, violin & Jonathan Biss, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

Born in Romania, brought up in Israel, and now in the US, Miriam Fried came to early prominence when she won the 1968 Paganini Competition. She followed this success in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in 1971. A violinist in the great tradition—her teachers included Josef Gingold and Ivan Galamian—Fried has been praised in Musical America for her “fiery intensity and emotional depth.” Her recital partner is Jonathan Biss, who studied with Leon Fleisher at the Curtis Institute and is also Fried’s son. Their recital is comprised of three great sonatas: Brahms’s serene Violin Sonata in A Major, Bartók’s dazzling Sonata No. 2, and Beethoven’s C minor Sonata Op. 30, No. 2.

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Originally formed in 1934 by pianist Josef Páleníček, this great ensemble has been one of the most outstanding Czech trios for more than 80 years. It was founded as a trio of musicians who were leading soloists in their own right, and that tradition is maintained to this day: Pianist Jitka Čechová has recorded Smetana’s complete piano works, Jiří Vodička is concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic, and cellist Jan Páleníček—a pupil of Paul Tortelier and Miloš Sádlo—is the son of the founder of the Smetana Trio. Their Phillips recital includes two early works by 20th-century masters: Zemlinsky’s Piano Trio Op. 3 and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 1. The concert ends with Mendelssohn’s gloriously melodious Piano Trio in D minor.

FEBRUARY 25 l Smetana Trio, piano trio l DC DEBUT

MARCH 4 l Dublin Guitar Quartet The Dublin Guitar Quartet was founded in 2002 and has worked with several of the world’s leading composers, including a particularly close association with Philip Glass, as well as younger composers from Ireland and beyond. Their program is an innovative mixture of music composed or arranged for this intriguing ensemble, including works by Philip Glass and other American composers such as Rachel Grimes, Marc Mellits, and guitarist-composers Bryce Dessner and William Kanengiser. Also featured are works by Urmas Sisask from Estonia, Nikita Koshkin from Russia, and guitarist Dave Flynn from Ireland.

SUNDAY CONCERTS

David Finckel was the first American pupil of Mstislav Rostropovich, and for more than 30 years had a distinguished career as cellist of the Emerson Quartet, from 1979 until 2013. Wu Han began her studies in Taiwan, but after moving to the US her teachers included Rudolf Serkin and Menahem Pressler. Married in 1985, Finckel and Han have given numerous recitals together. Since 2004 they have been joint Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. At the heart of their Phillips recital is Bruce Adolphe’s four-movement work Couple, written in 1998 for the duo. This is framed by Mendelssohn’s vibrant Cello Sonata No. 2 (1842) and Grieg’s Cello Sonata (1883).

MARCH 11 l David Finckel, cello & Wu Han, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

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Formed in London in 2012 and named after the legendary violinist and chamber musician Adolf Busch, the Busch Trio is comprised of pianist Omri Epstein, violinist Mathieu van Bellen (who plays the Guadagnini violin once used by Busch himself), and cellist Ori Epstein. Winners of the Royal Overseas League Competition in 2012, the Busch Trio has given concerts all over Europe and in China. Their debut recording was a critically acclaimed disc of Dvořák, including the mighty Piano Trio in F minor, which will be performed in this concert. The other work on their program is Schubert’s much-loved and life-affirming B-flat Major Piano Trio.

APRIL 1 l Busch Trio, piano trio l DC DEBUT

Described by Le Figaro as “a pianist of genius,” FazIl Say was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1970 and completed his studies in Düsseldorf and Berlin. He has performed all over the world but has worked extensively in Germany—as an artist in residence for Hessischer Rundfunk (Frankfurt), at the Rheingau Music Festival, and in 2015/2016 at the Alte Oper Frankfurt. His recital at the Phillips includes a group of Chopin Nocturnes, Beethoven’s last Piano Sonata Op. 111, Mozart’s Sonata No. 11 in A Major (which includes the notorious Rondo alla Turca), and Say’s own Gezi Park 2: Sonata for Piano, a major new work commissioned by the Vienna Konzerthaus and first performed there by the composer in 2014.

MARCH 18 l FazIl Say, piano l PHILLIPS DEBUT

SUNDAY CONCERTS

APRIL 8 l István Várdai, cello l PHILLIPS SOLO DEBUT

A graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, István Várdai won the Geneva International Cello Competition in 2008 and has played all over the world. He plays on a remarkable cello, the 1673 Stradivari instrument formerly used by Jacqueline du Pré and Lynn Harrell. His recital includes three outstanding works for solo cello, with Bach’s Suite No. 5 as the centerpiece. Ligeti’s Sonata for Solo Cello was composed in 1948–53 and is one of his most significant early works, suppressed by the authorities at the time, but emerging in the 1980s as a major rediscovery. Kodály’s Sonata for Solo Cello was written in 1915, and was quickly recognized as one of the greatest works for the instrument since Bach’s time.

The Schumann Quartett takes its name from the three brothers—Mark, Erik, and Ken Schumann—who founded this ensemble in 2007. Estonian viola player Liisa Randalu joined the quartet in 2012. In 2016, the Schumann Quartett began a three-year residency at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and their international reputation has been enhanced by very successful concerts in Vienna, Amsterdam, London, and Zürich as well as a tour in Japan. Noted for their creative choice of repertory, their concert includes Haydn’s glorious “Sunrise” Quartet alongside two Russian works: Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 7 and Tchaikovsky’s Quartet No. 3.

APRIL 15 l Schumann Quartett

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Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet studied with Pierre Sancan at the Paris Conservatoire. Encouraged at the start of his career by conductors such as Sir Georg Solti and Pierre Boulez, Bavouzet’s playing is a bewitching combination of interpretative imagination and virtuosic technique. His repertoire ranges from the Viennese Classics to Stockhausen, and he has made acclaimed recordings of sonatas by Haydn and Beethoven, as well as a distinguished series of the complete piano works by Debussy (1862–1918). To commemorate the centenary of Debussy’s death, Bavouzet’s recital is devoted entirely to the composer’s work, ranging from early works such as Tarentelle styrienne (1890) to Book II of the Préludes (1912–13), a set of 12 pieces that depict moods and images ranging from fog to fireworks—some of Debussy’s most evocative and daring writing for piano.

Yeol Eum Son made her recording debut in 2004 with a complete set of Chopin’s Études, the same year she performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel during the orchestra’s tour to South Korea. She is a prize-winner at both the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Among her solo recital repertoire are Mozart’s Fantasia in C minor—one of his most daring and adventurous piano works, late Brahms, one of the earliest pieces in Arvo Pärt’s tintinnabuli style, and the demonic magnificence of Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1. She will also play one of Ravel’s favorites among his own piano works, Valses nobles et sentimentales.

APRIL 22 l Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano APRIL 29 l Yeol Eum Son, piano l DC DEBUT

SUNDAY CONCERTS

David Shifrin is one of the world’s leading clarinetists. A former principal clarinet in the Cleveland Orchestra, he is a particularly distinguished performer of chamber music, collaborating with pianists including Emanuel Ax and quartets such as the Guarneri and Emerson. Shifrin is also a highly regarded teacher and has held positions at both Yale and the Juilliard School. Formed in 1995 and well-known for its imaginative programming, the Miró Quartet is based in Austin, Texas, and takes its name from Spanish artist Joan Miró. The concert opens with Credo by Kevin Puts, composed for the Miró Quartet and first performed by them in 2007. The remainder of the program offers the two greatest clarinet quintets—Mozart’s from 1789 and Brahms’s from 1891—performed side by side.

MAY 6 l David Shifrin, clarinet & Miró Quartet l DC ENSEMBLE DEBUT

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Described as a “Multi-Media Cabaret,” Late Night with Leonard Bernstein is an affectionate portrait of the personal side of this charismatic, singularly public figure in the year of his centenary. Hosted by his daughter Jamie and featuring soprano Amy Burton and pianists John Musto and Michael Boriskin, this evening includes some of Bernstein’s most intimate music alongside works by Copland, Confrey, Coward, Schubert, and Chopin. Interwoven with personal anecdotes and film clips, this is an original and heartwarming performance.

Part of a DC-citywide centennial celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday

MAY 20 l Late Night with Leonard Bernstein: soprano and two pianos with special guest narrator l DC DEBUT

MAY 27 l Stephen Kovacevich, piano

SUNDAY CONCERTS

Revered pianist Stephen Kovacevich studied with Dame Myra Hess in London before making his sensational debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1961 with a program including Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Kovacevich’s distinguished recording career, stretching over more than half a century, includes definitive readings of works by the great Viennese Classical composers as well as Brahms and more recent music, especially Bartók. Kovacevich’s eagerly-awaited return to the Phillips includes one of Beethoven’s late Piano Sonatas and a group of Bagatelles alongside music by J. S. Bach.

Taking its name from the Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg, this ensemble is made up of three brilliant Russian soloists who now live in the US. Pianist Ilya Kazantsev is a winner of the Nikolai Rubinstein Competition and the International Chopin Competition. Violinist Misha Keylin’s recordings include all seven violin concertos by Henri Vieuxtemps. Cellist Sergey Antonov is a gold medal winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. The Hermitage Trio’s concert celebrates the music of Russia, beginning with Glinka’s Trio pathétique, followed by Shostakovich’s wartime masterpiece Piano Trio No. 2, and Tchaikovksy’s Seasons, originally for solo piano but particularly effective in the arrangement for piano trio by Alexander Goedicke.

MAY 13 l Hermitage Piano Trio2017/2018 SEASON CLOSING CONCERT

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“The Phillips Collection’s concert series focusing on European composers is a fine complement to the museum’s main mission.”—The Washington Post

In 2009, European embassies in Washington, DC, and The Phillips Collection joined forces to create an unprecedented concert series: Leading European Composers. Presenting some of the greatest living composers of our time, this series is unique in that the featured composer designs a program of their works with performers they personally select. In 2015, Phillips Music broadened its scope to create Leading International Composers, infusing the series with comprehensive views on the state of new music beyond geographical borders. As part of our exciting partnership with the University of Maryland, this year’s Leading International Composer will feature Turkish composer FazIl Say, along with esteemed UMD School of Music faculty and students.

PREVIOUSLY FEATURED COMPOSERS

Leading International Composers: Anders Hillborg at UMD, March 10, 2017

Hans Abrahamsen (Denmark)Dušan Bavdek (Slovakia)Avner Dorman (Israel)José Luis Greco (Spain)Anders Hillborg (Sweden)Olli Kortekangas (Finland)Tristan Murail (France)Arvo Pärt (Estonia)

Matthias Pintscher (Germany)Kaija Saariaho (Finland)Miroslav Srnka (Czechoslovakia)Anna Thorvaldsdottir (Iceland)Erkki-Sven Tüür (Estonia)Michel van der Aa (The Netherlands)Pēteris Vasks (Latvia)Zhou Long (The People's Republic of China)

CODA SESSIONSFollowing the concert, an informal discussion with the composer is moderated by Director of Music Caroline Mousset, giving audience members a chance to converse with these important voices in contemporary music.

ACADEMIC COMPONENT Each composer spends time with students and faculty of the University of Maryland’s School of Music at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park.

LEADING INTERNATIONAL COMPOSERS

Performances begin promptly at 6 pm unless otherwise noted. Tickets are $40, $20 for members and students with ID; museum admission for that day is included. Due to the preservation project of the Phillips House, please visit PhillipsCollection.org/music for location details.

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Fazıl Say is not only a virtuosic pianist but also a prolific composer. Say had his first piano lessons from Mithat Fenmen, who asked him to improvise on themes from his daily life in addition to his essential piano exercises. This creative process formed the immense improvisatory talent and the aesthetic outlook that make Say the pianist and composer he is today. Say fine-tuned his skills as a classical pianist with David Levine, first at the Musikhochschule Robert Schumann in Düsseldorf and later in Berlin. His blend of refinement (in Bach, Haydn, and Mozart) and virtuoso brilliance (in Liszt, Mussorgsky, and Beethoven) helped him win the Young Concert Artists international competition in New York in 1994. Since then he has played with renowned American and European orchestras and numerous leading conductors, building a repertoire ranging from the Viennese Classics and the Romantics to contemporary music.

Fazıl Say’s interests include improvisation, jazz, and a passion for Mozart, all of which are reflected in his compositions. So, too, is his interest in Turkish folklore and literature. His output ranges from large-scale orchestral works (including four symphonies and several concertos), as well as a wide variety of music for chamber ensemble and large-scale vocal works. Say has been commissioned to compose works for, among others, the Salzburg Festival, West German Radio (WDR), the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival.

Performers for this concert include University of Maryland School of Music faculty and students.

In partnership with the University of Maryland

MARCH 15 l FazIl Say, Turkey

LEADING INTERNATIONAL COMPOSERS

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For over 75 years, Phillips Music has been a highlight of Washington’s cultural life, presenting exceptional young musicians alongside a roster of acclaimed performers in the intimate, art-filled setting of the Music Room. Sunday Concerts offer imaginative programming of the classics, while the Leading International Composers series welcomes the best of new music.

Ticket income alone does not cover the cost of a season. Phillips Music relies on the generosity of our valued Music Endowment donors, Season Sponsors, and Phillips Chamber Society subscribers to ensure the success of our concerts. We are grateful for our music donors’ passion and commitment to this rich tradition, and invite you to join them in celebrating our 77th season by making a gift in one of the following ways:

SEASON SPONSORSHIPSponsorship opportunities begin at $5,000. Sponsors receive recognition in promotional materials for the 2017/2018 season and enjoy benefits including exclusive seating at all Sunday Concerts and Leading International Composers performances.($3,500 tax-deductible)

MUSIC ENDOWMENT FUNDA current or legacy gift to endow Phillips Music allows the Phillips to expand its impact, engage diverse communities, build creative conversations with partners around the globe, and interact with a broader community of artists. Endowment gifts are fully tax-deductible.

For more information on supporting Phillips Music, contact the Development Department at 202.387.2151 x315.

PHILLIPS CHAMBER SOCIETYConsider adding a $1,500 season subscription to any category of museum membership. Benefits include free admission and guaranteed seating at Sunday Concerts and Leading International Composers performances, as well as advance e-mail notice of concert programming.

To join, contact membership@phillipscollection.org or 202.387.3036.

JOIN THE CELEBRATIONPHILLIPS MUSIC SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

29 Anne Akiko Meyers and Akira Eguchi, April 23, 2017 30

PHILLIPS CHAMBER SOCIETY

Ms. Antonia AveryDr. David M. Bachman, MDCaroline A. BakerAnonymousMr. and Mrs. Edward BloomsteinBetty Bullock and John SiltonMs. Sandra Cummins-Haid and Mr. Allen HaidMr. Arnold Dean and Ms. Susan RandolphMr. Justin M. DempseyNina and Dan DwyerMr. and Mrs. Leon EllsworthFlorence FasanelliMr. Bernardo FrydmanProfessor Joseph L. GastwirthMrs. Flora HarperMs. Nancy Hirshbein and Mr. Robert RocheDeborah HoulihanSusan Lee LarimerAnne and Jacques LiautaudAnonymousMs. Kathleen McNamara and Mr. John Spears

THANK YOU

MUSIC ENDOWMENT FUND

Mary BlakeIn memory of Sylvia C. Winkelman by Ann and Donald BrownIn memory of Esther Silver Burstein and Louise Bernheimer Ehrman by the Silver-Burstein FoundationThomas CarothersIn honor of Elisabeth Wisner Chisholm by the Chisholm FoundationClark-Winchcole FoundationIn memory of its founder, Dallas Morse Coors by The Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing ArtsThe Cosmos Club FoundationHelen and Charles CrowderJames and Donna DevallIn memory of Tamara Dmitrieff by her friendsThe Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation

Phillips Music is made possible by generous contributions from individuals, as well as corporate and foundation grants. Thank you for helping to ensure that the world’s finest musicians, together with promising emerging performers, continue to appear at The Phillips Collection.

The Phillips Collection gratefully acknowledges support from the following partners:

Official Hotel SponsorOfficial Supporter of our International Artists

Cosponsor of Leading International Composers

Official Broadcast Sponsor

AS OF JULY 2017

Florence FasanelliMr. and Mrs. Carl M. FreemanThe Friday Morning Music Club and FoundationThe Ann and Gordon Getty FoundationJoseph and Alma GildenhornIn memory of Elmira Bier by Virginia GloverIn honor of John D. Graubert by his wifeGilbert GreenwayRichard A. HermanLynne and Joseph HorningPaul HumeJames JohnstonDavid Lloyd KreegerIn memory of Mr. and Mrs. William Andrew Pollard by Rebecca Pollard LoganGeneviève Guérin Mason

For information about how to support Phillips Music, please contact development@phillipscollection.org or 202.387.2151 x315.

In memory of Harry McClureWilliam and Inna MetlerAlice and Arthur NagleThe Edward John Noble FoundationGerson Nordlinger, Jr.To honor our nation's great composers by F. Warren O‘ReillyIn memory of Nancy Hanks by Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. RockefellerIn honor of Joyce B. Cowin by Patricia Bennett SagonIn memory of H. Theodore ShoreIn memory of Colonel C. Haskell Small and Ruth B. Small by their familyIn memory of Alice T. Strong by the Hattie M. Strong Foundation

PHOTO CREDITS: Alexander String Quartet: Rory Earnshaw; Sergei Babayan: Marco Borggreve; Ensemble 4.1: Frank Jerke; Seth Parker Woods; Steven Osborne: Ben Ealovega; Victor Julien-Laferrière: © cmireb; Van Kuijk Quartet: Andrea H Vega; Annie Wu: Ryan Brandenberg Photography; Alexi Kenney: Yang Bao; Tessa Lark: Lauren Desberg; Roman Rabinovich: Balazs Borocz Pilvax; Benito Meza: benitomeza.com; Bridget Kibbey: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco; Samuel Torres: www.enorbita.tv; Vadim Gluzman & Angela Yoffe: Marco Borggreve; Jason Vieaux & Julien Labro: Ken Blaze; Goldmund Quartett: Nicolai Lund; Shai Wosner: Marco Borggreve; Aleksey Semenenko: Ira Weinrauch; Miriam Fried: Henry Fair; Jonathan Biss: Benjamin Ealovega; Smetana Trio: Richard Sklar; Dublin Guitar Quartet: Emelie Lidstrom; David Finckel & Wu Han: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco; Fazil Say: Marco Borggreve; Busch Trio: Blake Ezra; István Várdai: Németh András Péter; Schumann Quartett: Kaupo Kikkas; Jean-Efflam Bavouzet: Paul Mitchell; Yeol Eum Son: Jaehyong Park; David Shifrin: www.davidshifrin.com; Miró Quartet: miroquartet.com; Hermitage Trio: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco; Late Night with Leonard Bernstein: Elizabeth Leslie Photography; Stephen Kovacevich: David Thompson © EMI Classics; Denyce Graves, Anne Akiko Meyers, Anders Hillborg: H. Paul Moon; Alina Ibragimova, Timo Andres, Pēteris Vasks: Joshua Navarro

SEASON SPONSORS

AnonymousAnne and Ronald AbramsonLouise R. de Ia Fuente and Mace RosensteinSusan and Christopher DeMuthAndrew and Eleanor GlassLee Hoffman and Leslie WhipkeyJoseph and Lynne HorningMartha R. Johnston and Robert CoonrodGary and Phoebe MallardJulian and Dawa ShepardEileen and Michael Tanner

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William and lnna MetlerMr. John O'DonnellAndrew Oliver and Melanie Du BoisMs. Sandra C. PollenCarol RidkerMr. and Mrs. Daniel C. SchwartzMs. Iona SebastianNadia and Albert TaranReid Thompson and Ruoke LiuDr. Philip Posner and Dr. Carol Van HartesveldtDr. Bension VaronMs. Anna WeatherleyThe Honorable Edwin D. Williamson and Ms. Kathe WilliamsonMr. Warren C. Zwicky

PHILLIPS MUSIC 2017/2018 CALENDAR

Visit PhillipsCollection.org/music to reserve tickets and view up-to-date concert details.

Select performances are broadcast on Front Row Washington on Classical WETA 90.9 FM on Monday evenings at 9 pm. All artists and programs are subject to change.

SUNDAY CONCERTS, 4 pm, $40/$20 members and studentsLEADING INTERNATIONAL COMPOSERS, 6 pm, $40/$20 members and students

Leading International Composers: Pēteris Vasks, February 12, 201533

OCTOBER1 | Alexander String Quartet8 | Sergei Babayan, piano15 | Ensemble 4.1, woodwinds and piano22 | Seth Parker Woods, cello29 | Steven Osborne, piano

NOVEMBER5 | Victor Julien-Laferrière, cello & Guillaume Bellom, piano12 | Van Kuijk Quartet19 | Annie Wu, flute & Feng Niu, piano

DECEMBER3 | Alexi Kenney, violin & Renana Gutman, piano10 | Tessa Lark, violin & Roman Rabinovich, piano17 | Chalaca Trio, harp, clarinet, percussion

JANUARY7 | Vadim Gluzman, violin & Angela Yoffe, piano14 | Jason Vieaux, guitar & Julien Labro, bandoneón21 | Goldmund Quartett28 | Shai Wosner, piano

FEBRUARY4 | Shai Wosner, piano11 | Aleksey Semenenko, violin & Inna Firsova, piano18 | Miriam Fried, violin & Jonathan Biss, piano25 | Smetana Trio, piano trio

MARCH4 | Dublin Guitar Quartet11 | David Finckel, cello & Wu Han, piano15 | Leading International Composers: FazIl Say, Turkey18 | FazIl Say, piano

APRIL1 | Busch Trio, piano trio8 | István Várdai, cello15 | Schumann Quartett, string quartet22 | Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano29 | Yeol Eum Son, piano

MAY6 | David Shifrin, clarinet & Miró Quartet13 | Hermitage Piano Trio20 | Late Night with Leonard Bernstein: soprano and two pianos with special guest narrator27 | Stephen Kovacevich, piano

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