Alexander Hersh, cello
Victor Asuncion, piano
February 16, 2022
Dame Myra Hess Concerts
Dave Schwan, host
Program:
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) – 3 Pieces for Cello and Piano (1914) (8’)
I. No. 1 in E-flat minor, Moderato
II.No. 2 in A minor, Sans vitesse et à l’aise
III. No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Vite et nerveusement rythmé
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) – Cello Sonata (1914) (11’)
I.Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto
II. Sérénade: Modérément animé, Fantasque et Léger
III. Final: Animé, Léger et nerveux
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) – Pohádka “A Tale” for Cello and Piano (1910) (12′)
I. Con moto
II. Con moto
III. Allegro
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915);arr. G. Piatigorsky – Poem, Op. 32 No. 1 (1903) (4′)
Having already performed as soloist with the Houston Symphony and the Boston Pops, cellist Alexander Hersh has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting and creative talents of his generation. He has received top prizes at competitions worldwide including the: Astral Artists National Auditions, Salon de Virtuosi Career grant, National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Young Artists Competition, New York International Artists Association Competition, Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra, Ima Hogg, Schadt, Luminarts, Hellam, Boston Pops/New England Conservatory Competition, Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition, Society of American Musicians, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music competition.
A passionate chamber musician, Hersh has performed at music festivals worldwide including: Marlboro, Caramoor, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, I-M-S Prussia Cove, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Amsterdam Cello Biennial, Kneisel Hall, Lucerne, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar. He serves as co-Artistic Director of NEXUS Chamber Music, an artist driven collective of musicians whose mission is to make classical music culturally relevant through live concerts and multimedia content.
Raised in Chicago, Alexander Hersh began playing the cello at the age of 5. He received his B.M. and M.M. from New England Conservatory where he graduated with academic honors. Hersh was a recipient of the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for studies in Berlin during the 2017 – 2018 academic year where he studied at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik Berlin. His previous teachers have included Laurence Lesser, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Kim Kashkashian, and Paul Katz. He plays a G.B. Rogeri cello, courtesy of Guarneri Hall NFP and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins.
Hailed by The Washington Post for his “poised and imaginative playing,” pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion has appeared in concert halls in Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Turkey and the USA, as a recitalist and concerto soloist. He played his orchestral debut at the age of 18 with the Manila Chamber Orchestra, and his New York recital debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 1999.
A chamber music enthusiast, he has performed with artists such as Lynn Harrell, Zuill Bailey, Andres Diaz, Antonio Meneses, Joshua Roman, Cho-Liang Lin, and many others. He was on the chamber music faculty of the Aspen Music Festival, and the Garth Newel Summer Music Festival. He was also the pianist for the Garth Newel Piano Quartet for three seasons. His recordings include the complete Sonatas of L. van Beethoven with cellist Tobias Werner, Sonatas by Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff with cellist Joseph Johnson, and the Rachmaninoff Sonata with the cellist Evan Drachman. He is also featured in the award winning recording “Songs My Father Taught Me” with Lynn Harrell, produced by Louise Frank and WFMT-Chicago.
He received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in 2007 from the University of Maryland at College Park under the tutelage of Rita Sloan. Victor Asuncion is a Steinway artist. www.victorasuncion.com
Read program notes here
Don’t miss Katherine Beck and Chris Reynolds
next week on the
Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts!
Wednesday February 23, 12:15pm
