Schenectady, N.Y. (Nov. 17, 1998) — Pianist Wu Han, violinist Pamela Frank and cellist Yeesun Kim will perform as a trio on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m. in Union College's Memorial Chapel. The Union chamber series is the only venue where they perform as a group.
The Dec. 3 . concert is the trio's eleventh consecutive appearance in the Schenectady Museum-Union College chamber music series. The program will include Haydn – Trios in B flat, Hob. XV:20; in C, Hob. XV: 21; in G, Hob. XV: 25 “Gypsy”; Dvorak – Trio in B flat, p.21.
A tremendously popular orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, Wu Han as garnered an enviable reputation as a performer whose impassioned music-making and thrilling style are bringing new life to the concert stage. “Knocking the Stuffing out of Music” as one critic's headline, and “electrifying,” “fiery,” and “exhilarating,” are among the many superlatives awarded her by the press. Han's 1998-99 schedule includes appearances in many U.S. states in addition to performances in the United Kingdom. She and cellist, David Finckel, will make their second recital appearance at Wigmore Hall, and will then continue on to Germany for their first European tour. With Finckel, Wu Han serves as Co-Artistic Director of the La Jolla Chamber Music Society's prestigious SummerFest, a three-week event in August that is widely recognized as one of the premiere summer festivals in the United States. Wu Han maintains an active teaching schedule at the Aspen Music Festival and collaborates with Isaac Stern at his International Chamber Music Workshops.
American violinist Pamela Frank, probably the most celebrated of the three, is an internationally-famed soloist and recording artist. She has established an outstanding international reputation across an unusually varied range of performing activity. The 1998-99 season takes her to many leading orchestras in Europe and North America, among them the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Bournemouth Symphony, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, The NDR Orchestra in Hamburg, the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, The San Francisco Symphony, the Tonhalle Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. With the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, on tour in Germany and in London, she gives several concerts as both leader and soloist. She joins her father and frequent collaborator Claude Frank for a number of recitals, including performances n Cleveland, Miami, Kansas City and Toronto, among other cities. Last season, the Frank duo gave an acclaimed three-concert Beethoven Sonata cycle at Wigmore Hall in London.
Cellist Yeesun Kim, a native of Seoul, Korea, is a founding member of the Borromeo String Quartet, which won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1991. Since then, the group has performed at many prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Washington's Kennedy Center and Jordon Hall in Boston. Yeesun Kim tours with the Quartet and also gives frequent concerts with violinist Nicholas Kitchen, her partner in the Quartet as well as in marriage. She has performed in numerous international music festivals in collaboration with well-known artists such as the late Rudolf Serkin, Felix Galimar, Laurence Lesser, Colin Carr, Russell Sherman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Paula Robison, and Isaadore Cohen and Peter Wiley of the Beaux Arts Trio. Ms. Kim is currently a faculty member of the New England Conservatory both in the cello and chamber music departments. She also teaches at the Walnut Hill School of the Arts.
Memorial Chapel is located near the center of the Union Campus. Parking is available on campus and on nearby sidestreets.
Tickets, at $15 each ($7 for students), are available in advance at the Schenectady Museum (518) 382-7890 and at the door at 7 p.m. For more information call 372-3651.