Violinist Jennifer Koh to Give World Premiere of "String Poetic" Written Expressly for Her by Philadelphia Composer Jennifer Higdon and Co-Commissioned by Kimmel Center Presents
September 25, 2006
Violinist Jennifer Koh
Post-concert Artist Chat to Follow in Perelman Theater with Jennifer Koh and Jennifer Higdon
Violinist Jennifer Koh will perform a recital with pianist Reiko Uchida on Saturday, October 21, 2006 at 7:30pm in Perelman Theater, kicking-off the Kimmel Center's Fresh Ink Series. Ms. Koh continues to dazzle audiences with her ability to fuse intensity of temperament with a classical poise and elegance. In the words of The New York Times she is a "fearless soloist," who has a formidable capacity for "living through" the music she performs on stage. In addition to the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s "String Poetic," which was commissioned by the Kimmel Center and four other presenters around the country, Ms. Koh has put together a fascinating program of 20th and 21st century music, including Lou Harrison’s Grand Duo for Violin and Piano, John Adams' Road Movies; selections from György Kurtág's "Signs Games and Messages," and Francis Poulenc’s sonata for violin "ŕ la memoire de Federico Garcia Lorca."
This performance is the first of the Fresh Ink Series. The next concert in this series will be eighth blackbird performing their new program, "strange imaginary animals" on February 17, 2007 at 7:30pm.
Tickets for Jennifer Koh with Reiko Uchida are $36 and $26 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply). For group sales call 215-893-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
A virtuoso of unusual versatility, Jennifer Koh has demonstrated an artistry well beyond her years in music ranging from Bach, Mozart, and Schubert to Elliott Carter, Charles Wuorinen, Ornette Coleman, and John Zorn. Ms. Koh's most recent recording "Violin Fantasies," for the Cedille label, has been praised for its sense of adventure and brilliant musicianship. Timothy Mangan of the Orange County Register said of a recent performance by Ms. Koh of the Harrision work, "It was a delight to watch and hear Koh dig in, breaking bow hairs all over the place, though she also used her head and built the lines with sculptural precision."
Since the 1994-95 season, when she won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Concert Artists Guild Competition, and the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Ms. Koh has been heard with leading orchestras and conductors around the world, including the Chicago Symphony (under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach), the Cincinnati Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Kyushu Orchestra of Japan, the Dortmund Philharmonic of Germany, Houston Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Helsinki Symphony, the Polish Chamber Orchestra, and the Moscow Radio Symphony, among others. In December 1999, Ms. Koh made her Carnegie Hall debut performing Mozart’s Concerto in A Major (the “Turkish”) with the New York String Orchestra under Jaime Laredo, a performance during which "Ms. Koh drew a lustrous tone from her fine Stradivari, yet kept her sound clear and focused," according to Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times.
The 2006/07 season finds Ms. Koh in increasingly high demand as a guest soloist with important American orchestras and in recital at several of the country's most prestigious venues. She will be heard as soloist with the Oregon Symphony, Marin California Symphony, Spokane Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Whatcom (WA) Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Orchestra 2001, Greenwich Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, and Annapolis Symphony. Her recital engagements include performances in San Francisco at the Herbst Theater, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in New York at the 92nd Street Y and Columbia University's Miller Theater.
Born in Chicago of Korean parents, Jennifer Koh received a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from Oberlin College and a Performance Diploma in Music from the Oberlin Conservatory. She has worked extensively with Jaime Laredo at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and counts Felix Galimir, also of the Curtis Institute, as an important mentor. Ms. Koh plays on the 1727 Ex Grumiaux Ex General DuPont Stradivari.
Kimmel Center Presents also offers more than fifty Free at the Kimmel community performances during the 2006/07 5th Anniversary season. These include Free in the Plaza with local artists performing classical, jazz, pop, country, world, dance and family fun on the Commonwealth Plaza stage, as well as Artist Chats with Kimmel Center Presents performers, education events and Organ Postludes in Verizon Hall. An Artist chat with Jennifer Koh and composer Jennifer Higdon will follow the performance on Saturday, October 21 in Perelman Theater. On Tuesday, October 17 and Wednesday, October 18 at 6pm, the Haddonfield Symphony Chamber Ensemble will precede the NHK Symphony Orchestra ticketed performance with conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. A free organ postlude by Peter Richard Conte will follow NHK's performance. Please check online for additional information and a performance schedule.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2006/2007 season is supported by: Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, ARC Wheeler, and The William Penn Foundation. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents. The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com are media sponsors for the Great Orchestras on Tour series. WRTI is a media sponsor for the Fresh Ink Series. Fresh Ink's 2006/07 season is made possible by a grant from the Philadelphia Music Project, an Artistic Initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by the University of the Arts.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Fresh Ink
Saturday, October 21, 2006 | 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
Jennifer Koh, violin
Reiko Uchida, piano
JOHN ADAMS: Road Movies
GYÖRGY KURTÁG: Selections from "Signs Games and Messages"
LOU HARRISON: Grand Duo for Violin and Piano
FRANCIS POULENC: Sonata for Violin and Piano "ŕ la memoire de Federico Garcia Lorca"
JENNIFER HIGDON: String Poetic (World Premiere)
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FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENTS
Saturday, October 21
Post-show | Perelman Theater | Artist Chat
Jennifer Koh
Join us for an intimate post-concert chat with violinist Jennifer Koh and composer
Jennifer Higdon from the stage.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 | 6pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Haddonfield Symphony Chamber Ensemble
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 | 6pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Haddonfield Symphony Chamber Ensemble
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 | Post-show
Verizon Hall
Organ Postlude following the NHK Orchestra concert
Peter Richard Conte, organist
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