Program
Reiko Uchida and Che-Yen Chen
Reiko Uchida, piano
Che-Yen Chen, viola
Piano Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op.14, No.2
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Allegro
Andante
Scherzo: Allegro assai
Mazurka in E Minor, Op.17, No.2
Mazurka in C Major, Op.24, No.2
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Nocturne in Db Major, Op.27, No.2.
Frédéric Chopin
Fantaisie in F Minor, Op.49
Frédéric Chopin
Intermission
Elegy, for Viola and Piano
Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881)
Cappriccio for Solo Viola
Henri Vieuxtemps
Romeo and Juliet Transcription for Viola and Piano
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) / Vadim Borisovsky (1900-1972)
Reiko Uchida, piano
Reiko Uchida is a pianist of rare poetic quality. While she commands a formidable technique, it is always her spiritual connection to the music that projects. Ms. Uchida has performed extensively as recitalist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Asia and Europe, in venues including Suntory Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Kennedy Center, and the White House. First prize winner of the Joanna Hodges Piano Competition and Zinetti International Competition, she has appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, and the Princeton Symphony, among others.
A passionate chamber musician, Ms.Uchida is a member of Camera Lucida and the ARK trio. She is a past member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two and has toured with Musicians from Marlboro, as well as with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society. She has collaborated with many of the leading artists of today including Jaime Laredo, Hilary Hahn, Pinchas Zukerman, Osmo Vänskä and members of the Tokyo String Quartet. She has performed as guest artist with the American Chamber Players, and the Borromeo, Talich, Formosa, Daedalus, and St. Lawrence String Quartets. She has partnered in recital with Jennifer Koh, Jessica Lee, Thomas Meglioranza, Anne Akiko Meyers, Anthony McGill, David Shifrin,and Sharon Robinson. "String Poetic,” her recording with Jennifer Koh, was nominated for a Grammy Award.
A native of California, Ms. Uchida made her solo debut with the Los Angeles Repertory Orchestra at age nine and appeared twice on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as well as on the Emmy Awards. Ms. Uchida holds a Bachelor's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, a Master's degree from the Mannes College of Music, and an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School. She studied with Claude Frank, Leon Fleisher, Edward Aldwell, Sophia Rosoff, and Margo Garrett. She has taught at the Brevard Music Center, and is currently a Music Associate at Columbia University.
Che-Yen Chen, viola
Newly appointed professor of viola at the UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, award- winning violist Che-Yen Chen is a founding member of the Formosa Quartet and First-Prize winner of the 2006 London International String Quartet Competition. He was awarded the First- Prize in the 2003 Primrose International Viola Competition and has been described by San Diego Union Tribune as an artist whose "most impressive aspect of his playing was his ability to find not just the subtle emotion, but the humanity hidden in the music." Chen’s recordings with the Formosa Quartet can be found on EMI, Delos, and New World Records, and the quartet’s current project, From Hungary to Taiwan, will be released with Bridge Records in the 2018-19 season. Having served as principal violist of the San Diego Symphony and Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Chen has appeared as guest principal with Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Performing in chamber music festivals across North America and Asia, Chen is a founding member of Camera Lucida and The Myriad Trio. As a former member of Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society and a participant of the Marlboro Festival, Chen’s combine passion in chamber music and education has led him to embark on cofounding the Formosa Chamber Music Festival, the first intensive chamber music training program of its kind in Taiwan. Before joining UCLA, Chen has been on the faculty of USC, UCSD, SDSU, CSU Fullerton, and has given master class across North America and Asia.