STRINGS PLUS! "Lady with the Hammer"

Montreal and Honens Competition winners in the spotlight and three magnificent works with the drama and drive of timpani Friday, January 22, 2027, 7:30 pm Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St. West STRINGS PLUS! "The Lady with the Hammer" Montreal and Honens Competition winners in the spotlight and three magnificent works with the drama and drive of timpani SINFONIA TORONTO NURHAN ARMAN Conductor ÉLISABETH PION Pianist JULIA MIRZOEV Violinist Program BACH Violin Concerto in E Major USTVOLSKAYA Piano Concerto for Strings and Timpani Canadian premiere NORBERT PALEJ “Song of Smyrna” for string orchestra and timpani world premiere EDVARD MIRZOYAN Symphony for Strings and Timpani ABOUT THE PERFORMERS Pianist Élisabeth Pion - A curious explorer of piano repertoire with a rare combination of sensitivity and strength, 29-year-old French-Canadian pianist Élisabeth Pion is the Gold Laureate and Audience Choice Award winner of the 2025 Honens International Piano Competition. She appears on international stages as a recitalist, chamber musician, and guest artist, earning acclaim for her technical precision, expressive range, and deep engagement with her repertoire. Élisabeth has performed at prestigious venues such Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Maison Symphonique, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, and Sala Cecília Meireles. She is a regular guest artist with distinguished ensembles including the Orchestre Métropolitain, Edmonton Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, the Brazilian Symphony, and Les Violons du Roy, and has collaborated with conductors such as Gerard Schwarz, Elias Grandy, Nathalie Marin, Kensho Watanabe, and Nicolas Ellis, to name a few. She was a Radio-Canada 2024-25 Breakthrough Artist. Violinist Julia Mirzoev is noted for her warm tone, grace, and fierce attack (California Music Center). A native of Toronto, Canada, Julia has been featured on the CBC’s “Top 30 Classical Musicians Under 30”, CBC radio 94.1, and classical 96.3 FM. Her awards include top prizes including the prize for the commissioned work at both Michael Hill and the Irving M. Klein international competition, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal competition, grand prize at the Canadian Music Competition, and first prizes at the Crescendo International competition and Cremona music festival competitions. As an internationally recognized soloist known for her vivid interpretations and dynamic stage presence, Julia’s performances have taken her across North America, Europe, and New Zealand, in venues including Carnegie Hall, Koerner Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, Maison Symphonique, Salle Bourgie, and the Banff Centre. She has appeared as soloist with the Toronto Symphony, Brampton Rose Orchestra, Scarborough Philharmonic, Sinfonia Toronto, Orchestra Toronto, and the Montréal Bach Festival Orchestra, among others. A passionate chamber musician, Julia has been a winner of the Yale Chamber Music competition, and has been a fellow at the Sarasota, Manchester, Toronto, Yellow Barn, and Perlman Music Program festivals. A graduate of the University of Toronto, Mcgill University, and the Yale University school of music, Julia has received the Broadus Erle graduating prize at the Yale School of music, and the Golden Violin grand prize at Mcgill University. Her mentors include Andrew Wan, Ani Kavafian, Jonathan Crow, Barry Shiffman, and Jacob Lakirovich. Having grown up in a family of musical pedagogues, Julia takes pride in sharing her devotion to creative music-making with her students. In addition to her private studio, Julia currently coaches at the Royal Conservatory’s Taylor Academy and L’Orchestre des Jeunes du Mont-Royal. She has also taught at the Arcadia Music school in Toronto, the JVL Music in Summer festival, and has led violin sectionals for the Mount Royal Youth orchestra of Montréal, and the McGill University school of music. A Rebanks Fellowship alumni of the Royal Conservatory,, Julia is grateful for the support of the Canada Arts Council instrument bank for the loan of the 1747 “Palmason” Janarius Gagliano. Sinfonia Toronto now in its 28th season, has toured twice in Europe, in the US, South America and China, receiving glowing reviews. It has released six CD’s, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Its extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra’s performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians. Maestro Nurhan Arman has conducted throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the US, returning regularly to many orchestras in Europe. Among the orchestras Maestro Arman has conducted are the Moscow Philharmonic, Deutsches Kammerorchester Frankfurt, Filarmonica Italiana, St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra, Orchestre Regional d’Ile de France, Hungarian Symphony, Arpeggione Kammerorchester, Milano Classica and Belgrade Philharmonic. ABOUT THE MUSIC Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) The Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major blends appealing melodies with the elaborate counterpoint for which Bach is celebrated. This concerto follows the traditional Venetian model, with each movement distinct in its rhythm and tonality. The first movement Allegro opens with a lively rhythmic theme that is bright and assertive. The solo violin engages in a spirited dialogue with the orchestra, featuring virtuosic passages and elaborate ornamentation. The Adagio sets a more introspective tone, giving the violin a lyrical and expressive melody, in contrast with the vivacity of the first movement, moving at a slower, more reflective pace. The deeply lyrical movement showcases the warm, singing tone of the violin in a tender, expressive melody. The final Allegro assai returns the concerto to a faster tempo, ending the piece with an energetic and joyful dance-like rhythm. Both playful and exuberant, it features a brisk and buoyant theme that passes back and forth between the soloist and the ensemble. Taken as a group, Bach's violin concertos are part of a larger body of work that includes the Brandenburg Concertos and several harpsichord concertos. This concerto stands out, however, for its innovative blending of Italian influence with Bach's unique style. The vigorous start with three striking E major chords in the first movement, the profound, chaconne-like Adagio and the exuberant finale with its dynamic interplay between soloist and orchestra, all bear the mark of Bach's genius. The E-major concerto is known from a copy dated after Bach's death and from his adaptation of a concerto for harpsichord, placing its creation during Bach’s service to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. Much of Bach’s instrumental music was written during this period, when he had to satisfy the prince's taste for secular music. This was a departure from Bach's earlier focus on church music. This concerto and others from the same period reflect Bach’s deep engagement with and adaptation of Vivaldi’s concerto style, combining traditional ritornello and rondo forms with unique structural features. This integration of elements shows in his manuscripts, for example fully writing out the repeat of the first movement - an unusual practice at the time. The bass-driven melody of the slow movement is also distinctive within the genre. Piano Concerto for Strings and Timpani by Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006) Canadian premiere This concerto is one of the most distinctive and intense works in 20th-century music. Written early in Ustvolskaya’s career, it already shows many traits that made her famous: stark sonorities, obsessive rhythms and a deeply spiritual atmosphere. Galina Ustvolskaya was born in Petrograd (St. Petersburg, also known as Leningrad) and studied composition at the Leningrad Conservatory as one of Dmitri Shostakovich's students.