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Sunday June 25, 2023
Emerson Avenue Salonlines Proudly Presents
a Live YouTube Broadcast
– A “hybrid” concert –
Joseph Gotoff , cello
Wan-Chi Su, piano
Women’s Voices:
A Musical Journey
A program of all-female composers
Structured in four parts, this program explores women’s voices of past and present, and searches for connections that transcend national borders. Each leg of our journey departs with a selection from Lera Auerbach’s preludes for cello and piano, travelling back to the 19th century to connect with music by American composer Amy Beach, French composer Nadia Boulanger, and German composer Clara Schumann. Ultimately, we complete the circle back home to America, closing the program with the resonating melody of “Dreaming” by Amy Beach.
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Program
Lera Auerbach (1973 – )
24 Preludes for Cello and Piano, Op. 47 (1999)
No. 1 in C Major: Andante
No. 3 in G Major: Andante misterioso
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
3 Compositions, Op. 40 (1898)
I. La captive
II. Berceuse
III. Mazurka
Lera Auerbach
24 Preludes for Cello and Piano, Op. 47
No. 18 in F Minor: Andantino
No. 19 in E-flat Major: Allegro appassionato
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
3 Pieces for Cello and Piano (1914)
I. Modere
II. Sans vitesse et a l’aise
III. Vite et nerveusement rythme
Lera Auerbach
24 Preludes for Cello and Piano, Op. 47
No. 12 in G-sharp Minor: Adagio
No. 7 in A Major: Vivo ma non troppo
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
3 Romances, Op. 22 (1853)
I. Andante molto
II. Allegretto
III. Leidenschaftlich schnell
Lera Auerbach
24 Preludes for Cello and Piano, Op. 47
No. 22 in G Minor: Andante nostalgico
Amy Beach
4 Sketches, Op. 15 (1892)
III. Dreaming
Biographies
Recognized for his “clarity and an approachable sensitivity” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer, 2019), cellist Joseph Gotoff is recognized as a thoughtful and passionate performer, scholar, and teacher. With a repertoire spanning the Baroque to the modern era, Dr. Gotoff works closely with a number of contemporary composers, having premiered works by Lowell Liebermann, Cody Forrest and Binna Kim. A sought-after collaborator, his performances as a founding member of the award-winning Petrucci String Quartet have garnered wide acclaim in the United States and abroad. In 2020, his debut album “The Voice of the Cello” was released to critical acclaim on the Spice Classics label.
Dr. Gotoff appears as a soloist and chamber musician in concert halls across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Some highlights of past seasons include a 19-city concert tour of China with the award-winning Petrucci String Quartet, recitals at the Harvard Musical Association, and a performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Thames Valley Youth Orchestra. Dr. Gotoff’s talents have been recognized with a number of awards, including a grant from New England Conservatory to study Beethoven’s string quartet manuscripts, as well as NEC’s Guest Artist Award, which afforded him the opportunity to share the stage with the renowned Borromeo String Quartet.
Dr. Gotoff joined the faculty of Towson University in 2021, where he now serves as Assistant Professor of Strings; he also teaches at the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C. He performs regularly throughout the Washington and Baltimore region, including with the Washington Arts Ensemble, the New Orchestra of Washington, and the Pan American Symphony Orchestra. A fixture in the Boston music scene, Dr. Gotoff is the assistant principal cellist of the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, and served as assistant principal of the Orchestra of Indian Hill until 2020.
Born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Dr. Gotoff began playing the cello at age ten, and from an early age developed a love for chamber music. He was one of the last students of the renowned cellist Orlando Cole, and went on to work closely with the Brentano String Quartet while studying evolutionary biology at Princeton University. Other teachers include Ann Kindig, Tom Kraines, and Barbara Stein-Mallow. Dr. Gotoff received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from New England Conservatory, studying with Yeesun Kim.
Pianist Wan-Chi Su has performed in Asia, Europe, and the United States as a soloist and collaborative artist, at major venues including Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris, and Taiwan National Concert Hall. Reviewing her performance with the PostClassical Ensemble at the Washington National Cathedral, the American Scholar noted that she “played with sensitivity and imagination.”
Decorated with numerous awards, Dr. Su won first prize in the Taiwan Cultural Cup Invitational Piano Competition, and the Taiwan National Student Music Competition in Piano. She has been invited to numerous music festivals, including the Taos School of Music, the Beethoven Institute, both the Icicle Creek Piano Festival and the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival, the NTSO International Piano Program in Taiwan, and the Paris Piano Program in France. She is a core member of the Duo Sorolla and an artist member of the Piatigorsky Foundation. Dr. Su is currently on faculty of the Park School of Baltimore and serves as the organist at the Memorial Episcopal Church.
Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Dr. Su began piano lessons at age four. She earned a bachelor’s degree in piano while minoring in French horn, at the National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan. She holds a Master of Music, a Graduate Performance Diploma, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, studying principally with Seth Knopp and Benjamin Pasternack. Dr. Su presently resides in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband, and cat, Sanji.
To learn more about Wan-Chi, please visit: www.wanchisu.com
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