BLUE HOUR – Mendelssohn Edition POSTPONED

Thursday, July 22
Church of the Holy Spirit, 9:30 p.m.
BLUE HOUR – Mendelssohn Edition
 

POSTPONED

ANDREAS OTTENSAMER, clarinet (Austria / Germany)
YUJA WANG, piano (China)

PROGRAM

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)

Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1

Allegro appassionato

Andante un poco adagio

Allegretto grazioso

Vivace

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847)

Songs Without Words (the selection)

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

The Première Rhapsodie, L. 116

Joseph Horovitz (1926)

Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano

2. Lento

George Gershwin (1898–1937)

Prelude, No. 1

Partner of the concert: Luštica Bay

Andreas Ottensamer, grew up in a family of musicians and entered the world of music at the age of four, learning piano. At the age of ten, he began studying cello at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, then moved to clarinet, which, in 2003, he began studying under Professor Johann Hindlerin. He has performed in prominent concert halls across the globe, such as Musikverein, Konzerthaus, and Philharmonie Berlin, where he has appeared as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, collaborating with artists such as pianist Murray Perahia, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, cellist YoYo Ma, and others. In 2005, Ottensamer founded The Clarinotts clarinet trio with his father and brother, Principal Clarinetists of the Vienna Philharmonic. As an exclusive artist for the Deutsche Grammophon label, he recorded his albums Portraits – The Clarinet Album (2013) and Brahms – The Hungarian Connection (2015), as well as the New Era compact disc released by Decca Classics. He has expanded his interests beyond the borders of classical music, which resulted in collaboration with Tori Amos on her album Night of Hunters (2011). Also, Ottensamer is a sports lover – he played tennis for years, and with his brother he has founded his own football club, the Wiener Virtuosen. Since 2011, he has served as Principal Clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Yuja Wang, a pianist about whom both the audience and music critics speak in glowing terms, is recognized by her unique blend of technical bravado, musical contemplation, and emotional depth. She began piano lessons at the age of six, studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and continued her education at the Mount Royal University in Calgary and Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Her international breakthrough came in 2007 when she replaced Martha Argerich as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and two years later she became an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist. Yuja Wang has collaborated with many eminent conductors, including Abbado, Barenboim, Dudamel, Gergiev, Tilson, Pappano, Dutoit, and Mehta, among others. Her current concert season features tours in South America with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Kirill Petrenko, in Asia with the Munich Philharmonic and conductor Valery Gergiev, in the USA with cellist Gautier Capuçon, and the first-ever performance of John Adams’ Piano Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Yuja Wang is also featured as an Artist-in-Residence at some of the world’s premiere venues, such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Wiener Konzerthaus. She uses her love for fashion as a “weapon” in changing attitudes regarding appearances in a concert hall.