Salida Aspen Concert - Jennifer Koh, violin -- Sat., Aug. 6, 7:30 p
JENNIFER KOH TO PLAY BACH VIOLIN MASTERPIECES
The Los Angeles Times calls Jennifer Koh “One of the most impressive and expressive violinists on the scene.”
She is in Aspen this summer and will be in Salida this Saturday, August 6 to perform two of the greatest masterworks ever written for solo violin by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Koh will be interviewed on stage at 6:45 p.m. before the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Salida High School, 26 Jones Avenue near US Highway 50.
This is the fifth concert in the Salida Aspen Concerts 40th anniversary season and is underwritten by “F” St Five and Dime.
Jennifer Koh won the 1994 Tchaikovsky Competition and since then has soloed with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Moscow Radio Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, and National Radio Symphony of Washington, D.C.
The New York Times says Koh is a “fearless soloist” – willing to tackle the most difficult music for solo violin -- “a superbly gifted violinist.” She was named 2016 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America Worldwide.
Koh will play Bach’s Sonata No. 2 for solo violin in A minor, BWV 1003, and Bach’s Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004. These works are considered among the greatest in violin literature.
According to Joshua Bell, one of today’s most famous violinists, the fifth movement in the Partita, the chaconne, is “not just one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, but one of the greatest achievements of any man in history. It’s a spiritually powerful piece, emotionally powerful, structurally perfect.”
The late violinist Yehudi Menuhin said the chaconne was “the greatest structure for solo violin that exists.”
Koh will also play three modern pieces that show the continuing influence of Bach: “Patina” by Zosha Di Castri, “Serenade in Common Time” by Philip Glass and a Chaconne for Violin by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Koh is a graduate of Oberlin College and the Curtis Institute.
Tickets are $15 at the door and $3 for students. Also, tickets may be purchased online at www.SalidaAspenConcerts.org, which has updates on upcoming concerts. Administrator Jean Hanfelt can be reached at 719-539-6467.
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Aug. 1, 2016
SIDEBAR to Jennifer Koh concert release:
Winners of this year’s $1000 scholarships from Salida Aspen Concerts will be recognized on stage at the Jennifer Koh concert Sat., Aug. 6.
Phoebe Powell, a June graduate of Salida High School, will be presented her scholarship certificate on stage during intermission.
The other winner, James Hogan of Buena Vista, is attending San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Phoebe Powell, daughter of Greg and Julia Powell, has been has been accepted to the University of Colorado Boulder with an invitation to participate in the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program and the music school. She has played piano and fiddle from an early age and began performing at local open “mic” nights with her younger sister Harper on guitar. Her music accomplishments have included learning old-time Bluegrass, Scottish, Irish, Cajun, and classical music on the fiddle.
James Hogan, son of Jerome and Debra Hogan, Buena Vista, plans to continue his studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studies where he will be a senior in the fall. As a freshman, he was the youngest member of the Conservatory Baroque Ensemble to sing in a concert of Monteverdi’s madrigals. In January he made his debut at the Mondavi Centre for the Performing Arts in Davis, California, singing the title role in Weber’s Abu Haasan. Later this year he will perform the role of Mr. Rushworth in the West Coast premier performance of Johnathan Dove’s opera, Mansfield Park.
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Aug. 1, 2016