Cowichan Classical Concerts

Tag: cello and piano music

  • Tradition and Innovation

    Derek Zhi Guang Chiu, piano (Steinway Artist) ; Laszlo Mezo, cello
     

    Sunday, May 3 at 2:00 pm

    VENUE: Sylvan United Church, Mill Bay

    Please note that this concert starts at 2:00pm

    Hungarian-born Mezo, recognized as one of the top cellists of his generation, joins acclaimed Steinway Artist Derek Chiu in a program of music by French, Hungarian and Italian composers. At the heart of this program is Franz Liszt, a composer whose musical identity bridges all three cultures. Debussy’s evocative colours, Piatti’s Italian brilliance, and the folk-infused fire of Bartók illuminates the distinctive yet interwoven sound worlds of these nations.
     
     

    Programme


    Sonata in D major, arr. Alfredo Carlo Piatti — Pietro Antonio Locatelli  (1695-1764)

    I. Allegro
    II. Adagio           
    III. Minuetto

    St. François de Paule: Marchant sur les flots, S. 175 No. 2 — Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
                                                                                                                                                 

    12 Caprices for Solo Cello, Op. 25, No. 7 — Carlo Alfredo Piatti  (1822-1901)
       

    March for solo cello, from ‘Music for children’, arr. Gregor Piatigorsky — Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

    Consolations, S. 171, arr. Jules de Swert — Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

    I. Andante con moto
    IV. Quasi adagio
    II. Un poco piu mosso
    III. Lento placido
    V. Andantino
    VI. Allegretto sempre cantabile

    Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, L. 135 — Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
    I. Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto
    II. Sérénade: Modérément animé
    III. Finale: Animé, léger et nerveux

    Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56  — Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
    I. Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă (Stick Dance)
    II. Brâul (Sash Dance)
    III. Topogó / Pe loc (In One Spot)
    IV. Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum)
    V. Román polka / Poarga Românească (Romanian Polka)
    VI. Aprózó / Mărunțel (Fast Dance)

    Background information

    “Derek is an incredibly skilled and effective online music teacher. His vibrant personality and deep experience as an instructor make his online lesson engaging and productive. He has a top-notch studio setup and a broad capacity for using technology in his teaching. This creates a seamless and highly successful digital learning environment for his students.” – John Scully, Educational Online Program Specialist – The Royal Conservatory

    Steinway Artist Derek Zhi Guang Chiu is a highly acclaimed Canadian pianist and music educator who has gained international recognition for his work. He is renowned for his versatility as a performer, music educator, clinician, adjudicator, and consultant. Chiu has garnered numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including the prestigious Steinway & Sons Top Piano Teacher Award in Calgary on three separate occasions. His accomplishments in the field of music education have earned him a highly respected position within the industry.

    As a performer, Chiu has presented solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United States. His orchestral engagements have encompassed performances with the Windsor Community Orchestra, Briercrest College Orchestra, Rockland Symphony Orchestras, The Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, and the Simon Fraser University Concert Orchestra. He has collaborated onstage with esteemed partners such as Roberto Cani, David Lakirovich, John Lowry, Laszlo Mezo, Sean Wang, and Dara Lynn Zusko.

    Chiu is passionate about collaborating with living composers and has worked extensively to bring contemporary music to audiences worldwide. In 2021, he collaborated with Canadian composer Vince Ho on his composition The Twelve Chinese Zodiac Animals, Book 1. Chiu gave the world premiere performance of the pieces in 2022 in Canada, followed by subsequent performances in Germany, Italy, and the United States. In addition, he has worked with and performed the works of composers Michalis Andronikou and Margaret Boswell-Senyshen, further enriching his diverse repertoire. Looking ahead, Chiu will premiere a new work by up-and-coming Canadian composer Maggie Lu with the Kensington Sinfonia in their 2026/27 season, continuing his commitment to contemporary music.

    Chiu’s expertise in online music education has been invaluable during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly when many music teachers faced the challenge of transitioning to remote teaching. He was sought out by other music teachers interested in establishing a virtual teaching presence. Chiu provides personalized consultations to teachers and demonstrates various online programs, resources, and apps that can enhance e-learning. He has also led professional development workshops to assist music teachers in adapting to online teaching.

    Chiu is a dedicated piano pedagogue who has conducted pedagogical workshops on the use of technology in the teaching studio, cognitive practice, aural skills development, sight-reading, Baroque performance practice, and music memorization. His academic lectures have delved into the music of Bach, Chopin, Liszt, and Mozart. Chiu has presented at the Colorado State Music Teachers’ Conference, The Colburn School, The University of Windsor, and Lakehead University, among others. Additionally, he serves as a clinician for The Royal Conservatory of Music and has conducted workshops in both Canada and the United States.

    In Calgary, Chiu maintains a private studio where his piano students have earned scholarships to attend undergraduate and graduate music schools. They have also received gold medals from The Royal Conservatory of Music and have won prizes at local, national, and international piano competitions. Beyond Calgary, he is on the Faculty of the Cremona International Music Academy (Italy) and the Vancouver Island Music Academy. Chiu is sought after as a master class clinician, ensemble coach, and guest teacher.

    His extensive training includes mentorship with notable Canadian teachers Dr. E. Gregory Butler and Joel Hastings at The University of Windsor. While in Windsor, Chiu pursued additional studies in piano pedagogy with Dr. Thomas Green, Chief Examiner Emeritus of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Under the guidance of Solomon Mikowsky (featured in Benjamin Saver’s book “The Most Wanted Piano Teachers in the USA”) and Donn-Alexandre Feder at The Manhattan School of Music in New York, Chiu graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2003. During his studies at the Manhattan School of Music, Chiu was mentored in chamber music by pianist Daniel Epstein of the Raphael Trio and engaged in rigorous studies in Baroque and Classical performance practices with the late Kenneth Cooper, one of the world’s foremost music specialists in the music from those eras. Chiu has participated in master classes in Canada, Europe, and the United States, with instructors such as Janina Fialkowska, Robin Harrison, James Howsmon, Lorrin Hollander, Ramzi Yassa, Cecilio Tieles, and Jesus Angel Rodriguez.

    He is an Ambassador for the Royal Conservatory and a member of their College of Examiners. Chiu is featured on CBC Music’s website, discussing the topic of teens and piano lessons.

    Derek is also passionate about wine, with a particular fondness for French Bordeaux and Italian Barolo. He draws inspiration from the art of Giovanni Antonio Canal, commonly known as Canaletto, Henri Matisse, and his own grandfather, Ng Po Wan. Additionally, Derek is a fan of basketball, enjoying the sport for its blend of strategy, athleticism, and teamwork.

    Born in Budapest, Hungary, Laszlo Mezo gained national recognition as one of the top musicians of his generation when he won First Prize in the Kertész Ottó Memorial Competition at the young age of 18. Since then, he has won numerous other Competitions which have brought him international recognition including the Fourth Prize in the Antonio Janigro Junior International Competition in 1998, Second Prize in the International Dávid Popper Competition for Young Cellists in 2000, the Special Prize in the International Dávid Popper Cello Competition in 2004, and First Prize in the Ima Hogg International Competition in 2008.

    Mr. Mezo has forged a career as a soloist, recitalist, master teacher, and chamber musician. He has performed extensively in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Always eager to pass on his knowledge, Laszlo has conducted master classes in Japan, Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, and the United States. Mr. Mezo was adjunct professor in cello at Chapman University
    from 2012 to 2022 and he was Assistant Teacher at the University of Southern California between 2007 and 2008.

    As a soloist, Mr. Mezo has performed with maestros Ádám Fischer, Thomas Wilkins, Grant Llewellyn, Zsolt Hamar. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated in recitals with pianists Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Steven Vanhauwaert, Gábor Farkas, Márta Gulyás, Piotr Folkert, and Balázs Szokolay, violinist Kristóf Baráti, cellist Philipp Muller, and the Bartók Quartet. He has also played under the direction of Zubin Mehta and Kent Nagano as a member of the Bayerische Staatsorchester in Munich, Germany.

    Mr. Mezo holds master’s degrees from the Liszt Ferenc University of Music in Budapest and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. He graduated from the class of Ralph Kirshbaum at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
    Mr. Mezo is a member of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra and is also a sought after soloist and an active studio musician in Hollywood. He has played in many film scores, blockbusters including Star Wars, Super Mario, Ice Age, Life of Pi, Pirates of Caribbean, Wolverine, and The Lone Ranger.

  • Resonance

    Arthur Arnold, cello; Moira Hopfe-Ostensen, piano

    Sunday, February 9 at 2pm

    Culturally rich Powell River is home to Arthur Arnold and Moira Hopfe-Ostensen. Arthur directs the PRISMA Festival and Academy, Moira is Artist-in-Residence at the Powell River Academy of Music, and together they have a huge impact on the musical community. Both known as dynamic and sensitive musicians, they bring a beautifully balanced program of works by R. Strauss, Vaughan-Williams, Romberg and Shostakovich.

    Programme

    Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 6, TrV 115 — Richard Georg Strauss (1864—1949)
    Allegro con brio
    Andante ma non troppo
    Finale – Allegro vivo

    Six Studies in English Folk Songs (1926) — Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872—1958)
    1. Adagio (‘Lovely on the Water’) in E modal minor
    2. Andante sostenuto (‘Spurn Point’) in Eb
    3 Larghetto (‘Van Diemen’s Land’) in D modal minor
    4. Lento (‘She Borrowed Some of Her Mother’s Gold’) in D
    5. Andante tranquillo (‘The Lady and the Dragoon’) in G
    6. Allegro vivace (‘As I walked over London Bridge’) in A modal minor

    Divertimento on Austrian Folk Songs, Op.46 — Bernhard Heinrich Romberg (1767—1841)

    Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40 — Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906—1975)
    1. Allegro non troppo
    2. Allegro
    3. Largo
    4. Allegro

    Background information

    Dutch-born conductor Arthur Arnold is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Pacific Region International Summer Music Association (PRISMA Festival & Academy) on Canada’s West Coast. This annual event attracts world-renowned musicians and international music students from top universities. Since 2016, Arthur Arnold has led a pioneering musical collaboration with the Tla’amin Nation. Partnering with the Tla’amin Singers and Drummers, the PRISMA Festival Orchestra annually performs traditional Tla’amin songs, featuring solo performances by the nation’s singers and drummers — a meaningful fusion of cultures. From January 2012 until his resignation in March 2022, Arnold served as the Music Director of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra (MSO). He resigned in protest of the war in Ukraine and the regime responsible, taking a principled stand against the conflict. Arnold is the driving force behind The Mosolov Project, discovering lost manuscripts of the repressed composer Alexander Mosolov in Russian libraries. He performed and recorded Mosolov’s Fifth Symphony (1965) and Harp Concerto (1939) in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The resulting CD, released by Naxos, received the second prize in the prestigious Russian competition Pure Sound. Dedicated to music education, Arnold has mentored over 25 upcoming conductors at the PRISMA Festival and through conducting masterclasses with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Arnold served as the Music Director of the Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific from 2004 to 2011 and as Principal Guest Conductor of the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra in South Korea from 1997 to 2001. He has collaborated with orchestras and festivals throughout Europe, Canada, the USA, and Asia. Arthur and his wife Kim divide their time between the rugged West Coast of Canada and The Netherlands.


    Praised for her expressive playing and engaged teaching, pianist and pedagogue Moira Hopfe-Ostensen is an artist who displays prowess and makes music from the heart, touching her audience with her wonderful communication and sensitivity. Dr Hopfe-Ostensen holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance and Literature from the University of Alberta, Canada. She most recently held the position of Chair of the Keyboard Department at SWBTS where she was Professor in Piano Performance and Pedagogy to Bachelor, Master and Doctoral students. Dr. Hopfe-Ostensen has appeared as a solo and collaborative pianist throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe; and she continues to be an active pianist, adjudicator, examiner, and clinician. She is committed to the pursuit of excellence in piano pedagogy. She has been certified by the Royal Conservatory of Music as an Advanced Specialist and is a member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada, and the United States. The appointment from the Royal Conservatory places her among over 300 distinguished professional teachers and performers from across North America who are committed to the development of human potential through leadership in music and arts education. Many of her students have gained national and international recognition. She has received numerous awards, including a Professional Distinction Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts from the Peace Hills Arts Council, Canada. Currently, Dr. Hopfe-Ostensen is the Artist in Residence at the Powell River Academy of Music.