Student Recital: Debussy, Ortiz, Berlioz, Bellafronte, Brahms

A student recital featuring:

Debussy: Preludes, Book I
Salzedo Harp Quintette: Héloïse Carlean-Jones, harp; Helen Gerhold, harp; Elizabeth Hainen, harp; Abigail Kent, harp; and Anna Odell, harp

Salzedo Harp Quintette was named after Carlos Salzedo who was responsible for the founding of the harp department at Curtis Institute of Music. Salzedo arrangement of Debussy’s Preludes, Book 1 for harp was done for orchestral playing. Elizabeth Hainen, the Maryjane Mayhew Barton Chair in Harp Studies describes it as” beautiful perfume sound.”

Alfredo Ortiz: Venezolana for Five Pedal-Harps
Salzedo Harp Quintette: Héloïse Carlean-Jones, harp; Helen Gerhold, harp; Elizabeth Hainen, harp; Abigail Kent, harp; and Anna Odell, harp

Alfredo Ortiz is a Venezuelan Harpist. The remarkable rhythms of Venezolana for Five Pedal-Harps demonstrate his pride in his heritage through his music.

Hector Berlioz: “A Ball,” from Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14
arr. Ron Erickson
Salzedo Harp Quintette: Héloïse Carlean-Jones, harp; Helen Gerhold, harp; Elizabeth Hainen, harp; Abigail Kent, harp; and Anna Odell, harp

Hector Berlioz was a French composer and lived between 1803 and 1869. The Salzedo Harp Quintette performs the second movement from Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14 arranged by Ron Erickson.

Raffaele Bellafronte: Suite No. 1 for Guitar and Cello
Alec Holcomb, guitar; Chen Cao, cello

This is the first time Curtis students will play Italian born Composer Raffaele Bellafronte’s Suite No. 1 for Guitar and Cello. Alec Holcomb, from Franklin, TN is a student of David Starobin and Jason Vieaux and Chen Cao, from Beijing is a student of Carter Brey and Peter Wiley both entered Curtis in 2013. For this piece it was quite a challenge to overcome the balance issues with these two instruments: guitar and cello. The four movements are marked: Preludio; Histerico; Romantico; and Tango.

Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
Yu-Ting Chen, violin; Kate Liu, piano

Brahms last violin sonata was Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 composed between 1878 and 1888. This sonata is different from his other violin sonatas in that this one has four movements while the others have three.