Schedule of Event:

7:30: Faure Project

Commemorate the 100th anniversary of Gabriel Fauré's death with two concerts featuring his most celebrated chamber works, performed by the world's most celebrated musicians, featuring violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Steven Isserlis, pianist Jeremy Denk and many more. From violin sonatas to piano quintets, these programs offer a rich exploration of Fauré's artistry, performed by an exceptional ensemble of renowned musicians.

SATURDAY PROGRAM: Faure
Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13 (Bell, Denk)
Barcarolle No. 5, Op. 66 (Denk)
Piano trio in D minor, Op. 120 (Bell, Isserlis, Denk)

Intermission:
Sicilienne, Op. 78 & Berceuse, Op. 16 (Isserlis, Denk)
Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 89 (Bell, Duval, Engstroem, Isserlis, Denk)

ABOUT JOSHUA BELL:
With a career spanning almost four decades, GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated artists of his era. Bell has performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world and continues to maintain engagements as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, conductor and as the Music Director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Highlights from the 2023-24 season include an international tour of his newly commissioned project, The Elements, a six-movement violin concerto from five different composers, and the release of his album Butterfly Lovers with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. Bell's highlights for the 2024-25 season include the release of two new albums: Thomas De Hartmann Rediscovered, featuring the World Premiere recording of Ukrainian composer Thomas De Hartmann's Violin Concerto, and an album of Mendelssohn piano trios, which Bell recorded with longtime friends and collaborators Jeremy Denk and Steven Isserlis.

ABOUT STEVEN ISSERLIS:
Acclaimed worldwide for his profound musicianship and technical mastery, British cellist Steven Isserlis enjoys a distinguished career as soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster.

As concerto soloist he appears regularly with the world's leading orchestras and conductors, and plays with the world's foremost chamber orchestras. His interest in authentic performance has included collaborations with period-instrument ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Recordings include the Chopin Cello Sonata with Dénes Várjon using one of Chopin's own pianos, a performance with Andras Schiff at the Beethovenhaus in Bonn using Beethoven's own cello, and performances and recordings with Robert Levin of Beethoven's complete music for cello and piano using original or replica fortepianos. With harpsichordist Richard Egarr, Isserlis recorded the viola da gamba sonatas of J.S. Bach and sonatas by Handel and Scarlatti.  His critically-acclaimed recording of Bach's complete Solo Cello Suites was Gramophone's Instrumental Album of the Year. He has also premiered many new works by contemporary composers including John Tavener, Stephen Hough and Olli Mustonen.

ABOUT JEREMY DENK:
Jeremy Denk is one America's foremost pianists, hailed by The New York Times as an artist "you want to hear no matter what he performs." Denk is also a New York Times bestselling author, winner of both the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has performed multiple times at Carnegie Hall and in recent years has worked with major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra. Recent highlights include his extensive performances of Bach's Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 and performances of John Adams' Must the Devil Have All The Great Tunes? with the Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, and Seattle Symphony.

ABOUT IRENE DUVAL:
Praised for "her mastery of phrasing and of the dramatic dimension" (Diapason), "astonishing virtuosity" (Revelation Classiques) and her "infinite delicacy" (Le Populaire du centre), Irène Duval has won multiple international competitions and is an active performer of concerti, recitals and chamber music.

Duval has performed widely in Europe, including recitals at major venues and collaborations with orchestras such as the Dresdner Philharmonie, and Sinfonia Varsovia at the National Forum in Tokyo; past chamber music collaborators include Gidon Kremer and Christian Tetzlaff. This season, she performs at the Festival de Musica de Canarias with Joshua Bell, Blythe-Engstroem, and Steven Isserlis; at Wigmore Hall with Isserlis and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet; she returns to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Mendelssohn's Concerto, and in Sheffield for a celebration of Gabriel Fauré's music. Fauré is the central composer of her 2024 recital recording with Angus Webster released by Capriccio.

ABOUT BLYTHE TEH ENGSTROEM:
American violist Blythe Teh Engstroem studied violin with Nelli Shkolnikova and viola with Atar Arad at Indiana University Bloomington. She subsequently studied with Andrés Cárdenes in Pittsburgh. A passionate chamber musician, she has collaborated with Menahem Pressler, Yuja Wang, Lisa Batiashvili, Joshua Bell, Renaud Capuçon, Leonidas Kavakos, Pinchas Zukerman, Lawrence Power, Nobuko Imai, Gautier Capuçon and the Quatuor Ébène.

She was a member of the Quatuor Terpsycordes (Switzerland). Blythe has performed at numerous festivals in Europe and the Far East and is a regular soloist at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. She is a founding member of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra which, under Gábor Takács-Nagy, tours regularly with artists including Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell and Maxim Vengerov. She has been the Chamber Orchestra's concertmaster and currently leads the viola section. Blythe plays on a beautiful Maggini viola, on generous loan from a private benefactor.

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