ROCKPORT CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL: MOZART & FAURÉ

Stella Chen, violin | Matthew Lipman, viola | Brannon Cho, cello | Evren Ozel, piano

Violinist Stella Chen, winner of Gramophone’s 2023 Young Artist of the Year and First Prize of 2019 Queen Elizabeth Violin Competition, returns to the Festival with a star-studded quartet of artists to perform Mozart’s Divertimento and Fauré’s Piano Quartet, Op. 45.

PROGRAM

MOZART: Divertimento in E-flat Major, K563

Intermission

FAURÉ: Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45

STELLA CHEN, violin

Gramophone 2023 Young Artist of the Year Stella Chen garnered worldwide attention with her first-prize win at the 2019 Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition, followed by the 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant and 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. Since then, Stella has appeared across North America, Europe, and Asia in numerous concerto, recital, and chamber music performances. She appears frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both in New York and on tour.

Stella has appeared as a chamber musician in festivals including the Ravinia, Seattle Chamber Music and several others. Chamber music partners include Itzhak Perlman, James Ehnes and Matthew Lipman. She is the inaugural recipient of the Robert Levin Award from Harvard University, where she was inspired by Robert Levin himself. She received her doctorate from the Juilliard School where she now serves as teaching assistant to her longtime mentor Li Lin. Stella plays the 1720 General Kyd Stradivarius, on generous loan from Dr. Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins in Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative, and the 1708 Huggins Stradivarius courtesy of the Nippon Music Foundation.

MATTHEW LIPMAN, viola

American violist Matthew Lipman has become known as one of the leading players of his generation, frequently appearing as both a soloist and chamber music artist. His album Ascent, released by Cedille Records, was celebrated by The Strad as a “most impressive” debut album and includes world premiere recordings of Shostakovich’s recently discovered, Impromptu for Viola and Piano and Clarice Assad’s Metamorfose for viola and piano. He is featured on the recording of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with violinist Rachel Barton Pine and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Sir Neville Marriner. Named the 2019 Artist-in-Residence for the American Viola Society, Lipman performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln. Lipman is the recipient of a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and occupies the Wallach Chair at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He performs on a 1700 Matteo Goffriller viola loaned through the generous efforts of the Pine Foundation.

BRANNON CHO, cello

Praised for his “burnished tone, spellbinding technique, and probing musical mind” (Boston Classical Review), cellist Brannon Cho has emerged as an outstanding artist of his generation. He is the First Prize winner of the prestigious Paulo Cello Competition, and is also a top prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth, Naumburg and Cassadó International Cello competitions. Cho has appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s top orchestras and is a founding member of two chamber music groups: Trio Seoul with violinist Jinjoo Cho and pianist Kyu Yeon Kim, and a string trio with violinist Stella Chen and violist Matthew Lipman (performing in this recital). He received his Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and was awarded the prestigious Artist Diploma from New England Conservatory. In 2023, he completed the Professional Studies program at Kronberg Academy. Brannon Cho is sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld and performs on a rare cello made by Antonio Casini in Modena, Italy in 1668.

EVREN OZEL, piano

American pianist Evren Ozel has established himself as a musician of “refined restraint” (Third Coast Review), combining fluent virtuosity with probing, thoughtful interpretations. Having performed extensively in the United States and abroad, Evren is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, a 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and is currently represented by Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize Winner of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition. Evren has performed solo recitals at important venues across the US, to critical acclaim. An esteemed chamber musician, he was selected as a Bowers Program Artist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Evren received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the New England Conservatory, and is currently a candidate in their prestigious Artist Diploma program.

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