Alumnus Anton Nel Joins the Ariel Quartet in Concert on March 10

The accomplished pianist performs Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor and other works with CCM’s string quartet-in-residence. Tickets available online. 

The Ariel Quartet welcomes pianist Anton Nel (MM Piano, ’84) for two works featuring strings and piano, as well as Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, the “Emperor” quartet in the ensemble’s final performance of its 2019-20 concert series at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music. The concert, titled “Hungary,” takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10 in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall.

The program’s highlight is Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor. This piece for piano, violin, viola and cello premiered in 1861, with Clara Schumann performing the piano part. Also featured on the program is Ernö Dohnányi’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in E-flat Minor. Brahms was a proponent of Dohnányi’s works, especially his first piano quintet, which Brahms helped to promote in Vienna. Later in his life, Dohnányi transcribed the fourth movement of Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 as a showpiece for solo piano.

Described by the New York Times as “an uncommonly elegant pianist,” Nel is an accomplished solo performer who has given concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and many others. He is the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor of Piano and Chamber Music, as well as the head of the Division of Keyboard Studies, at the University of Texas at Austin. He has an extensive discography and was the winner of the first prize in the 1987 Naumburg International Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall. Cincinnati audiences might remember Nel’s powerful performance with the CCM Philharmonia during the college’s Sesquicentennial Alumni Showcase in 2018.

Described by the American Record Guide as “a consummate ensemble gifted with utter musicality and remarkable interpretive power,” the Ariel Quartet has earned a glowing international reputation. The ensemble is comprised of Alexandra “Sasha” Kazovsky, violin; Amit Even-Tov, cello; Gershon Gerchikov, violin; and Jan Grüning, viola. The group was formed in Israel in 1998 and has served as CCM’s string quartet-in-residence since 2012.

About Anton Nel

Anton Nel.

Anton Nel, winner of the first prize in the 1987 Naumburg International Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall, continues to enjoy a remarkable and multifaceted career that has taken him to North and South America, Europe, Asia and South Africa. Following an auspicious debut at the age of 12 with Beethoven’s C Major Concerto after only two years of study, the Johannesburg native captured first prizes in all the major South African competitions while still in his teens, toured his native country extensively and became a well-known radio and television personality. A student of Adolph Hallis, he made his European debut in France in 1982, and in the same year graduated with highest distinction from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He came to the United States in 1983, attending the University of Cincinnati, where he pursued his Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees under Bela Siki and Frank Weinstock. In addi-tion to garnering many awards from his alma mater during this three-year period, he was a prize winner at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition in England and won several first prizes at the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition in Palm Desert in 1986.

Highlights of Nel’s four decades of concertizing include performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, the symphonies of Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit and London, among many others. He has an active repertoire of more than 100 works for piano and orchestra. An acclaimed Beethoven interpreter, Nel has performed the concerto cycle several times, most notably on two consecutive evenings with the Cape Philharmonic in 2005. Additionally, he has performed all-Beethoven solo recitals, complete cycles of the violin and cello works, and most recently a highly successful run of the Diabelli Variations as part of Moises Kaufman’s play 33 Variations. He was also chosen to give the North American premiere of the newly discovered Piano Concerto No. 3 in E Minor by Felix Mendelssohn in 1992. Two noteworthy world premieres of works by living composers include Virtuoso Alice by David Del Tredici (dedicated to and performed by Nel at his Lincoln Center debut in 1988) as well as Stephen Paulus’s Piano Concerto also written for Nel; the acclaimed world premiere took place in New York in 2003.

As recitalist he has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick Collection in New York, the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, Davies Hall in San Francisco, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Internationally he has performed recitals in major concert halls in Canada, England (Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Halls in London), France, Holland (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam), Japan (Suntory Hall in Tokyo), Korea, China and South Africa.

A favorite at summer festivals, he has performed at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, as well as at the music festivals of Aspen and Ravinia (where he is on the artist-faculties), Vancouver, Cartagena and Stellenbosch, among many others. Possessing an encyclopedic chamber music and vocal repertoire he has, over the years, regularly collaborated with many of the world’s foremost string quartets, instrumen-tal soloists and singers. With acclaimed violinist Sarah Chang he completed a highly successful tour of Japan as well as appeared at a special benefit concert for Live Music Now in London, hosted by HRH the Prince of Wales.

Eager to pursue dual careers in teaching and performing, he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin in his early 20s, followed by professorships at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan, where he was chairman of the piano department. In September 2000, Nel was appointed as the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor of Piano and Chamber music at the University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches an international class of students and heads the Division of Keyboard Studies. Since his return he has also been the recipient of two Austin-American Statesman Critics Circle Awards, as well as the University Cooperative Society/College of Fine Arts award for extra-curricular achievement. In 2001 he was appointed Visiting “Extraordinary” Professor at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, and continues to teach master classes worldwide. In January 2010 he became the first holder of the new Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Chair in Piano at the University of Texas at Austin. Since 2015 he has been presenting an annual series of masterclasses in piano and chamber music at the Manhattan School of Music in New York as Visiting Professor and also teaches regularly at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto.

Nel is also an acclaimed harpsichordist and fortepianist. In recent seasons he has per-formed annual recitals on both instruments, concertos by the Bach family, Haydn and Mozart with La Follia Austin Baroque as well as the Poulenc Harpsichord Concerto (Concert Champêtre) with the Austin Symphony.

His recordings include four solo CDs, several chamber music recordings (including the complete Beethoven Piano and Cello Sonatas and Variations, and the Brahms Sonatas with Bion Tsang), and works for piano and orchestra by Franck, Faure and Saint-Saens. His latest release features premiere recordings of all the works for piano and orchestra of Edward Burlingame Hill with the Austin Symphony conducted by Peter Bay.

Nel became a citizen of the United States on September 11, 2003 and is a Steinway artist.

Repertoire

• HAYDN: String Quartet No. 62 in C Major, Op. 76, No. 3, “Emperor”
• DOHNÁNYI: Piano Quintet No. 2 in E-flat Minor, Op. 26
• BRAHMS: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25

Location

Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Performance Time

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10

Purchasing Tickets

Single ticket prices start at $29.50 each; student and group discounts available. Pricing is inclusive of all fees. All performances are reserved seating.

Tickets can be purchased online though our e-box office, over the phone at 513-556-4183 or in person at the CCM Box Office in the Atrium of UC’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts.

Learn about additional ticket options for current CCM students.

Directions and Parking

CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions for detailed driving directions to CCM Village. Parking is available in UC’s CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates. For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors.

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Story by CCM Graduate Student Alexandra Doyle

The Ariel Quartet’s 2019-20 CCM concert series is made possible by the generous contributions of an anonymous donor, The Estate of Mr. William A. Friedlander, Mrs. William A. Friedlander, Dr. Randolph L. Wadsworth, Judith Schonbach Landgren and Peter Landgren, Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Santen, Elizabeth C. B. and Paul G. Sittenfeld, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman, Dr. and Mrs. Theodore W. Striker and Mrs. Harry M. Hoffheimer.

Summer Memories: Music Education Students Study Abroad in Europe

As part of the first music education study abroad trip, a group of 20 adventurous CCM students traveled to Europe to study in the countries where Western art music was born last summer.

Associate Professor of Music Education Eva Floyd hopes to organize a second study abroad trip in spring 2018. The first trip led the students to Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg and Paris on the 12-day adventure to deepen their appreciation and understanding of music. Students participated in master classes, performed in historic venues, attended concerts and visited cities in which some of classical music’s greatest composers lived and worked.

“When you see the places where Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven were born, lived or worked, it makes the music seem more human,” Floyd said, adding that half of the students had previously never travelled internationally.

Supported by grants from UC International and the Tangeman Sacred Music Center, this was the first study abroad trip for a CCM music education class, according to Floyd.

Traveling to the cities in which these great composers created masterpieces gave new life to their art and added personal dimension to music beyond what can be taught in a classroom.

Similar to learning a foreign language, music literacy is strengthened through studies as well as experience. The act of engaging with a culture first hand is a crucial step towards fluency. Likewise, studying and experiencing music in the countries of its origin encourages a broader understanding of music and music education.

Program participant Taylor Limbert, a junior in vocal music education, reflected on his experience with the program:

“Actually talking with and learning from and performing for people from other cultures was so enriching and I’m so glad I had that opportunity. I had been to Europe before last summer’s trip but this trip was by far the most important in my personal journey as an educator and a person.”

Students in front of Esterhazy Palace in Austria, home one of Haydn’s most important patrons.

Students observed music classes of a variety of grades and levels and participated in workshops at the Kodaly Institute in Hungary and the Orff Institute in Salzburg. They had previously studied the famous “Kodaly approach” to music education“seeing it in person made them realize the full potential of music education,” Floyd said.

As part of the program students were able to walk in the figurative footsteps of classical giants. They visited Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria — home to one of Haydn’s most important patrons. Students also toured Liszt’s and Kodaly’s residences in Budapest, Beethoven’s and Haydn’s residences in Vienna and Mozart’s birth home and family residence in Salzburg. Participants also heard concerts while traveling through these historic cities, including the famous Vienna Boys Choir.

Not only did the students visit cultural landmarks, they also had the opportunity to perform in some of the most historically significant and recognizable venues such as the Kodaly Institute in Hungary, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Mondsee Cathedral outside Salzburg and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

“It is a privilege to see and walk through historic cathedrals,” Floyd said. “To make music in such a space allows you to take a piece of it home in your heart.”

Floyd prepared the group’s choral repertoire and organized a choral conducting master class with Peter Erdei, professor at the Liszt Academy and Kodaly Institute, for both CCM and Kodaly Institute students.

“The interchange between students from all corners of the globe was very exciting and proved to be a rich experience for all,” said Floyd, who studied in Hungary for two years before joining CCM faculty.

“The experience is so much more than just learning content and traveling. It helps you learn about yourself. It is very beneficial to get out of your comfort zone, and to be an outsider with language and culture. This helps you empathize with others and find confidence within yourself.”

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Story by CCM graduate student Charlotte Kies

The Ariel Quartet’s 2015-16 CCM Concert Series Comes to a Conclusion on March 1

CCM’s internationally-acclaimed string quartet-in-residence the Ariel Quartet concludes its 2015–16 concert series at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, in Corbett Auditorium.

Order tickets online here.

The program will include Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in F Major, Op. 77, No. 2; Béla Bartók’s String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7; and Johannes Brahms’ String Quartet Op. 51, No. 2. Tickets for this performance are on sale now.

The Ariel Quartet is comprised of Alexandra Kazovsky, violin; Amit Even-Tov, cello; Gershon Gerchikov, violin; and Jan Grüning, viola. The Quartet was formed in Israel 17 years ago when its members were young students, and they have been playing together ever since. Recently awarded the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, the Quartet serves as the string quartet-in-residence at CCM where they direct the chamber music program and perform their own annual series of concerts.

• Download the program notes.

The Ariel Quartet’s March 1 performance is dedicated to the loving memory of CCM emeritus faculty member Peter Kamnitzer, who served as violist for the legendary LaSalle Quartet from 1949 until the ensemble’s retirement in 1988. Kamnitzer passed away in Israel on Feb. 23, 2016, at the age of 93. As a member of the LaSalle Quartet, Kamnitzer helped to cement CCM’s reputation on the international stage. This performance is presented in his honor. You can learn more about Kamnitzer here.

Performance Time
8 p.m. Tuesday, March 1

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village,
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets are $25 for general admission, $15 for non-UC students and FREE for UC students with valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online now through our e-Box Office! Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

The Ariel Quartet’s 2015-16 CCM concert series is made possible by the generous contributions of Anonymous, The Estate of Mr. William A. Friedlander, Mrs. William A. Friedlander, Dr. & Mrs. Randolph L. Wadsworth, Mr. & Mrs. J. David Rosenberg, Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Santen, Mr. & Mrs. Paul G. Sittenfeld, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman and Mr. & Mrs. Frank Bloom.

CCM Welcomes Renowned Countertenor Andreas Scholl for a Guest Artist Recital on Wednesday, Oct. 1

Guest artists Tamar Halperin and Andreas Scholl.

CCM’s Busse Fund Guest Artist Series proudly presents renowned German countertenor Andreas Scholl in concert at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Scholl will be accompanied by his wife, pianist Tamar Halperin, for an evening of art songs, featuring repertoire from their recent Decca album entitled Wanderer.

Scholl has sung at major music festivals, opera houses and with symphony orchestras around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Salzburg Festival, the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, among many others.

In a recent interview with Gramophone magazine, Scholl discussed his method for selecting the music that appeared on Wanderer, explaining, “I wanted to do a song album and the foundation for us was the Haydn songs, which I’ve sung for a few years and are obviously outside of the Baroque repertoire. From there we collated a list of about 40 songs from Brahms, Schubert and Mozart and condensed it down.”

CCM’s Bearcat Piano Festival Presents Momoro Ono in Concert on Feb. 11

CCM presents guest artist Momoro Ono in concert on Feb. 11, 2014.

CCM’s Bearcat Piano Festival proudly presents guest artist Momoro Ono in a free concert performance at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall.

A Professor of Piano at Creighton University (and brother of UC President Santa J. Ono, PhD), Ono is scheduled to perform Brahms’ Caconne von J. S. Bach; Haydn’s Sonata in F Major, Hob. XVI:23; Schumann’s Kreisleriana, Op. 16; and Stravinsky’s Trois Mouvements de Pétrouchka.

Two Free ‘Music in the Gorno Library’ Concerts Showcase CCM Talent This April

Join UC Libraries at two upcoming concerts to be held in the Albino Gorno Memorial Music (CCM) Library Reading Room.

• 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 3: The CCM Philharmonia will perform Haydn’s Symphonies 6, 7 and 8 (“Morning, Noon and Night”) conducted by CCM graduate student Aik Khai Pung.
• 2 p.m. Sunday, April 14: The inaugural concert on the CCM Library’s 1888 Steinway Parlor Grand piano will feature music arranged by Clara Schumann, edited by CCM faculty member Jonathan Kregor, associate professor of composition, musicology and theory. The music will be performed by students of CCM’s Michael Chertock, associate professor of keyboard studies, and Awadagin Pratt, associate professor of keyboard studies. Dr. Kregor will give remarks about the music.

CCM Professor’s Book, ‘The Symphonic Repertoire – Vol. 1,’ Was a Decade in the Making

CCM Professor of Musicology Mary Sue Morrow.

For the last 10 years, CCM professor Mary Sue Morrow has dedicated herself to completing her late mentor’s series of books.

Weighing in at nearly 900 pages, the Symphonic Repertoire – Volume I may be the first of its kind. Other literature on the 18th century symphony just skims the surface of the era.

“We looked at symphonies by many different composers,” says Morrow. “Mozart and Haydn were not the only symphony composers in the 18th century.” The massive volume includes essays by Morrow and her co-editor, Bathia Churgin, and 20 other scholars.

Concert Program Change: Nov. 13 Eminent Scholar Series Performance

The Amernet String Quartet performs at 8 p.m. tonight, Nov. 13.

CCM Eminent Scholar in Chamber Music James Tocco will not be performing at this evening’s Eminent Scholar Recital. The Amernet String Quartet will still perform as scheduled. Revised event details follow:

8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13
• Eminent Scholar Series •
Guest Artists the Amernet String Quartet
Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE

View an updated list of CCM’s November and December events here.

Ariel Quartet’s CCM Debut Receives Rave Reviews

The acclaimed Ariel String Quartet made its official debut as a CCM quartet-in-residence before a capacity crowd in UC’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall last night.

“If the artistry of their playing and the electricity in the hall are any indication, the Ariel has the potential to revive the glory days of the LaSalle Quartet, quartet-in-residence from 1953 to 1988, the last full-time resident quartet at the school,” Janelle Gelfand writes for the Cincinnati Enquirer. You can read her full review here.

“Violinists Gershon Gerchikov and Alexandra Kazovsky, violist Jan Grüning and cellist Amit Even-Tov play with energy, consummate technique and an esprit de corps that bode exceedingly well for CCM and the community,” Mary Ellyn Hutton writes for Music in Cincinnati. You can read her full review here.

If you missed last evening’s performance, be sure to mark your calendars for Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. Tickets are still available for the next installment in the Ariel Quartet’s 2012-13 CCM concert series… but they won’t be for long!

The Ariel String Quartet Makes Its CCM Debut Tonight

CCM has a new String Quartet-in-Residence, the Ariel Quartet. They will make their Inaugural Concert on September 11 at the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. (L-R) Jan Gruning on viola, Amit Even-Tov on cello, Alexandra Kazovsky on violin and Gershon Gerchikov on violin. Photographed at CCM on Wednesday, August 29, 2012.
– The Enquirer/ Liz Dufour

“The Ariel String Quartet is a breath of fresh air in chamber music,” Janelle Gelfand writes for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Read Gelfand’s profile of CCM’s newly appointed string-quartet-in-residence here.

The Quartet makes its CCM debut at 8 p.m. tonight in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Learn more about the Quartet’s debut performance here.

Mary Ellyn Hutton also previews tonight’s Ariel Quartet concert and more of this month’s upcoming performances for Music In Cincinnati. Read her September preview here.