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Sunday, May 4, 2025
— a “hybrid” event —
Atticus Mellor-Goldman
cello
Minji Nam
piano
Contemplative Lyricism
In this program, you’ll hear works that explore music generally of a contemplative nature, with a common thread of rich melody and pondering harmony, ripe with embellishment and ornamentation.
Vivaldi’s RV 47 Cello sonata is one of six Sonatas that he composed for Harpsichord and Basso continuo in Venice. They were actually never even published, and he likely composed them specifically for a court amateur cellist, or just because the cello was in style at the time. These six sonatas were published later without his consent and significant editing and sourcing has been done to publish versions that more accurately represent his original composition.
Brahms had stated his intentions to quit composing in 1890, but in 1891 he heard and met a clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld who inspired him to compose again, and in particular for Clarinet. The two Clarinet Sonatas were the impetus for two other highly regarded pieces of chamber music repertoire that he wrote for the clarinet, the Trio in A minor and the Quintet in B minor, both of which were the last chamber pieces he wrote before his death. Brahms transcribed both of the Clarinet Sonatas for the viola and violin as well, and while they are now a standard part of the viola repertoire, the violin version is rarely played. What you’ll be hearing today is kind of a modified version of transcription for viola and piano, with slight adjustments made to better suit the cello.
Chopin’s Nocturne in E flat major Op. 9 No. 2 is one of if not his most well known pieces, and it helped to shed a light on much of his other less discovered music to bring his compositions to the forefront of the romantic repertoire. It displays a masterful use of subtle accompaniment throughout this work. He derived the entire nocturne from a single theme with variations, altered through the continual use of ornaments and figurations.
Program
Antonio Vivaldi
Cello Sonata in B Flat Major RV 47
I. Largo
II. Allegro
III. Largo
IV. Allegro
Johannes Brahms
Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op 120 No. 1
(arr. cello and piano)
I. Allegro appassionato
II. Andante un poco adagio
III. Allegretto grazioso
IV. Vivace
Frederick Chopin
Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2
(arr. cello and piano)
BIOGRAPHY
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Minji Nam is an energetic pianist, chamber musician, and educator. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Minji has worked as a collaborative pianist for Yale University, the Washington International Competition, the Washington National Opera, the McDuffie Center for Strings, Florida State University, Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and the MTNA competition. Additionally, she has performed as a Guest Artist for the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, Atlanta Chamber Players, and the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival. As the head Collaborative Pianist and Coordinator at the Yale School of Music, Ms. Nam worked with students and renowned faculty, performing for recitals, masterclasses, and coordinated the collaborative piano program. At Florida State University, she worked as a vocal coach and music director for their opera outreach program, where she helped to coach vocalists in many different productions. At the Aspen Music Festival, in addition to her duties as a collaborative pianist, she performed as a keyboardist in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and with all the festival orchestras, and was also selected to perform in recital as a concerto competition winner at Harris Concert Hall.
Ms. Nam has been privileged to perform in recitals with some of the world’s most sought-after artists, including Augustin Hadelich, Hsin-Yun Huang, Isabel Bayrakdarian, and Amy Schwartz-Morretti, and has played in Masterclasses for Emmanuel Pahud, Hilary Hahn, Anne Sophie-Mutter, Kyung-Sun Lee, Midori, Lambert Orkis, Renée Fleming, and Jessye Norman. Recent highlights include recording an album with her good friend and longtime duo partner Jacquelin Cordova-Arrington, in addition to a showcase concert in Carnegie Hall. Ms. Nam maintains an active private studio where she teaches piano, violin, and music theory, in addition to coaching chamber music, and hosting chamber music residencies. She is a member of the Chestertown Piano Quartet, currently the Ensemble-in-Residence at the Kent Cultural Alliance in Chestertown, MD, with upcoming performances in the greater DMV area and the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy. Ms. Nam recently performed multiple concerts around the east coast of a deeply personal musical program entitled “Note for Purpose,” with aspirations to provide residencies at hospitals, connect directly with cancer patients and survivors through personalized concerts and interviews, and establish an artist fund to support this cause further.
Ms. Nam is currently serving as faculty at the National Music Festival, Orfeo Music Festival and will appear in upcoming solo and chamber recitals throughout the USA and Europe for the 2024-25 season.
In her spare time, Ms. Nam enjoys painting, playing pickleball, and cooking with her husband at their home in Virginia.
Originally from Los Angeles, California, Atticus Mellor-Goldman first moved to Washington D.C. in 2021 after joining the Air Force Strings, and subsequently won a position in “The President’s Own” Marine Chamber Orchestra in 2024.
Mellor-Goldman received his Bachelor’s degree in 2019 from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music, where he was the recipient of a full-tuition, Presidential Scholarship and studied with Julie Albers, Hans Jensen, and Richard Aaron. He went on to earn his Masters degree from Yale University, where he studied with Paul Watkins and Ole Akahoshi.
He has performed at concert venues around the world and has been featured on NPR’s “From the Top” and American Public Media’s “Performance Today,”. In 2015, his string quartet from Los Angeles was awarded the Gold Medal Prize in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition’s Junior division. In 2014, he was selected as one of two musicians to act as a “cultural ambassador” for New York University Abu Dhabi. Additionally, he is a past winner of the Townsend School of Music’s concerto competition.
Mellor-Goldman has benefitted from a rich teaching experience including masterclasses with internationally renowned artists David Finckel, Clive Greensmith, Paul Watkins, Vivian Weilerstein, Natasha Brofsky, Timothy Eddy, and Wu Han. He has also been privileged to perform chamber music alongside distinguished artists Osmo Vänskä, Erin Keefe, Edgar Meyer, Ivano Zaneghi, Amy Moretti, Rebecca Albers, Annie Fullard, and Robert McDuffie. His chamber music and orchestral experience includes the prominent summer festivals of Kneisel Hall, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Moritzburg Festival Academy, Sarasota Music Festival, Festival Schiermonnikoog, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival Fellowship Program.
Recent highlights include performing the east coast premiere of Indian American composer Reena Esmail’s work “When the Violin” for solo cello and choir, as well as the world premiere of Grammy award-winning composer Christopher Theofanidis’ Quintet for clarinet and string quartet. Mellor-Goldman also performs many house concerts around the DMV area; in particular, with his wife Minji, as a part of Duo BUBU.
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