Only a virtuoso with pronounced technical accomplishment would dare to tackle the concerto by Niccolo Paganini or Sergei Rachmaninoff. Melvin Chen, a Juilliard graduate with a double master’s degree in piano and violin, will take on both in the same evening. On October 19 at 7:30 pm, Chen will dazzle the Silicon Valley audience in an unusual presentation of extraordinary musicianship with a group of young talents from the California Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. It is a fundraising event for this one-year-old non-profit organization based in San Jose. The program will include Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2 and music by Mendelssohn and Rimsky-Korsakov.
A native of Tennessee, Chenhas received acclaim for performances throughout the United States and abroad. As a soloist and chamber musician, Chen has performed at major venues in the United States, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Weill Recital Hall, the Frick Collection, Kennedy Center, and Boston's Jordan Hall, in addition to other appearances throughout the United States, Canada, and Asia. Chen's performances have been featured on radio and television stations around the globe, including KBS television and radio in Korea, NHK television in Japan, and NPR in the United States. Solo recordings include Beethoven's Diabelli Variations on the Bridge label, praised as “a classic” by the American Record Guide, and a recording of Joan Tower's piano music on the Naxos label. Recordings of the Shostakovich piano sonatas and Gordon's Orpheus and Euridice were released in 2007.
More about Melvin Chen
California Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (CPYO) is led by founder and music director Byung-Woo Kim. Also a Juilliard graduate, he was the conductor of the San Jose Youth Symphony Concert Orchestra from 2004 to 2007, Concertmaster of the San Jose Symphony for eight years and Concertmaster of the Juilliard Symphony. Among the young CPYO musicians are numerous individual music awards recipients and contest winners from Bay Area high schools. They’ve given three public performances during the first year of their inauguration.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity. Order your ticket today
** Click here for details on the Master Class given by Melvin Chen
|
