Opening Night / Britt Orchestra / Chee-Yun

Friday, August 6, 2010 • 8 p.m.

DVORÁK	My Homeland, Op. 62
SAINT-SAËNS	Violin Concerto No. 3 in b minor, Op. 61
SHOSTAKOVICH	Symphony No. 5 in d minor, Op. 47

For the opening concert of Britt’s 48th Classical Festival, Maestro Bay and the Britt Orchestra will be joined by violinist Chee-Yun.

Chee-Yun began receiving exceptional acclaim with her debut album in 1993, and she has been performing both with major orchestras and in solo recitals around the world ever since. She has been praised for her bold playing and easy command of the instrument. The New York Times wrote, “This is a talented instrumentalist, with the kind of high-gloss tone that pulls sensuously at the listener’s ear.”

At Britt Chee-Yun will perform Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3, a work that has also earned the praise of several reviewers. The Pittsburgh Tribune noted that Chee-Yun performed the piece with, “gorgeous tone, virtuoso flair, and fine taste.”

Chee-Yun has been heard frequently on NPR’s Performance Today, and on programs including Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. She was also featured in a recent episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. In addition to her performing career, she is an enthusiastic educator. She is currently Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Violin at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. For more information, visit http://www.chee-yun.net

5.0/5 Stars (1 votes)

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Reviews:

Posted Aug 09, 2010 at 06:28 PM By Britt Patron

Take a look at this review from Bill Varble of the Mail Tribune:
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl…

Posted Aug 10, 2010 at 02:25 AM By Britt Patron

Pheniomenal concert. The soloist for the violin concerto was spectacular and had plenty of passages to play to show how great a violinist she is. The Shostakovich was absolutely outstanding. I listened to it the day before so I would hear it better. It’s must be one of his better symphonies, and to me it was played perfectly.

Posted Aug 13, 2010 at 11:01 PM By Britt Patron

The pre-concert interview of Chee-Yun by Valerie Ing-Miller was fascinating. When the violinist later came out on the stage in her red dress, those who attended the interview were delighted to see their new good friend about to perform. For me, the highlight of the concerto was the intricate interplay between the flute and the violin about halfway through, a part that Chee-Yun had alerted us was very difficult to play.
I am a fan of Shostakovich and am old enough to have heard the premiere of his Symphony no 11 in Moscow via short-wave radio. This performance of his Symphony no. 5 by the Britt Festival Orchestra was truly exciting — tense, angry, haunting, and thunderous music in Peter Bay’s interpretation. Being at a live performance allows you to see that it is a showcase for each different part of the orchestra, all of the players excelling at their assigned moments. What an intriguing surprise to discover that the violins are divided in 3 parts in one of the movements! You can’t beat a night under the stars like this one.