Sunday, Aug 10, 2025 at 4:00pm
ELISSA LEE KOLJONEN, violin
with NATALIE ZHU, piano
Brahms: Sonatensatz in C Minor
Clara Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op.22
Gabriel Fauré: Violin Sonata No.1
Ellen Taaffe-Zwillich: Fantasy for solo violin (2014)
Lili Boulanger: Nocturne for violin and piano (1911)
Ravel: Tzigane
Recognized as one of the most celebrated violinists of her generation, ELISSA LEE KOLJONEN has thrilled audiences and critics in more than one hundred cities throughout the world. Ms. Koljonen received international acclaim when she became the first recipient of the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Award and the silver medalist of the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition. Her playing has been hailed by the Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki) as “sparkling, sensual and personal,” and the Chicago Tribune has said she displays “boundless technique and musicianship.”
Ms. Koljonen has performed with such orchestras as the Boston Pops, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic, as well as the symphony orchestras of Bilbao, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Helsinki, and Seoul. She garnered critical acclaim for her appearance with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in a special concert celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi Dynasty. She has collaborated with such noted conductors as Matthias Bamert, Dirk Brossé, JoAnn Falletta, Lawrence Foster, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Neeme Järvi, James Judd, Andrew Litton, José-Luis Novo, the late James DePreist, and the late Bryden Thomson.
The recipient of the 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, pianist NATALIE ZHU has performed throughout North America, Europe, and China as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has performed in the United States with the Pacific Symphony, the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Astral Chamber Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic, and the Colorado Philharmonic National Repertory Orchestra.
An active chamber musician, Zhu has appeared in New York’s Steinway Hall and is featured this season with violinist Christina Castelli and cellist Clancy Newman at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Zhu collaborates with renowned violinist Hilary Hahn in tours of the U.S., Europe, and Japan, including a hugely successful Carnegie Hall recital debut. The duo plans to record Mozart sonatas for the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Reserved Hall Seats: $55, $31, $27/$24 (partial obstruction)
General Admission/Outdoors/Uncovered: $20, Students: $10
