Chien-Kim-Watkins Trio: Beethoven's Complete Piano Trios "Dawn of a New Age"
$40-$72.50 ($20 ages 18-29, $10 ages 17 & under)
- Gloria Chien, piano
- Soovin Kim, violin
- Paul Watkins, cello
Ludwig van Beethoven — Piano Trio No. 5 in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 "Ghost"
Ludwig van Beethoven — Piano Trio No. 6 in E-flat major, Op. 70, No. 2
This first concert in our Mini Festival highlights what a dramatic departure Beethoven's interpretation of the piano trio was from any of his predecessors. His first, full-fledged piano trio (Op. 1, No. 1) was composed in 1795, when the Viennese master Franz Joseph Haydn was still alive. While strongly influenced by Haydn's own trios, we begin to hear some of the younger composer's unique aesthetic. We'll contrast this with two of Beethoven's later trios (Op. 70) from 1808-09 that are Beethoven's fully mature and distinctive voice, including his hauntingly beautiful "Ghost" Trio.
About the Mini Festival: Combine three of today's most luminary chamber musicians with ALL NINE of Beethoven's masterful Piano Trios, and there are sure to be fireworks! CMNW's Artistic Directors, pianist Gloria Chien and violinist Soovin Kim, have joined forces with cellist Paul Watkins of the Emerson Quartet to create a new powerhouse: the Chien-Kim-Watkins Trio. Together, these three thrilling musicians will take us on a week-long musical journey exploring the genius and virtuosity of some of Beethoven's greatest chamber works.
About Chien-Kim-Watkins Trio
The Chien-Kim-Watkins Trio comprises three of classical music's most highly esteemed artists performing today: pianist Gloria Chien, violinist Soovin Kim, and cellist Paul Watkins. The trio has been performing together since 2019 and presented Beethoven's groundbreaking Piano Trio cycle at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in 2022.
About Chamber Music Northwest (CMNW)
Chamber Music Northwest serves more than 50,000 people annually in Oregon and SW Washington with exceptional chamber music through over 100 events annually, including our flagship Summer Festival, year-round concerts, community activities, educational programs, broadcasts, and innovative collaborations with other arts groups. CMNW is the only chamber music festival of its kind in the Northwest and one of the most diverse classical music experiences in the nation, virtually unparalleled in comparable communities.
Chamber Music Northwest's mission is to inspire our community through concerts and events celebrating the richness and diversity of chamber music, performed by artists of the highest caliber, presenting our community with exceptional opportunities for enjoyment, education, and reflection.
https://cmnw.org/About Gloria Chien, piano
About Soovin Kim, violin
Soovin Kim enjoys a broad musical career regularly performing Bach sonatas and Paganini caprices for solo violin, sonatas for violin and piano ranging from Beethoven to Ives, Mozart and Haydn concertos and symphonies as a conductor, and new world-premiere works almost every season. When he was 20 years old, Kim received first prize at the Paganini International Violin Competition. He immersed himself in the string quartet literature for 20 years as the first violinist of the Johannes Quartet. Among his many commercial recordings are his “thrillingly triumphant” (Classic FM Magazine) disc of Paganini's demanding 24 Caprices, and a two-disc set of Bach's complete solo violin works that were released in 2022.
Kim is the founder and artistic director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival (LCCMF) in Burlington, Vermont. In addition to its explorative programming and extensive work with living composers, LCCMF created the ONE Strings program through which all third- through fifth-grade students of the Integrated Arts Academy in Burlington study violin. The University of Vermont recognized Soovin Kim's work by bestowing an Honorary Doctorate upon him in 2015. In 2020, he and his wife, pianist Gloria Chien, became Artistic Directors of Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon. He, with Chien, were awarded Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 2021 CMS Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music. Kim devotes much of his time to his passion for teaching at the New England Conservatory in Boston, and the Yale School of Music in New Haven.
https://cmnw.org/artists/artists/soovin-kim/28/