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jan 17-19
Beethoven x3
Venue: Overture Hall
Friday, Jan., 17, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan., 18, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan., 19, 2025
2:30 p.m.
Great things come in threes, and this performance is no exception, showcasing three of Beethoven’s masterworks, all composed within about three years of each other. We begin with the dramatic Leonore Overture No. 3. Next, we bring an exquisite trio of soloists together: violinist Gil Shaham, his sister, pianist Orli Shaham, and exceptional cellist Sterling Elliott. Together, they play Beethoven’s all-too-infrequently-performed “Triple Concerto.” Beethoven’s miraculous Symphony No. 2, an early but groundbreaking work written at the dawning of his realization that he was going deaf, takes this concert to an emotional close.
John DeMain, Conductor
Gil Shaham, Violin
Orli Shaham, Piano
Sterling Elliott, Cello
music
Ludwig van Beethoven, Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (Triple Concerto)
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
Enhance Your Concert Experience
Prelude Discussion
Enjoy a 30-minute talk with Randal Swiggum starting one hour before each concert in Overture Hall. Free to ticketholders.
Take Note: Drinks Allowed in Overture Hall
As of this season, drinks are allowed inside Overture Hall during all Madison Symphony Orchestra concerts. Refreshments may be purchased at bars and concession stands located around the Overture Hall lobby before each concert and during intermission. Please enjoy food in the lobby and unwrap any candy or cough drops before the performance begins. Thank you!
[Gil] Shaham offered an exquisite interpretation. I was captivated. It was one of the most engaging and memorable moments of my decades-long in-person classical music concerts! – MSO Patron
Elliott produced a singing tone and vibrant expressive projection from his first notes. – New York Classical Review
[Orli Shaham] sounds fresh and fully engaged every time. – EarRelevant
Beethoven’s Triple Concerto is an exhilarating tour de force for three titans of their instruments. – John DeMain
Meet the Artists
Guest Artists Sponsor
David and Kato Perlman
Presenting Sponsor
Myrna Larson
Major Sponsors
Scott and Janet Cabot
Cyrena and Lee Pondrom
Additional Sponsors
Audrey Dybdahl, in memory of Philip Dybdahl
Sharon Stark, in loving memory of Peter Livingston
with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts
Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time; his flawless technique combined with his inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit has solidified his renown as an American master. The Grammy Award-winner, also named Musical America’s “Instrumentalist of the Year,” is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors, and regularly gives recitals and appears with ensembles on the world’s great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.
Highlights of recent years include the acclaimed recording and performances of J.S. Bach’s complete sonatas and partitas for solo violin. In the coming seasons in addition to championing these solo works he will join his long time duo partner pianist, Akira Eguchi in recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
Appearances with orchestra regularly include the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, and San Francisco Symphony as well as multi-year residencies with the Orchestras of Montreal, Stuttgart and Singapore. With orchestra, Mr. Shaham continues his exploration of “Violin Concertos of the 1930s,” including the works of Barber, Bartok, Berg, Korngold, Prokofiev, among many others.
Mr. Shaham has more than two dozen concerto and solo CDs to his name, earning multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. Many of these recordings appear on Canary Classics, the label he founded in 2004. His CDs include 1930s Violin Concertos, Virtuoso Violin Works, Elgar’s Violin Concerto, Hebrew Melodies, The Butterfly Lovers and many more. His most recent recording in the series 1930s Violin Concertos Vol. 2, including Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto and Bartok’s Violin Concerto No. 2, was nominated for a Grammy Award. He will release a new recording of Beethoven and Brahms Concertos with The Knights in 2020.
Mr. Shaham was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1971. He moved with his parents to Israel, where he began violin studies with Samuel Bernstein of the Rubin Academy of Music at the age of 7, receiving annual scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981, he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic, and the following year, took the first prize in Israel’s Claremont Competition. He then became a scholarship student at Juilliard, and also studied at Columbia University.
Gil Shaham was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, and in 2008 he received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. In 2012, he was named “Instrumentalist of the Year” by Musical America. He plays the 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius and performs on an Antonio Stradivari violin, Cremona c1719, with the assistance of Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative. He lives in New York City with his wife, violinist Adele Anthony, and their three children.
A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, the pianist Orli Shaham is hailed by critics on four continents. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist,” The Chicago Tribune referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean,” and London’s Guardian said Ms. Shaham’s playing at the Proms was “perfection.”
Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series Café Ludwig in California since 2007, and Artistic Director of the interactive children’s concert series, Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard, which she founded in 2010.
Highlights of Ms. Shaham’s 2023-2024 concert season include performances with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, two chamber performances with musicians from Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA where she is artist-in-residence, and a German tour with Brandenburg State Orchestra. Orli Shaham releases the final two volumes of the complete piano sonatas by Mozart. Volumes 1-4 of the sonata cycle, and a recording of Mozart’s Piano Concertos received high critical acclaim. She taught a master class on the digital platform Tonebase centered around the Mozart sonatas, and a live online discussion and demonstration about Clara Schumann.
Orli Shaham is a Co-Host and Creative for the national radio program From the Top. She is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is chair of the board of trustees at Kaufman Music Center in New York.
Orli Shaham has been a Steinway Artist since 2003.
Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Already in his young career, he has appeared with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, with noted conductors Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffrey Kahane, Mei Ann Chen and others.
This season, Elliott debuts with the Minnesota Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Pacific Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and New Jersey Symphony. He also performs the world premiere of a new orchestral version of John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria, commissioned for him by a consortium of orchestras including the Orlando Philharmonic and music director Eric Jacobsen. He makes his UK recital debut at Wigmore Hall in February.
The 2022-2023 season saw his debuts at the Aspen Music Festival, performing the Brahms Double Concerto with Gil Shaham, as well as with the Colorado Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, North Carolina Symphony and Ft. Worth Symphony, among others. He appeared in recital under the auspices of the San Francisco Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, Shriver Hall in Baltimore, the Tippett Rise Festival and Capitol Region Classical in Albany, NY.
Fast becoming a favorite on the summer festival circuit, Sterling has appeared at Music@Menlo, Chamberfest in Cleveland and Chamberfest Northwest in Calgary, Music at Angel Fire and the La Jolla Music Society. In Summer 2023, he made his orchestral debut with the San Francisco Symphony; performed chamber music with Nicola Benedetti, Stefan Jackiw and others at the Edinburgh Festival; and made a return appearance at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Sterling Elliott participates in several programs alongside exceptionally talented young artists. In April 2023, he was selected by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for its Bowers Program, a three-year residency. As a Bowers Program artist, he will perform in CMS tours nationally, and play subscription concerts at Alice Tully Hall. In June 2023, the London-based Young Classical Artists Trust named him their YCAT–Music Masters Robey Artist, a two-year program during which YCAT will provide UK booking and management and Sterling will fulfill an ambassadorial role, leading workshops and engaging with young learners in schools across London to inspire and enhance their musical education. In Spring 2022, Sterling participated in Performance Today’s Young Artist Residency, which featured educational events, interviews and a feature on the nationally syndicated radio program.
Sterling has a long history with the Sphinx Organization where he won the 2014 Junior Division Competition, becoming the first alumnus from the Sphinx Performance Academy to win the Sphinx Competition. The following year he went on to tour with the Sphinx Virtuosi before being awarded the Organization’s Isaac Stern Award in 2016. This season, Sterling will receive a Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, awarded to artists who, early in their career, demonstrate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination, and an ongoing commitment to leadership and their communities.
Born into a musical household, Sterling initially wanted to play the violin like his older brother and sister. After a bit of encouragement, he completed The Elliott Family String Quartet, an ensemble that enjoyed personalized arrangements of genres such as bluegrass, gospel, and funk music.
Sterling is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim, following completion of his Master of Music and undergraduate degrees at Juilliard. He is an ambassador of the Young Strings of America, a string sponsorship operated by Shar Music. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.