January 14, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VIOLINIST CHEE-YUN WILL SUB FOR ARABELLA STEINBACHER
WITH THE OREGON SYMPHONY JAN. 23-25
(PORTLAND, Ore.) – Korean-born violinist Chee-Yun will make her first Oregon Symphony appearance in a decade Jan. 23-25, performing Antonin Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in place of the previously announced soloist, Arabella Steinbacher, who has withdrawn because of illness. Complete concert details and a biography of violinist Chee-Yun follow:
SATURDAY-MONDAY, JAN. 23-25:
KOREAN VIOLINIST CHEE-YUN PERFORMS DVOŘÁK’S VIOLIN CONCERTO
- When and Where: Three performances, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 23 and 24, and 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25; Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
- The Performers: The Oregon Symphony, with Music Director Carlos Kalmar on the podium, joined by violin soloist Chee-Yun.
- The Program:
- Bohuslav Martinů: Thunderbolt P-47
- Antonin Dvořák: Violin Concerto
- Ottorino Respighi: La boutique fantasque, ballet after Rossini
- Tickets: $15 to $100; at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office, 923 SW Washington St., in downtown Portland. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343 during the same hours, at the concert hall box office starting two hours before the performance, or online at any time from the orchestra’s web site, OrSymphony.org.
- What’s So Special About These Concerts:
- Two Oregon Symphony premieres are featured: Bohemian composer Bohuslav Martinů’s jazz-infused World War II-era Thunderbolt P-47 was written in homage to the American fighter pilots who flew dangerous missions over Europe. Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s delightful ballet score La boutique fantasque (The Strange Shop) was composed, coincidentally, in the midst of Europe’s other calamitous 20th-century conflict, in 1918.
- Between them, Korean-born violinist Chee-Yun performs the Dvořák Violin Concerto. Chee-Yun has collaborated with the Oregon Symphony once before, performing the Saint-Saëns Third Violin Concerto in February 2000. (At these concerts, she performs in place of the previously announced soloist, Arabella Steinbacher, who has withdrawn because of illness.)
BIOGRAPHY: CHEE-YUN
Violinist Chee-Yun performs regularly with many of the world's major orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Toronto, Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh and National symphonies, among others. At these concerts she returns to the Oregon Symphony for the first time since February 2000.
Chee-Yun's first public performance at age 8 took place in her native Seoul after she won the Grand Prize of the Korean Times Competition. At 13, she came to the United States and was invited to perform in a Young People's Concert with the New York Philharmonic. Two years later, she appeared as soloist with the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Chee-Yun has received rave reviews as a recording artist since the release of her debut album of virtuoso encore pieces in 1993. Her recent recording of the Penderecki Violin Concerto No. 2 on Naxos was acclaimed as "a performance of staggering virtuosity and musicality" by the American Record Guide. In 2008, Decca/Korea released Serenata Notturno, an album of light classics that went platinum within six months of its release.
Chee-Yun has been heard frequently on the nationally syndicated radio program Performance Today. She has also been featured on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion and elsewhere. She has appeared on PBS as a special guest on Victor Borge's Then and Now 3, in a live broadcast at Spivey Hall in Atlanta concurrent with the 1996 Olympic Games, and on ESPN performing the theme for the X Games. Last fall Chee-Yun appeared in an episode of HBO's hit series Curb Your Enthusiasm.
In addition to her active performance and recording schedule, Chee-Yun is a dedicated educator and has held several teaching posts at notable music schools, including the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Indiana University. In August 2007, she was appointed artist-in-residence and professor of violin at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Chee-Yun plays the Stradivarius "Ex-Strauss" violin (Cremona, 1708), which is on loan to her from Samsung. More information online: chee-yun.net
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CONTACT:
Carl Herko
Vice President, Media & Public Relations
(503) 416-6347
cherko@orsymphony.org