2021-2022: SEASON 9

Arnaud Sussmann, violin | Matthew Lipman, viola | Edward Arron, cello
Alex Fiterstein, clarinet | Andrew Armstrong, piano | Kevin Rivard, horn

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PROGRAM

Brahms Horn Trio

Dohnanyi Sextet

Program Notes

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ARTIST BIOS

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  Andrew Armstrong

   Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the United States, including performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Rudolfinum of Prague, and Warsaw’s National Philharmonic. 

  Andrew’s orchestral engagements across the globe have seen him perform a sprawling repertoire of more than 50 concertos with orchestra. He has performed with such conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak Perlman, Günther Herbig, Stefan Sanderling, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and has appeared in solo recitals in chamber music concerts with the Elias, Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets and also as a member of the Caramoor Virtuosi, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. The 2021-2022 Season takes Andrew across the globe with concerts in London, Glasgow, Geneva, Dresden, and across the US, Canada, and Australia. Last season Andrew and violinist James Ehnes teamed up to release the complete cycle of 10 Beethoven Violin Sonatas to celebrate the master’s 250th birthday in 2020. The duo performed the cycle in cities around the world during the past two years and will continue the project through 2022. 

  On top of his performance activities, Andrew serves as Artistic Director of two thriving series in South Carolina, the Columbia Museum of Art’s Chamber Music on Main and USC Beaufort Chamber Music. In 2020, Andrew founded New Canaan Chamber Music in New Canaan, CT and serves as Artistic Director of that promising new series. In Wisconsin, from 2017 through 2021, Andrew has drawn great fulfillment as Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Wisconsin’s Green Lake Festival of Music. 

  Andrew’s debut solo CD featuring Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Mussorgsky was released to great critical acclaim: “I have heard few pianists play [Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata], recorded or in concert, with such dazzling clarity and confidence” (American Record Guide). He followed that success with a disc on Cordelia Records of works by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, and the world premiere recording of Bielawa’s Wait for piano & drone. 

  He has released several award-winning recordings with his longtime recital partner James Ehnes — most recently Beethoven’s Sonatas Nos. 7 & 10, to stellar reviews. 

  Andrew is devoted to outreach programs and playing for children. In addition to his many concerts, his performances are heard regularly on National Public Radio, Performance Today, and WQXR, New York City’s premier classical music station. 

  Mr. Armstrong lives in Massachusetts, with his wife Esty, their three children Jack (15), Elise (10), and Gabriel (4), and their two dogs Comet & Dooker. 

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  Edward Arron

  Cellist Edward Arron has garnered recognition worldwide for his elegant musicianship, impassioned performances, and creative programming. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Arron made his New York recital debut in 2000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time, he has appeared in recital, as a soloist with major orchestras, and as a chamber musician throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

  The 2021-22 season marks Mr. Arron’s 13th season as the artistic director and host of the acclaimed Musical Masterworks concert series in Old Lyme, Connecticut. He is also the co-artistic director with his wife, pianist Jeewon Park, of the Performing Artists in Residence series at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Mr. Arron tours and records as a member of the renowned Ehnes Quartet, and he appears regularly at the Caramoor International Music Festival, where he has been a resident performer and curator of chamber music concerts for over a quarter of a century. In 2013, he completed a ten-year residency as the artistic director of the Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert, a chamber music series created in 2003 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Museum’s prestigious Concerts and Lectures series. In January of 2021, Mr. Arron’s recording of Beethoven’s Complete Works for Cello and Piano with pianist Jeewon Park was released on the Aeolian Classics Record Label. The recording received the Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artists Award from the Classical Recording Foundation.

  Mr. Arron has performed numerous times at Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel Halls, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls, New York’s Town Hall, and the 92nd Street Y, and is a frequent performer at Bargemusic. Festival appearances include Ravinia, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, Bravo! Vail, Tangle wood, Bridgehampton, Spoleto USA, Santa Fe, Seattle Chamber Music, Kuhmo, PyeongChang, Evian, Charlottesville, Bowdoin, Telluride Musicfest, Seoul Spring, Lake Champlain Chamber Music, Chesapeake Chamber Music, La Jolla Summerfest, and Bard Music Festival. He has participated in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project as well as Isaac Stern’s Jerusalem Chamber Music Encounters. Mr. Arron’s performances are frequently broadcast onAmerican Public Media’s Performance Today.

  Edward Arron began playing the cello at age seven in Cincinnati and continued his studies in New York with Peter Wiley. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a student of Harvey Shapiro. In 2016, Mr. Arron joined the faculty at University of Massachusetts Amherst, after having served on the faculty of New York University from 2009 to 2016.

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  Alexander Fiterstein

  Alexander Fiterstein is recognized as one of today’s most exceptional clarinetists. He has been praised by the New York Times for possessing a “beautiful liquid clarity,” and the Washington Post wrote, “Fiterstein treats his instrument as his own personal voice, dazzling in its spectrum of colors, agility, and range. Every sound he makes is finely measured without inhibiting expressiveness.” A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, he performs with orchestras and chamber groups throughout the world. He appeared as a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, Czech Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center, Tokyo Philharmonic, and Vienna Chamber Orchestra. A dedicated performer of chamber music, he frequently collaborates with distinguished artists and regularly performs with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Among the highly regarded artists he has performed with are Daniel Barenboim, Emanuel Ax, Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode, Pinchas Zukerman, Steven Isserlis, and Elena Bashkirova. Mr. Fiterstein has made several recordings for Naxos and Bridge Records. He graduated from The Juilliard School and is now Chair of Winds and Professor of Clarinet at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

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  Matthew Lipman

  American violist Matthew Lipman has been praised by the New York Times for his “rich tone and elegant phrasing,” and by the Chicago Tribune for a “splendid technique and musical sensitivity.” Lipman has come to be relied on as one of the leading players of his generation, frequently appearing as both a soloist and chamber music performer.

  Lipman will debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at the Rheingau Music Festival in the summer of 2021. Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the Juilliard Orchestra. Lipman has worked with conductors including Edward Gardner, the late Sir Neville Marriner, Osmo Vänskä, and Nicholas McGegan. Lipman was a featured performer with fellow violist Tabea Zimmermann at Michael Tilson Thomas’s 2019 Viola Visions Festival of the New World Symphony in Miami. His recent debuts include at the Aspen Music Festival, Seoul’s Kumho Art Hall, Wigmore Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and in recital at Carnegie Hall.

  Ascent, his 2019 release by Cedille Records, was celebrated by The Strad as a “most impressive” debut album while Lipman is praised for his “authoritative phrasing and attractive sound.” The album marks the first ever recording of the recently discovered work by Shostakovich, Impromptu for viola and piano and of Clarice Assad’s Metamorfose for viola and piano, which Lipman commissioned for the recording. He has also been featured on the recording of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with violinist Rachel Barton Pine and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by the late Sir Neville Marriner. The album topped Billboard’s Classical Chart and has received praise by both the press and public.

  Named the 2019 Artist-in-Residence for the American Viola Society, Lipman has additionally been featured on WFMT Chicago’s list “30 Under 30” of the world’s top classical musicians, and is a published contributor to The Strad, Strings and BBC Music magazines. He was featured on the second season of PBS’s ‘Now Hear This’ performing Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata with pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen.  He performs regularly on tour and at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at music festivals including the Morizburg Festival, St. Petersburg’s White Nights, Music@Menlo, Marlboro, Ravinia, Bridgehampton, Seattle, Saratoga, and Kissinger Sommer festivals. His regular chamber music partners include Tabea Zimmermann, Mitsuko Uchida, Itzhak Perlman, Sir András Schiff, Jeremy Denk, Stella Chen, and Pinchas Zukerman. Dedicated to expanding the repertoire for the viola, Lipman has also performed the premieres of works for viola by composers Helen Grime, Clarice Assad, David Ludwig and the American premiere of Monochromer GartenVI by Malika Kishino. 

  Lipman is the recipient of a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, a Kovner Fellowship, and the Jack Kent Cooke Award, and is also a major prize winner in the Primrose, Tertis, Washington, Johansen, and Stulberg International Viola Competitions. He studied at The Juilliard School with Heidi Castleman, and was further mentored by Tabea Zimmermann at the Kronberg Academy. As an alum of the Bowers Program, Lipman occupies the Wallach Chair at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He performs on a 1700 Matteo Goffriller viola loaned through the generous efforts of the Pine Foundation.

   

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  Kevin Rivard

  Florida born hornist, Kevin Rivard, is rapidly establishing himself as a soloist, orchestral performer and chamber musician. His earliest teacher and mentor was Carolyn Wahl, a member of The Florida Orchestra. Upon graduating from High School, Mr. Rivard received a full scholarship to attend The Juilliard School and further his studies with Julie Landsman, Principal Horn in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. During his second year at school, he won the position of Assistant Principal Horn with The Florida Orchestra. In 2005, Mr. Rivard returned to The Juilliard School to finish his performance degree.

  As an active freelancer, Mr. Rivard has appeared with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Les Miserable on Broadway. Mr. Rivard has won numerous competitions and awards. Most recently he was awarded the Grand Prize along with the audience choice award at the 2008 Concours International d’Interprétation Musicale in Paris, France. He also won the Grand Prize at the 2007 International Horn Competition of America. He was the winner of The Juilliard Concerto Competition, the Farkas Solo Horn Competition, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) level 1 award, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and was a recipient of the Music for Youth Foundation’s highest scholarship award.

  Mr. Rivard made his solo debut with the Houston Symphony in 2007, performing the Gliere Concerto, as the 2nd place winner of the Ima Hogg Young Artists Solo Competition where he also received the audience choice award. Mr. Rivard has participated in the Sarasota Music Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Verbier Festival and the Santa Fe Opera. Prior to joining the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Mr. Rivard held the position of Assistant Principal Horn with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

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  Arnaud Sussmann

  Winner of a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Arnaud Sussmann has distinguished himself with his unique sound, bravura and profound musicianship. Minnesota’s Pioneer Press writes, “Sussmann has an old-school sound reminiscent of what you’ll hear on vintage recordings by Jascha Heifetz or Fritz Kreisler, a rare combination of sweet and smooth that can hypnotize a listener. His clear tone [is] a thing of awe-inspiring beauty, his phrasing spellbinding.”

  A thrilling young musician capturing the attention of classical critics and audiences around the world, Arnaud Sussmann has appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Paris Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Further solo appearances have included a tour of Israel and concerts at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Dresden Music Festival in Germany and at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Mr. Sussmann has been presented in recital in Omaha on the Tuesday Musical Club series, New Orleans by the Friends of Music, Tel Aviv at the Museum of Art and at the Louvre Museum in Paris. He has also given concerts at the OK Mozart, Chamber Music Northwest and Moritzburg festivals and appears regularly at the Caramoor, Music@Menlo, La Jolla SummerFest, Seattle Chamber Music, Moab Music and Saratoga Springs Chamber Music festivals.

  Recent concerto appearances include performances with Maestro Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra at the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the Jacksonville Symphony and the Grand Rapids Symphony. This past season, chamber music performances included tours with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to Korea’s LG Arts Center, Shanghai’s Oriental Center and Hong Kong’s Music Academy.

  Arnaud Sussmann has performed with many of today’s leading artists including Itzhak Perlman, Menahem Pressler, Gary Hoffman, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Wu Han, David Finckel, Jan Vogler and members of the Emerson String Quartet. He has worked with conductors such as Cristian Macelaru, Marcelo Lehninger, Rune Bergmann and Leon Botstein. A dedicated chamber musician, he has been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2006 and has regularly appeared with them in New York and on tour, including a recent concert at London’s Wigmore Hall.

  A frequent recording artist, Arnaud Sussmann has released albums on Deutsche Grammophon’s DG Concert Series, Naxos, Albany Records and CMS Studio Recordings labels. His solo debut disc, featuring three Brahms Violin Sonatas with pianist Orion Weiss, was released in December 2014 on the Telos Music Label. He has been featured on multiple PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts alongside Itzhak Perlman and the Perlman Music Program and with musicians of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

  Born in Strasbourg, France and based now in New York City, Arnaud Sussmann trained at the Conservatoire de Paris and the Juilliard School with Boris Garlitsky and Itzhak Perlman. Winner of several international competitions, including the Andrea Postacchini of Italy and Vatelot/Rampal of France, he was named a Starling Fellow in 2006, an honor which allowed him to be Mr. Perlman’s teaching assistant for two years. Mr. Sussmann now teaches at Stony Brook University on Long Island and was recently named Co-Artistic Director of Music@Menlo’s International Music Program.