F. Ludwig Diehn Concert Series

Ensemble 4.1

Tuesday, Oct 29, 2024 at 12:30 PM (ET)
Chandler Recital Hall

Nominee for OPUS KLASSIK 2019

FOUR wind soloists, keen to chamber music, and ONE pianist Thomas Hoppe devote themselves to this still undiscovered wonderful musical genre.

ensemble 4.1 "the Easy-Riders of Viennese Classic"

Their exceptional communicative power and their intoxicating atmosphere on stage are often praised by critics and have become the hallmark of ensemble 4.1. In addition to the original masterpieces for this setting by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, the ensemble is devoted to discovering rarely played compositions from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. After many years, piano windtets by Walter Gieseking, Theodor Verhey, Heinrich von Herzogenberg and Gustav Holst are again being performed for an enthusiastic public.

Free Masterclass: Trio con Brio Copenhagen

Monday, Feb 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM 
Chandler Recital Hall

Recognized as one of the world’s finest piano ensembles, the Trio con Brio Copenhagen’s multifaceted members are not only performing artists who tour extensively, but also esteemed recording artists, artistic directors and educators. The Trio appears regularly at the world’s leading venues and concert series, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Pierre Boulez-Saal, the Concertgebouw and many more. Trio con Brio is a recipient of the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Award, one of Denmark’s most prestigious prizes.

Trio con Brio Copenhagen is a fusion of two overlapping “musical pairs:” two sisters, violinist Soo-Jin Hong and cellist Soo-Kyung Hong, are from South Korea; pianist Jens Elvekjaer, Soo-Kyung’s spouse, is from Denmark. Founded at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna in 1999, the Trio is now based in Copenhagen and is recognized for its exceptional musicianship, fresh approach to the core repertoire, adventurous programming and a commitment to bringing music to young people through their highly creative concerts.

The ensemble’s recordings have received tremendous critical acclaim. The latest album of Shostakovich and Arensky trios (Orchid Classics) was a Gramophone “Editor’s Choice” and also singled out by BBC Music Magazine as a “Chamber Choice” of the month. The disc also just won the German Record Critics’ Award (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik), and was singled out among other winning titles including the Berlin Philharmonic, Frank Peter Zimmermann, and Quatuor Ebène. An album featuring the complete Beethoven piano trios (Orchid Classics) garnered broad, enthusiastic praise from critics and fans alike with the BBC Music Magazine calling it “a triumph.” The Trio has also recorded the work of leading Scandinavian composers, including Per Nørgård, Bent Sørensen and Sven-David Sandström, who have written works for the group.

As visionary artistic directors who are known for their insatiable curiosity, inventive programming and engaging children’s concerts, Trio con Brio Copenhagen plays a vital role in the cultural life of Denmark. This season they are collaborating with leading Danish actor Søren Sætter-Lassen on their new musical production of “The Little Prince” set to open at The Royal Danish Theatre. A tour is planned the following year.

Trio con Brio Copenhagen serves as artistic directors of the annual festival, Chamber Music at Lundsgaard, and the Hellerup Chamber Music Society in Copenhagen.

Soo-Jin plays an Andrea Guarneri violin, Soo-Kyung plays a Grancino cello, and Jens is Denmark’s first Steinway Artist. Both string players are endorsed by Jargar Strings and Thomastik-Infeld Vienna.

DoosTrio

Monday, Feb 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM 
Chandler Recital Hall

Free Lecture: Tuesday, February 11 at 12:30 p.m., Chandler Recital Hall

Kayhan Kalhor, Kamancheh
Wu Man, Pipa
Sandeep Das, Tabla

Three masters and old friends in a new collaboration.

Kayhan Kalhor, Wu Man and Sandeep Das are established soloists in their individual traditions. These artists will join forces to create a new trio that highlights the ancient traditions of Persia, China and India in a 21st century program.

Three-time GRAMMY nominee Kayhan Kalhor is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the kamancheh, who through his many musical collaborations has been instrumental in popularizing Persian music in the West His performances of traditional Persian music and multiple collaborations have attracted audiences around the globe. He has toured the world as a soloist with various ensembles and orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de Lyon.

Recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music, Wu Man has carved out a career as a soloist, educator, and ­composer giving her lute-like instrument a new role in both traditional and contemporary music. Her ­adventurous spirit and virtuosity have led to ­collaborations across artistic disciplines, allowing her to reach wider audiences as she works to cross ­cultural and musical borders.

A Guggenheim Fellow and Grammy-winning ­musician, Sandeep Das is one of the leading Tabla virtuosos in the world today. Since his debut concert at the age of 17 with legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar, Das has built a prolific international reputation spanning over three decades. His original compositions have been performed in over 50 countries, including events at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House.

Canadian Brass

Monday, Mar 3, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Location TBA

Free Masterclass on Tuesday, March 4, at 12:30 p.m., location TBA

Canadian Brass
Joe Burgstaller and Mikio Sasaki, trumpets
Jeff Nelsen, horn
Keith Dyrda, trombone
Chuck Daellenbach, tuba

“Nothing proclaims celebration and festivity like the sound of brass instruments. And if those instruments are played by Canadian Brass, there is even greater cause for celebration.” - Toronto Star

With an international reputation as one of the most popular brass ensembles today, Canadian Brass has truly earned the distinction of the world’s most famous brass group.

Masters of concert presentations, Canadian Brass has developed a uniquely engaging stage presence and rapport with audiences. What set Canadian Brass apart from all other performing artists in 1970 was the relentless search for repertoire that was both loved by its performers and embraced by a growing brass audience. Each of their concerts exhibit a full range of musical styles, from trademark Baroque and Dixieland tunes, to Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Joplin, Gershwin and Ellington to ballet, opera and new compositions and arrangements created especially for them.

With a discography of over 135 albums, Canadian Brass has been an important pioneer in bringing brass music to mass audiences everywhere. They have received a combined total of 24 GRAMMY and Juno nominations and won the German Echo Award for Goldberg Variations. Their most recent album, Canadiana, features unique arrangements of many Canadian superstars including Joni Mitchell and Drake. Touring legends with an enthusiastic fan base, Canadian Brass play to packed houses worldwide and were the first brass ensemble from the West to perform in the People’s Republic of China as well as the first brass group to take the main stage at Carnegie Hall.

Canadian Brass has made appearances on The Tonight Show, Today, Entertainment Tonight, Evening at Pops with John Williams and the Boston Pops, Beverly Sills’ Music Around the World, numerous PBS specials, including a celebrated appearance on Sesame Street, and are frequent guests of many major symphony orchestras.

Education continues to be at the forefront of Canadian Brass’ yearly activities. There are over one million Canadian Brass quintet repertoire books in the hands of students in every country with a strong brass tradition.

Ariel Quartet

Monday, Apr 7, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Chandler Recital Hall

“...a gripping and often very subtle reading, setting ear-melting tenderness against seething passion with a deft and precise touch.”
– The Washington Post

Distinguished by its virtuosity, probing musical insight, and impassioned, fiery performances, the Ariel Quartet has garnered critical praise worldwide for more than twenty years. Formed when the members were just teenagers studying at the Jerusalem Academy Middle School of Music and Dance in Israel, the Ariel was named a recipient of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, granted by Chamber Music America in recognition of artistic achievement and career support. Celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2023, the Quartet serves as the Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where they direct the chamber music program and present a concert series in addition to maintaining a busy touring schedule in the United States and abroad.

Recent highlights include the Ariel Quartet’s sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, a series of performances at Lincoln Center together with pianist Inon Barnatan and the Mark Morris Dance Group, as well as the release of a Brahms and Bartók album for Avie Records. In 2020, the Ariel gave the U.S. premiere of the Quintet for Piano and Strings by Daniil Trifonov, with the composer as pianist for the Linton Chamber Music Series in Cincinnati.

The Quartet has dedicated much of its artistic energy and musical prowess to the groundbreaking Beethoven quartets and has performed the complete Beethoven cycle on six occasions throughout the United States and Europe. The Ariel Quartet regularly collaborates with today’s eminent and rising young musicians and ensembles, including pianist Orion Weiss, cellist Paul Katz, and the American, Pacifica, and Jerusalem String Quartets. The Quartet has toured with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and performed frequently with pianists Jeremy Denk and Menahem Pressler. In addition, the Ariel served as Quartet-in-Residence for the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival, the Yellow Barn Music Festival, and the Perlman Music Program, as well as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Festival.

Formerly the resident ensemble of the Professional String Quartet Training Program at the New England Conservatory, from which the players obtained their undergraduate and graduate degrees, the Ariel was mentored extensively by acclaimed string quartet giants Walter Levin and Paul Katz. It has won numerous international prizes in addition to the Cleveland Quartet Award: First Prize at the prestigious Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz/Austria, Grand Prize at the 2006 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Székely Prize for the performance of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, and Third Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. About its performances at the Banff competition, the American Record Guide described the group as “a consummate ensemble gifted with utter musicality and remarkable interpretive power” and noted, in particular, their playing of Beethoven’s monumental Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, as “the pinnacle of the competition.”

The Ariel Quartet has received significant support from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation, Dov and Rachel Gottesman, and the Legacy Heritage Fund. Most recently, they were awarded a grant from the A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation.

Chis Whiteman, jazz guitarist

 Monday, Apr 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Chandler Recital Hall

Chris Whiteman, a native of Montclair, New Jersey, embarked on his musical journey at the age of 10 when he joined the school band as a trumpet player. However, it was at 13, after his family relocated to Richmond, VA, that he discovered his true passion for the guitar. Introduced to this instrument by a neighbor, Chris quickly shifted his focus to studying the guitar, investing countless hours in practice and refinement. By the time he reached 18, Chris's exceptional guitar skills propelled him into the professional music scene in Richmond. Seeking to expand his knowledge and abilities, Chris pursued higher education in music, commencing with classical guitar studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. He later transferred to the prestigious guitar program at the University of Miami, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in studio music and jazz performance. Chris continued his studies at UM, accepting a graduate teaching assistantship while working towards his Master of Music in jazz pedagogy. Following the completion of his studies, Chris Whiteman's expertise and deep passion for music led him to join the esteemed faculty at the University of Miami as a full-time lecturer in the Frost School of Music. In 2006, he even assumed the role of Acting Director of the jazz guitar program, further solidifying his experience in music education. Throughout his career, Chris has graced stages across the United States and Europe, captivating audiences with his remarkable guitar skills and magnetic performances. Collaborating with Grammy-winning artists and producers, Chris has garnered extensive recognition. He has also ventured into composing music for films and serves as a signature artist arranger for Musicnotes.com, the world's leading platform for digital sheet music. His meticulous and innovative arrangements have garnered acclaim, firmly establishing his reputation as a highly skilled musician. In addition to his arranging and teaching endeavors, Chris leads his own musical group, the Chris Whiteman Trio, featuring bassist Paul Langosch and drummer Emre Kartari. He also serves as the musical director for Wyatt Michael, a talented artist who gained prominence as a finalist on NBC's "The Voice" Season 21. From 2021 to 2023, Chris toured with jazz vocal sensation Veronica Swift, showcasing his versatility and becoming a sought-after sideman. His performances have graced renowned venues such as the Blue Note NYC, the Hollywood Bowl, Birdland, Monterey Jazz Festival, Ventura Music Festival, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Richmond Coliseum, and the International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ) conference in Krakow, Poland. With over 6 million views on his YouTube channel, Chris's captivating music has reached a vast global audience, solidifying his ability to connect with listeners. His recent discography includes recordings with Royce Campbell ("Whiteman/Campbell Project"), Veronica Swift (scheduled for release Fall 2023 on Mac Ave Records), and Wyatt Michael (“Renaissance"). Alongside his professional pursuits, Chris Whiteman remains dedicated to sharing his knowledge and passion for music by teaching privately to students worldwide. Notably, his students have included four-time Grammy Award winner D’Angelo. With his talent, extensive experience, and unwavering dedication, Chris Whiteman continues to make an indelible mark on the world of jazz guitar. His innovative arrangements, captivating performances, and unwavering commitment to musical excellence solidify his status as a revered musician and a true artist.