Program
Clarosa Piano Quartet
Natalie Zhu, piano
Juliette Kang, violin
Che-Hung Chen, viola
Clancy Newman, cello
Piano Quartet in E-Flat, Op. 16
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827)
Grave - Allegro, ma non troppo
Andante cantabile
Allegro, ma non troppo
String Trio No. 2, H.238
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ 1890 - 1959)
Allegro
Poco moderato - Vivo - Allegro ma non troppo
INTERMISSION
Piano Quartet No. 2 in B major, Op. 41
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS (1835 - 1921)
Allegretto
Andante maestoso ma con moto
Poco allegro più tosto moderato
Allegro
The Clarosa Piano Quartet was founded in 2013 by Curtis Institute alumni who were friends and colleagues. The original members were violinist Juliette Kang, who has been first associate concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2005, and her husband, cellist Thomas Kraines, violist Che-Hung Chen (also a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra) and his wife, pianist Natalie Zhu. They named the quartet after Chen and Zhu’s daughter Clara and Kang and Kraines’ daughters, Rosalie and Clarissa. When Kraines became too busy with the Daedalus Quartet to perform with Clarosa; his place was taken by Clancy Newman, who has an international career as a soloist and composer.
Natalie Zhu, piano
Known for captivating interpretations of a wide repertoire, Natalie Zhu is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Musical Fund Society Career Advancement Award, the Andrew Wolf Memorial Chamber Music Award and Astral Artists Award. The Philadelphia Inquirer heralded Zhu’s performance in recital as a display of “emotional and pianistic pyrotechnics”.
Ms. Zhu has performed throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has performed with the Vermeer, Miami, and Daedalus quartets, and collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Orion, Mendelssohn, and Ying Quartets; and the Beaux Arts Trio, Variation Trio and Time For Three. Ms. Zhu has toured with renowned violinist Hilary Hahn since 1997. They released a CD for the Deutsche Grammophon label in September 2005.
Highlights of the current season include her return to the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Crested Butte Chamber Music Festival, The Friends of Chamber Music Reading Concert Series, Brooklyn Library Chamber Music Series, Maestro Foundation Concert Series, Curtis On Tour project, and concert tours in China and Korea.
Ms. Zhu has been Artistic Director of the Kingston Chamber Music Festival since 2009 and has featured in festivals such as Marlboro, Amelia Island, Skaneateles, Tanglewood, Chicago Chamber Musicians, and Great Lakes, as well as Kingston. She recently formed the Clarosa Piano Quartet, dedicated to exploring and enriching the piano quartet repertoire. The quartet consists of Zhu’s husband, violist Che-Hung Chen of the Philadelphia Orchestra, his orchestral colleague, first associate concertmaster Juliette Kang, and cellist Clancy Newman.
Ms. Zhu began her piano studies with Xiao-Cheng Liu at the age of 6 in her native China and made her first public appearance at age nine in Beijing. At age 11 she immigrated with her family to Los Angeles, and by age 15 was enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received the prestigious Rachmaninoff Award and studied with Gary Graffman. In 2001, she joined the Curtis faculty as staff pianist. She received a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music where she studied with Claude Frank.
Juliette Kang, violin
Appointed first associate concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2005, Canadian violinist Juliette Kang enjoys an active and varied career. Previously assistant concertmaster of the Boston Symphony and a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Ms. Kang’s solo engagements have included the San Francisco Symphony, l’Orchestre National de France, the Baltimore Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Omaha Symphony, the Syracuse Symphony, and every major orchestra in Canada. Internationally she has performed with the Czech Philharmonic, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the KBS Symphony in Seoul. She has given recitals in Philadelphia, Paris, Tokyo, and Boston. In 1994 she won first prize of the 1994 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and was presented at New York's Carnegie Hall in a recital that was recorded live and released on CD. She has also recorded the Schumann and Wieniawski violin concertos with the Vancouver Symphony for CBC Records.
Che-Hung Chen, viola
Violist Che-Hung Chen joined The Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 20, when he was hired by then-Music Director Wolfgang Sawallisch, becoming the first Taiwanese citizen ever to join the Orchestra. Mr. Chen was the first-prize winner at the Seventh Banff International String Quartet Competition as the founding member of the Daedalus Quartet; the Quartet was also awarded the Pièce de Concert prize for the best performance of a commissioned work and the Székely Prize for the best performance of a Beethoven quartet. A three-time, top-prize winner at the Taiwan National Instrumental Competition, Mr. Chen is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Clancy Newman, cello
Cellist Clancy Newman has enjoyed an extraordinarily wide-ranging career, not only as a cellist, but also as a composer, producer, writer, and guest lecturer. He began playing cello at the age of six, and at twelve he received his first significant public recognition when he won a Gold Medal at the Dandenong Youth Festival in Australia, competing against contestants twice his age. In the years that followed, he won numerous other competitions, including the Juilliard School Cello Competition, the Astral Artists National Auditions, and finally the prestigious Naumburg International Competition. He has performed as soloist throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. A recipient of an Avery Fisher career grant, he can often be heard on NPR’s “Performance Today” and has been featured on A&E and PBS. As a composer, he has expanded cello technique, particularly in his "Pop-Unpopped" project, where he writes solo cello caprices based on pop songs.