Between passion and defiance: Tribute to Schumann and Shostakovich

Join us for an enchanting afternoon of breathtaking classical masterpieces. PROGRAM: Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Piano Quintet, Op. 44 I. Allegro brillante II. In modo d'una marcia. Un poco largamente III. Scherzo: Molto vivace IV. Allegro ma non troppo Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Piano Quintet, Op. 57 I. Prelude II. Fugue III. Scherzo IV. Intermezzo V. Finale ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Elizabeth Adams, violin Elizabeth Adams, violin, has performed throughout Europe and North America as violinist, violist, and pianist, from solo to chamber music to orchestra. She is a regular substitute player with the Baltimore Symphony, a member of the Washington Concert Opera orchestra, and plays in symphony orchestras and in period and modern chamber ensembles throughout the Baltimore-Washington region. Recent performances include Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, Ravel’s Tzigane, and Stravinsky’s l’Histoire du soldat at National Music Festival; Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at Catholic University’s International Piano Series; and chamber concerts at Redpath Hall at McGill, University of Maryland, and the Kreeger Museum. Elizabeth has appeared at the Smithsonian Institution, the embassies of Russia, Austria, and Italy, and the American Consulate in St Petersburg, as well as with orchestras at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, het Concertgebouw, Place des Arts, le Centre Bell, and Jordan Hall, among others. Elizabeth holds an MM in violin and a BA in Russian studies from Yale. She has studied violin and pedagogy extensively in both Russia and North America and holds a doctorate in violin from l’Université de Montréal. Formerly head of strings at George Mason University, Elizabeth currently teaches at Peabody Preparatory in Baltimore. In the summers she performs as a faculty artist at the National Music Festival in Chestertown, Maryland. Yonatan Grinberg, violin International violinist Dr. Yonatan Grinberg creates meaningful and moving concert experiences for audiences across the globe. His artistic integrity, passionate delivery and unabashed idealism coupled with vast musical knowledge and devotion to world class performance make Grinberg a favorite of both frequent and first-time concert goers. Committed to musical performance in different forms, Grinberg has performed as soloist, concertmaster and chamber musician in halls around the world including Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam, the Israeli Opera Hall in Tel Aviv, and the Philharmonic Hall in Zagreb. He has collaborated with artists such as Alexander Pavlovsky (Jerusalem Quartet), Violaine Melancon and Dr. David Schrader and on various projects with composers such as Aviya Kopelman, Dr. Wissam Gibran, and Jonathan Leshnoff. Dr. Grinberg’s performances have been aired on Israeli TV and Radio, as well as Slovenian Radio, and some of his notable chamber performances include a guest performance at a faculty concert in Towson University, the Jerusalem Music Center and a tour of chamber concerts in Holland as part of the Zeist Music Days festival. As a concertmaster Grinberg has performed with the Perlman Music Program, the Jerusalem Academy Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and has led no-conductor ensembles in concerts in Hebrew University and Tel Aviv with soloists such as Vadim Gluzman, Dr. Ron Regev and Dr. Asaf Zohar. For eight years Grinberg toured and performed with the Arab-Jewish Youth Orchestra both as soloist and concertmaster in Israel and Europe. The experience of seeing first hand how the music acted as a healing power in areas of harsh conflict, between both musicians and audiences, has affected him deeply as a musician and as human being, devoting himself to using music to mend hearts and make the world a better place. Since 2015 Grinberg has been the founder and musical director of the Chamber Encounters concert series in the Gordon Center for Performing Arts in the Greater Baltimore area, which has been hailed in its first year by Baltimore Style Magazine as Baltimore’s 3rd most exciting musicians crossing all genres. These concerts are artfully constructed by diverse programming, round theater seating and interaction between the performers and the audience to create a lively and dynamic experience for different audiences. Dr. Grinberg’s devotion to using music to improve lives goes far beyond the concert hall. As a teacher, Yonatan has taught in El- Sistema and other community engagement programs in Chicago and Baltimore, and directed a summer orchestra program for the People’s Music School in Chicago, which served over a hundred inner city children. In 2014 he started a new string program “The Baltimore Bows” which has been an immediate success, and has been featured on a number of local and national media including NPR and the Baltimore Jewish Times. Yonatan has worked as an assistant violin teacher in the studio of Violaine Melancon at the Peabody Conservatory. Alongside his classical career Dr. Grinberg performs regularly with some of the biggest names in the world of Jewish music, including Abie Rotenberg, Yonatan Razel, and Yosef Karduner. Grinberg is currently touring with a unique program of his original arrangements, bringing together the musical worlds of virtuoso violin playing with the heartfelt melodies of the Synagogue. Yonatan is the recipient of several awards, including accolades from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, The Lurie Foundation, and Johns Hopkins University, has been signed on a record contract with the KNS Classical label.. He earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University with Violaine Melancon, Master of Music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts with Vadim Gluzman, and a Bachelor of Music from the Jerusalem Academy of Music with Matvei Lieberman. Yonatan has participated in festivals such as Keshet Eilon and the Perlman Music Program, and in masterclasses with Ivry Gitlis, Shmuel Askenasi, Shlomo Mintz and other prominent musicians. Yonatan enjoys spending time with his wife Hadassah and his four sweet children Shalomy, Yehuda, Simcha, and Noam. Renate Falkner, viola Praised for her versatility and creativity, American violist Renate Falkner leads an active career as an educator, recitalist, and orchestral and chamber musician,performing across the U.S. and abroad. Equally at home on both modern and baroque viola, she performs regularly with groups such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (at home and on international tours), Cincinnati Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Artis-Naples, and is a former member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. As a baroque violist, she has performed with Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik, the Yale Collegium Players, Baltimore’s Pro Musica Rara and Quartetto Antico. A frequent chamber music collaborator, Renate is Artistic Director of the Charm City Chamber Players and the violist of the international Embassy String Quartet. She collaborates regularly with colleagues from the Peabody Institute, the BSO, and in Washington D.C. She has been heard in venues as diverse as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale's Beinecke Rare Book Library, and in orchestras at Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, and London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Proms. Summer appearances have included the Verbier Festival, Switzerland, the Spoleto Festival, Italy, the Bellingham Festival of Music, WA, on international tours with the BSO, and faculty appointments at the Carvalho Festival of Music, Brazil, the Orfeo Music Festival, Italy, and the National Music Festival in Maryland. She has recorded for the Chandos, Nimbus, and Rezound music labels.