Interchange (Duos für Violine und Klavier) Sarita Kwok & Wei-Yi Yang

• 1 I. Con moto 04:35
• 2 II. Ballada: Con moto 04:39
• 3 III. Allegretto 02:25
• 4 IV. Adagio 04:49
• 5 I. Cantilene 02:49
• 6 II. Eglogue I 02:08
• 7 III. Eglogue II 02:57
• 8 IV. Gigue 04:31
• 9 V. Dithyrambe 02:57
• 10 No. 1. Andante 02:03
• 11 No. 2. Lento ma non troppo 02:40
• 12 No. 3. Animato, ma non allegro 03:01
• 13 No. 4. Allegretto leggero e scherzando 01:26
• 14 No. 5. Andante non troppo 03:21
• 15 I. Allegretto 07:56
• 16 II. Blues: Moderato 05:20
• 17 III. Perpetuum mobile: Allegretto 04:00
• Total Runtime 01:01:37

Info for Interchange (Duos für Violine und Klavier)

Musik aus einer fernen Zeit präsentieren die Geigerin Sarita Kwok und die Pianistin Wei-Yi Yang auf ihrer ersten GENUIN-CD. Eine Zeit, in der Janacek und Ravel noch die 'Welt von gestern' beschworen, Stravinsky und Prokofjew das 'Hier und Jetzt' feierten. Ein Spagat, der den beiden jungen Musikerinnen ausgezeichnet gelingt: Sie lassen gro?e B?gen schwingen und zeigen Freude an unerbittlichen Rhythmus-Repetitionen. Sie sorgen für Augenblicke der Stille und für regelrechtes Feuerwerk. Kein Wunder, dass die beiden international gerühmt werden: Presse und Wettbewerbs-Juries zeigen sich hymnisch! Aber das alles vergisst man sowieso in dem Moment, wo die Lichter ausgehen, und Ravels verführerischer Blues beginnt ...

Sarita Kwok, Violine
Wei-Yi Yang, Klavier

Sarita Kwok
has distinguished herself one of the most captivating and sophisticated performers to emerge from the ranks of Australia’s classical musicians. She has been enthralling audiences across the globe since she was named Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year and debuted with the Sydney Symphony at the age of fifteen.

Born in Australia to Chinese parents, and raised in both Australia and Singapore, Sarita’s musical career has been similarly cosmopolitan. She has performed as a solo artist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, and as a featured soloist with the major orchestras of her native Australia. She has also been a prize-winner at the Kloster Schöntal (Germany), Gisborne (New Zealand), and Lipinski/Wieniawski (Poland) international competitions and has performed at the Aldeburgh (UK), Pacific (Japan), Aix-en-Provence (France), and Norfolk (USA) music festivals.

An enthusiastic and committed chamber musician, Sarita was the founding first violinist of the Alianza Quartet, the former graduate quartet-in-residence at Yale University, whose “unusually elegant sound” was praised by The New York Times. Sarita regularly appears in recital with pianist Wei-Yi Yang, and she frequently performs chamber music with her husband, Boston Symphony cellist Alexandre Lecarme. Along with Lecarme, violinist Julie Eskar, and violist Ettore Causa, Sarita performs with the Arabella String Quartet, an ensemble quickly establishing a reputation for its remarkable artistry.

A popular and enthusiastically received performer, Sarita has appeared on chamber series and at festivals throughout the United States including Embassy Series (Washington, DC), Flagler Museum Series (Florida), Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, Rockport Chamber Music Festival and in performances at Weill and Zankel recital halls at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Sapporo’s Kitara Hall (Japan), Villa Medici (Italy), the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, and Salle Olivier Messaien (France). Sarita’s broadcast appearances have included WGBH public radio, Radio Suisse Romande, and the ABC TV and Radio (Australia). She has also performed as a guest violinist with the award-winning piano quartet Ensemble Made in Canada and is an artist member of Mistral Music.

Sarita is a persuasive advocate of contemporary music and enjoys the challenge of championing new works. She has debuted works by composers Jerome Combier, Jean Giroud, and John B. Hedges, among others, and has collaborated extensively with Martin Bresnick and Ezra Laderman. With the Alianza Quartet she recorded Laderman’s last three string quartets for Albany Records to critical acclaim. Her recent recording of Martin Bresnick’s Josephine the Singer for solo violin was described by Gramophone as “gorgeously executed”.

Sarita Kwok’s passion for performing is matched only by her commitment to education, and her analytic yet sensitive approach has made her a highly sought after teacher. The former director of the undergraduate lessons program at Yale, Sarita served for eight years on the faculty of the Yale Department of Music. She is currently chair of the Department of Music at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, where she is also an associate professor and resident artist. She has additionally taught master classes at Wellesley and Amherst colleges and at the New Zealand School of Music, among others. Sarita holds both Doctor and Master of Musical Arts degrees from the Yale School of Music, where she was a student of Syoko Aki and the Tokyo String Quartet. She performs on a violin from 1736 by Italian maker Johannes Florenus Guidantus.

Wei-Yi Yang
has earned worldwide acclaim for his captivating performances and imaginative programming. Winner of the gold medal in San Antonio International Piano Competition, he has appeared on the stages of Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and major venues across America, Asia, Europe and Australia. Most recently, he was praised by the New York Times in a “sensational” performance of Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie at Carnegie Hall.

Born in Taiwan of Chinese and Japanese heritage, Mr. Yang studied first in the United Kingdom, and then in America with renowned Russian pianists, Arkady Aronov at the Manhattan School of Music and Boris Berman at Yale. Mr. Yang has also worked with eminent pianists Claude Frank, Peter Frankl, Vera Gornostaeva, Hans Graf, Byron Janis, Lilian Kallir, and Murray Perahia. Mr. Yang¹s performances have been featured on NPR, PBS, ARTE (Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne), and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company), and on recordings by Ovation, Albany Records, Renegade Classics, and the Holland-America Music Society.

A dynamic chamber musician, Wei-Yi Yang is a frequent guest artist at festivals across the United States, from Norfolk to Napa Valley and abroad, including Germany, Serbia, Montenegro, and Mexico. Recent master classes and performances have brought Mr. Yang to Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Korea, among numerous countries. He has adjudicated at the Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial Competition, the San Antonio International Piano Competition, and the Concert Artists Guild auditions. In 2004, Mr. Yang received his doctorate from Yale, where he joined the faculty in 2005.

Booklet for Interchange (Duos für Violine und Klavier)