Gil Shaham continues Brahms series at Zankel Hall
Gil Shaham and Friends Return to Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in NYC
for Next Two Installments of Brahms Chamber Music Series on February 6 and 9
Violinist Gil Shaham continues his exploration of Brahms’s chamber music at Zankel Hall in New York City with two concerts on February 6 and 9. Like the series-opening event in January, the second and third installments of “Gil Shaham and Friends” feature Shaham with some of his closest chamber music collaborators, including his wife, Adele Anthony, and cellist Alisa Weilerstein. New to the lineup for both of the upcoming concerts are violists Masao Kawasaki and Paul Neubauer. Pianist Akira Eguchi joins the ensemble for the second concert, and Gil’s sister, pianist Orli Shaham – who, according to the New York Times, gave a “daringly forceful” performance of Brahms’s F-minor Sonata in the series opener – returns for the third and final concert.
This season’s series of “Gil Shaham and Friends” concerts was inspired by the success of a similar Zankel Hall chamber music series featuring the violinist and musical collaborators during Carnegie’s 2006-07 season. Those concerts were preceded by a highly successful tour by Shaham and his colleagues.
Gil Shaham led off the New Year with another Brahms work – the composer’s Violin Concerto, which Shaham performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called it a “deeply considered and gorgeously realized” performance, noting, “His playing derives from the same cultural spring as that of his popular older colleagues Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. Yet Shaham’s voice is his own… . In the concerto’s opening movement, for example, Shaham played the sublime second theme ardently yet almost pastorally, without a hint of indulgence, revealing a timeless simplicity to the music.”
In the coming weeks, Shaham will play the Stravinsky Concerto with the Lexington Symphony (Feb 14), Cleveland Orchestra (Feb 19-21), and National Symphony Orchestra (Feb 26-28) and the Khachaturian Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra (Mar 26-29).
Gil Shaham’s busy fall season included several extraordinary achievements and a major milestone. Following acclaimed performances of Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic and David Zinman, Shaham released – on his own Canary Classics label – a recording of the work with Zinman and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that became an unlikely Billboard bestseller. On November 20, Shaham performed an all-Sarasate program with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at the Kaplan Penthouse in New York City, which was broadcast nationally on Public Television’s “Live From Lincoln Center” series. At the end of the performance, Shaham was taken entirely by surprise when special guest Gustavo Dudamel informed him that he had won the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize. “The prize is for people who have really reached the pinnacle of their career,” Nathan Leventhal, chairman of the Avery Fisher Artist Program, told the 150-member audience.
Program and personnel details for the next two installments of “Gil Shaham and Friends” at Zankel Hall and additional tour information follows.
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“Gil Shaham and Friends” programs two and three
Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
Gil Shaham, violin
Adele Anthony, violin
Masao Kawasaki, viola
Paul Neubauer, viola
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
Akira Eguchi, piano
ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM
Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
String Quintet in F major, Op. 88
Monday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
Gil Shaham, violin
Adele Anthony, violin
Masao Kawasaki, viola
Paul Neubauer, viola
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
Orli Shaham, piano
ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM
Piano Trio in A major, Op. posth.
String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111
Gil Shaham upcoming engagements
February 4
Ontario, Canada (Mike Lazaridis Theatre)
Brahms chamber music
February 6
New York, NY (Zankel Hall)
Shaham and Friends play Brahms: Program 2 of 3
February 9
New York, NY (Zankel Hall)
Shaham and Friends play Brahms: Program 3 of 3
February 14
Lexington, KY
Stravinsky Concerto
Lexington Symphony / Nardolillo
February 19-21
Cleveland, OH
Stravinsky Concerto
Cleveland Orchestra / Petrenko
February 26-28
Washington, DC
Stravinsky Concerto
National Symphony Orchestra / Xian Zang
March 26-29
Philadelphia, PA
Khachaturian Concerto
Philadelphia Orchestra / Krivine
April 2-6
U.S. tour
Haydn concertos in C major and G major and Mendelssohn Octet
Sejong, the conductorless string orchestra
April 23-26
Munich, Germany
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5
Munich Philharmonic / Thielemann
May 12, 13
Montreal, Canada
Brahms Concerto
Montreal Symphony / Nagano
June 3
Toronto, Canada
Bolcom Violin Concerto
Toronto Symphony / Slatkin
June 10-13
San Francisco, CA
Berg Violin Concerto
San Francisco Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas
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Glenn Petry
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