Jean Sibelius Finlands greatest composer. Jean Sibelius was born in 1865 in a small town in Finland. An absent-minded young boy who daydreamed a lot, he loved to read and devoured all kinds of books. It wasnt until he took up piano and later violin that his natural talent began to show. He started playing music with his siblings, studying harmony and theory on his own. He became addicted to composing music, so much that it affected his performance at school. He went to Helsinki to study law (on the surface), but ended up becoming the citys brightest young violinist and composer. Finland entrusted him with a grant to study music in Berlin. Sibelius didnt like Berlin, and went to Vienna the next year where he was satisfied and learned a lot from the best musicians and teachers of the day. He ended up back in Helsinki teaching violin and music theory. He continued composing, having small successes here and there, an even scoring a 10-year grant which eased his economic situation. But his big international breakthrough came in 1900, where a tour of his work through 13 cities awakened Europe to this astonishing new composer. His First Symphony was hailed as remarkable. Over the next few years his fame and esteem grew. He was composing popular pieces which critics also saw as masterful and innovative. As the years went by Sibelius became astronomically famous and exalted. In the 1920s he was hailed as a national hero of Finland. He was an international superstar conductor, one of the grandest maestros of age. Jean Sibeliuss music has a unique, modern sound. At its core is the influence of Finnish folk melodies and rhythms, as well as the composers complete mastery of orchestral colors and shades. Sibelius loved the countryside. he found immense pleasure in walking in nature, and was frequently inspired to write music from his experiences and observations in the outdoors. He was also heavily inspired by Nordic folk legends, basing a fair amount of his tone poems on old stories and literature. His style of composing changed as he got older. At first, he was heavily influenced by Richard Wagner. Later on he developed his own style. One of his trademarks was playing a melody very slowly, transforming it over the course of an entire work. The Sibelius Violin Concerto The Sibelius Violin Concerto is the composers only concerto. Usually when composers write concertos, they write them for themselves to play and premiere. Sibelius wrote his concerto for his ideal self. It was his first wish, a burning ambition since youth, to be a great violin virtuoso. But a number of unlucky factors stopped him reaching this goal. He started lessons relatively late (at 14) and also didnt get very teachers because he lived in a rural area. Poor old Sibelius also just didnt have quite the right amount of natural coordination to master the highest levels of violin technique. Reference: Favorite Classical Composers favorite-classical-composers/jean-sibelius.h… Nancy Zhou Born in 1993, is attending Keystone School of San Antonio, Texas. Influenced in music by her father and teacher, Long Zhou, Nancy has been studying the violin since age 4. She gave her first recital when she was 5. Nancy has in various competitions. She began participating in 2003 and won the Pearl Amster Concerto Competition twice in 2003 and 2004, and was awarded a Director’s Prize at the Kingsville International Competition at age 10. In 2006, as the youngest contestant, Nancy launched her first involvement in an international competition at the 13th Wieniawski International Competition for violinists aged 30 and under, ranking in the top 24 from a pool of 108 applicants. In the spring of 2008, she traveled to Washington, DC, and received first prize at the 5th Johansen International Competition for violin, and in conjunction, received a reward for the best performance of a commissioned work. She also received first prize at the 2nd Chinese International Violin Competition in New York in August 2009. In the winter of 2010, she was a laureate of the 10th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition and won the special prize for the best performance of Kaija Saariaho’s Tocar for violin and piano. She was an active member of the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, and won the YOSA Concerto Competition (2004), performing with the Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist. As a recipient of German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Circle of Friends Foundation since 2008, Nancy has collaborated with Ms. Mutter on tours in areas around Europe. Additionally, Ms. Mutter has generously sponsored Nancy in her musical progress by a monthly scholarship. Other highlights of her concert schedule included solo recitals at the Southwestern University (November 2009), in Washington, DC (October 2009), in Baden-Baden, Germany (July 2010), and at the Coker Methodist Church (March 2010). Concert repertoire works also include Lalo Espagnole with the Mid- Texas Symphony (October 2009), Sibelius Violin Concerto in a professional debut with the San Antonio Symphony (January 2010), Paganini Violin Concerto with the Symphony of the Hills (April 2010), Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Prince George’s Philharmonic (October 2010), and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic in Germany (July 2010). Aside from music, Nancy was also presented with the Princeton Book Prize (April 2010), a prize awarded to the top 0.6% San Antonio high school juniors outstanding in academics and extracurricular endeavours and chosen by alumni from Princeton University. Reference: Fazer Artist management INC. fazerartists.fi/arti…/soloists/violin/zhou-nancy/
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 03:27:12 +0000
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