Friday, April 6, 2018 • 8:00 p.m.

An Evening with & Friends Faculty Recital

DePaul Concert Hall 800 West Belden Avenue • Friday, April 6, 2018 • 8:00 p.m. DePaul Concert Hall

An Evening with Ilya Kaler & Friends Ilya Kaler, Beilin Han, piano with guest artists , clarinet Rasa Vitkauskaite, piano

Program

Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Contrasts for clarinet, violin and piano (1938) Verbunkos (Recruiting Dance). Moderato, ben ritmato Pihenö (Relaxation). Lento Sebes (Fast Dance). Allegro vivace

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Suite from L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) (1919) The Soldier’s March The Soldier’s Violin (Scene at the brook) A Little Concert Tango - Waltz - Ragtime The Devil’s Dance

Paul Schoenfield (b. 1947) Trio for clarinet, violin and piano (1986) Freylakh March Nigun Kozatzke An Evening with Ilya Kler & Friends • April 6, 2018

Biographies Ilya Kaler is one of the most outstanding personalities of the violin today, whose career ranges from that of a soloist and recording artist to chamber musician and professor.

Mr. Kaler earned rave reviews for his solo appearances with such distinguished orchestras throughout the world as the Leningrad, and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, Montreal Symphony, Danish and Radio Orchestras, Moscow and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, as well as many of the major American orchestras. Kaler collaborated with a number of outstanding conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Dmitry Kitayenko, Mariss Jansons and Jerzy Semkow. His solo recitals have taken him throughout the five continents.

Kaler also performed at many concert venues around the world as a member of The Tempest Trio with cellist Amit Peled and pianist Alon Goldstein. The trio had recently recorded their debut CD for Naxos record company which features complete set of piano trios by Antonin Dvorak.

Kaler’s orchestral career includes guest Concertmaster appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburg Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, as well as tours with the World Orchestra for Peace under the direction of Valery Gergiev. He held Concertmaster positions with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, NY and the Lake Forest Symphony, IL.

One of the most sought-after teachers in the world, Kaler held Professor of Violin positions at the in Rochester, NY and at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, IN. Kaler currently serves as Professor of Violin at the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago. He frequently serves as a jury member at international violin competitions throughout the world.

Kaler is a Gold Medal winner at three of the world’s prestigious international violin competitions: the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1986), the Sibelius Competition in (1985), and the in (1981).

Mr. Kaler records exclusively for Naxos Records. His highly acclaimed albums include Sonatas by Schumann and Brahms, by Paganini, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Schumann, Dvorak, Glazunov, Szymanowski, Karlowicz, as well as Taneyev Suite, Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo and Ysaye’s Six Sonatas for Violin Solo. An Evening with Ilya Kler & Friends • April 6, 2018 biographies Jonathan Cohler is recognized throughout the world as “an absolute master of the clarinet” (International Clarinet Association’s Clarinet Magazine). Through his performances around the world and on record, he has thrilled an ever widening audience with his incredible musicianship and total technical command. His technical feats have been hailed as “superhuman” and Fanfare Magazine has placed him in the pantheon of legendary musicians: “one thinks of Dinu Lipatti.”

In recent years, Mr. Cohler has teamed up with multiple award winning Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite to form today’s leading clarinet-piano duo, which is featured in three recent recordings: American Tribute, Romanza, and Rhapsodie Française. Another recent CD, Jonathan Cohler & , features the award winning Claremont Trio, and his newest CD Cohler plays & conducts Weber (released August 2016) features Mr. Cohler with the world renowned Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra from Budapest, .

A highly acclaimed recording artist, his recordings have received numerous accolades and awards including nomination for the INDIE Award, the Outstanding Recording mark of the American Record Guide, BBC Music Magazine’s Best CDs of The Year selection, and top ratings from magazines, radio stations, and record guides worldwide including Penguin Guide, BBC Music Magazine, MusicWeb International, and Listener Magazine, which wrote, “Cohler possesses such musical integrity and taste that everything he touches seems like the last word”. Gramophone lauded Mr. Cohler’s expression of “the poetry that lesser artists miss.” Fanfare Magazine featured his Weber CD on its cover praising his “extraordinary musical intelligence and technical wizardry” and dubbing his playing as “supernatural” while it hailed American Tribute as, “one of the best clarinet CDs to come along in some time” and they ranked his recording of the Brahms and Beethoven trios (Jonathan Cohler & Claremont Trio) the all-time best: “I know of no finer recording of the Beethoven, and this one stands with the best classic versions of the Brahms.” Rhapsodie Française was chosen as Best of the Year by the Buffalo/Toronto classical station 94.5 WNED alongside two CDs featuring legendary artists Pierre Fournier, Mstislav Rostropovitch, , and Emil Gilels.

Mr. Cohler’s maintains a busy international schedule that takes him around the Globe to cities in the , , , Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, , Spain, Canada, , , , , , Chile, Peru, and Cuba. He has performed at many festivals including those of Tanglewood, Aspen, Domaine Forget (Canada), Campos do Jordao (Brazil), Xativa (Spain), Arezzo (Italy), Rockport, Newport, Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons. He has been featured on the prestigious Dame Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and he has been a frequently invited performer, adjudicator, and clinician at the International Clarinet Association’s annual ClarinetFest and many other clarinet festivals around the world. An Evening with Ilya Kler & Friends • April 6, 2018 biographies In addition to holding several honorary positions, Mr. Cohler has been invited to teach as guest faculty at conservatories, universities and festivals around the world such as Eastman School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Harvard University, Central Conservatory in Beijing, National Conservatory of Music in Mexico, and University of Chile, to name a few. Mr. Cohler is the Music Director of the Philharmonic Orchestra, and founder and director of , the Boston Clarinet Academy, and the International Woodwind Festival. He is also in demand as a guest conductor around the world with orchestras such as the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Caracas, Venezuela.

Mr. Cohler’s clarinet teachers include legendary Boston Symphony Orchestra clarinetist Pasquale Cardillo, Harold Wright, Karl Leister, and Frank Martin. He graduated with high honors in physics from Harvard University. He is Professor of Clarinet and Chamber music at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jonathan Cohler is a Vandoren, Rossi, and Royal Musical artist and records exclusively for Ongaku Records.

Hailed for “artistry of poetic and observant sensitivity” (Gramophone), internationally acclaimed pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite released her debut solo CD Reflections on Ongaku Records in 2014, featuring works by Beethoven, Ravel, Guastavino and Liebermann. Fanfare Magazine highlighted the release on its cover, praising her “scintillating pianism” and dubbing her “a Beethoven interpreter of penetrating insight.” Last season featured Ms. Vitkauskaite’s debut recording as soloist with orchestra performing Liszt/Weber Polonaise brillante recorded at the Hungarian National Radio.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Mendelssohn Cup Piano Competition in Italy, Rasa Vitkauskaite has won top prizes at numerous prestigious international piano competitions including First Prizes at Les Rencontres Internationales des Jeunes Pianistes (Belgium), the competition in Taurisano (Italy), and the Rubinstein Piano Competition (Paris). Other awards include the Westmont Fellowship at the Montecito International Music Festival in Santa Barbara, California, and a Kathryn Wasserman Davis $10,000 grant supporting a tour of promoting peace. Ms. Vitkauskaite has also won top prizes at six national competitions in her native country of Lithuania.

Next season will include the release of her debut CD featuring Mozart’s Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 and Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. Recent recital tours have taken Ms. Vitkauskaite to China, South , Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, , Hungary, and across the United States. Her solo engagements include the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, An Evening with Ilya Kler & Friends • April 6, 2018 biographies Kaunas, Latvian and Kaliningrad Philharmonic orchestras, I Solisti di Perugia, and the Boston Conservatory Orchestra. She has appeared at festivals in Assisi (Italy), Madrid (Spain), Mexico City, Caracas (Venezuela), Taiyuan (China), Porto (Portugal), and Moscow (). An avid chamber musician, Ms. Vitkauskaite performs regularly with world- renowned clarinetist Jonathan Cohler. MusicWeb International praised her as “a master” on the duo’s 2014 release of American Tribute (in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013), and as “a brilliant and sympathetic partner” on their 2013 release Romanza, featuring works by Schumann, Prokofiev and Guastavino. American Record Guide singled out her “subtle musicianship and exceptional skill” on Rhapsodie Française, the 2008 debut duo CD with Mr. Cohler.

In addition to her active performing career, Ms. Vitkauskaite is a dedicated teacher and adjudicator. She has led masterclasses worldwide including, most recently, Ohio University, University of Akron, National University of Rosario in Argentina, Carlos Gomes State Institute in Belém, Brazil, “Ciutat de Xàtiva” International Music Festival in Spain, Longy School of Music of Bard College and New Conservatory Preparatory School. She has many students both at the Concord Conservatory of Music, where she is on the faculty, and in her private studio. She is also a member of the piano faculty at Youth & Muse International Summer Music Festival at the Boston Conservatory. Ms. Vitkauskaite has adjudicated numerous piano competitions including the Steinway Society Piano Competition, Westfield State University Young Artist Piano Competition and Massachusetts Music Teachers Association Bay State Contest. She also launched a piano program for inner-city children in Boston after winning a $5000 Fellowes Athenaeum Fund grant.

Ms. Vitkauskaite is the pianist of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Meiningen Trio. An Evening with Ilya Kler & Friends • April 6, 2018

Upcoming Events

Saturday, April 7 • 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Janet Sung Studio Recital

Monday, April 8 • 1:00 p.m. Concert Hall Kleinman Competition

Monday, April 9 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Faculty Artist Series: Ian Ding, Eric Millstein & Cynthia Yeh

Tuesday, April 10 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Tuba Studio Recital

Friday, April 13 • 8:00 p.m. Recital Hall Electic DePaul

Saturday, April 14 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall New Music DePaul

Sunday, April 15 • 3:00 p.m. Concert Hall Hindustani Concert

Friday, April 20 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Ensemble 20+

Saturday, April 21 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall DePaul Symphony Orchestra

Sunday, April 22 • 4:00 p.m. Recital Hall Faculty Artist Series: Stephen Balderston, cello

Thursday, April 26 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall DePaul Wind Ensemble An Evening with Ilya Kler & Friends • April 6, 2018 Upcoming Events

Saturday, April 28 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall DePaul Concert Orchestra and Symphonic Choir

Sunday, April 29 • 2:00 p.m. St. Vincent de Paul Parish • 1010 West Webster Avenue • Chicago DePaul Concert Orchestra and Symphonic Choir

Tuesday, May 1 • 7:00 p.m. Driehaus Museum • 40 East Erie Street • Chicago DePaul Chamber Music Showcase

Friday, May 4 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall New Music DePaul

Saturday, May 5 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall DePaul Wind Symphony

Sunday, May 6 • 5:00 p.m. Concert Hall Faculty Artist Series: Janet Sung and Friends

Monday, May 7 • 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Clarinet Studio Recital

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