Nathan Meltzer & Yannick Rafalimanana: Ravel & Composers Affected by World War I

CHANGE OF PROGRAM:
Please note that Joshua Halpern will unfortunately not be able to participate in the Emil Trio's performance this evening.
The trio's other two members are delighted to substitute a duo recital on the related theme of composers affected by World War I.

7 PM Doors & Pre-Reception
8 PM Recital
10 PM Post-Reception

Nathan Meltzer & Yannick Rafalimanana: Ravel & Composers Affected by World War I

Gotham Arts in collaboration with Groupmuse is delighted to present an intimate private recital by members of the Emil Trio, featuring violinist Nathan Meltzer and pianist Yannick Rafalimanana, of works by Ravel and other composers affected by World War I.

An array of wine and snacks will be served.

Program:

BACH (1685–1750): Sonata for violin and piano in c minor, BWV 1017
DEBUSSY (1862–1918): Violin Sonata
RAVEL (1875–1937): Tzigane
Pause
WILLIAM BAINES (1899–1922) Preludes for Solo Piano
SZYMANOWSKI (1882–1937): La fontaine d'Arethuse
ENESCU (1881–1955): Impressions d’enfance
SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921), arr. YSAŸE (1858-1931): Caprice-Valse

About the Musicians:

Watch the Emil Trio perform Brahms' Piano Trio in c minor, Op. 101

Emil Trio

The Emil Trio is comprised of Nathan Meltzer, Yannick Rafalimanana, and Joshua Halpern, and formed after the three met at the Krzyzowa-Musik Festival in Poland in 2021. An immediate connection was formed at a sight-reading one late night after a barbecue, as they played through one trio after another by composers they had never heard of. There was a natural enthusiasm, whimsy, and humor among them -- but underneath it all, a fierce love for and commitment to music-making.

Their first tour was in Germany during the spring of 2022, but it was marred by a positive Covid test from Josh after their first concert, deferring their plans indefinitely. In October, they returned to where they left off––a beautiful Schloss in northern Germany owned by a wonderful woman named Barbara and her faithful dog, Emil. To honor the beautiful place where they finally reconvened, they named themselves after Emil the dog, who laid at their feet and groaned appreciatively throughout their concert.

The Emil Trio strives to select repertoire by under-appreciated composers (as well as under-appreciated pieces by well-known composers) and construct programs that tell compelling stories. They view each concert as a unique opportunity to forge connections with the audience––and that includes the drinks and conversation that follow the concert late into the night.

Nathan Meltzer

Winner of the Second Prize at the 2022 Sibelius Competition, recipient of the Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and youngest ever to win the Windsor Festival Competition, Nathan Meltzer has appeared as soloist with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Finnish RSO, and the Aalborg, Berlin, Charlotte, Concepción, Evansville, Helsinki, Indianapolis, Medellín, and Pittsburgh orchestras, among others. He has performed in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the UK, and across the US.

As a recitalist and chamber musician, Nathan has performed at ChamberFest Cleveland, Giardini La Mortella, the Heidelberger Frühling, the Krzyżowa Festival, the Moritzburg Festival, the Musical de l’Orne, the Perlman Chamber Workshop, and the Verbier Festival Academy. This season he returns to Moritzburg and appears at the Ravinia Festival.

Nathan recently released his debut CD with Rohan De Silva and is the co-founder Opus Illuminate, a concert series dedicated to the works of composers from underrepresented communities. A Juilliard graduate and student of Li Lin and Itzhak Perlman, Nathan was the inaugural recipient of the 1734 “Ames, Totenberg” Antonio Stradivari violin from Rare Violins In Consortium.

Joshua Halpern

Joshua Halpern has appeared on stages around the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal cellist. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists including Jonathan Biss, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Roberto Díaz, Viviane Hagner, Gary Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Anthony McGill, Olli Mustonen, and Itzhak Perlman, and appeared at music festivals including the Ravinia Steans Institute, Music@Menlo, the Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Taos School of Music, La Jolla Summerfest, Musikiwest, and Krzyzowa-Music, with whom he has also toured extensively. An eager advocate of contemporary music, he has worked personally with composers such as Richard Danielpour, Scott Ordway, Kevin Puts, Dai Wei, Nick DiBerardino, and Kaija Saariaho. During the 2019 season he served as guest principal cello of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, including on tours to Germany, Taiwan, and China, and in 2020 served as cellist with the Banff Competition-winning Rolston Quartet. In 2023, he appears numerous times as guest principal cello with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, as well as guest with the Varian Fry Quartet.

Josh completed his Artist Diploma at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where he performed throughout the United States, Europe and Latin America with Curtis On Tour, and served as principal cello of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra during the 2016/17 season. At Curtis he studied with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley. As an undergraduate at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, he studied with Desmond Hoebig and won the school's concerto competition. He is currently a member of the Karajan Akademie of the Berliner Philharmoniker, in which he plays as a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker and is mentored by Ludwig Quandt.

In 2018, Josh curated a solo tour across Colorado to bring classical music to unexpected places, including the state penitentiary, small-town saloons, bicycle shops, and more. Since then, he has continued bringing music to unique spaces, fostering connection and conversation with all types of people along the way. In 2021, he founded the Cultural Caravan, a Colorado- based organization operating at the intersection of small businesses, social-service nonprofits, and local artists. The Cultural Caravan has since presented over 50 artists with backgrounds ranging from Zimbabwean Afropop to Venezuelan jazz to Classical Music in dozens of concerts in coordination with over 40 local businesses and community organizations, reinvesting over $100,000 into the community to date.

As a teacher, Josh has presented master classes throughout the United States and South America and has taught at Curtis Summerfest, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and on faculty at the Brooklyn School of Music. He lives in Berlin.

Yannick Rafalimanana

French pianist Yannick Rafalimanana has developed an international concert career as a recitalist and chamber musician. Recent performances have taken him to halls all over the world, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Chamber Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and the Jerusalem Music Center. He has made chamber music with countless artists, including the Borromeo String Quartet, Kim Kashkashian, Thomas Riebl, Andreas Reiner, Arnold Steinhardt, and Itzhak Perlman.

As a soloist, he has appeared with the Orchestre CNR de Lille, Orchestre Impromptu, the Ensemble Parisien, and the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra. He has worked under the batons of Péter Eötvös, Jean Deroyer, Thomoty Brock, Zolt Nagy, and John Heiss. Yannick regularly appears at a wide variety of summer festivals, including the Perlman Music Program, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Brussels Chamber Music Festival, and Krzyzowa-Musik Festival.

Yannick is the winner of numerous awards and prizes, including the Borromeo Quartet Guest Artist Award, the Bruxelles J-Musiciens Competition, the Brest Piano Competition, and the International Ravel Academy's Rotary-Lions Competition. As the first prize winner of the 2012 Tufts/New England Conservatory Soloist Competition, he made his U.S. concerto debut in Symphony Hall in Boston, playing the Schumann Concerto with the Boston Pops Orchestra and Keith Lockhart.

Born in Lille, he began his musical studies at the Conservatory of Lille under the tutelage of Alain Raes. He later graduated from the Paris Conservatoire with first prizes in piano performance, chamber music, and collaborative piano performance. His teachers there included Bruno Rigutto, Michael Levinas, and Jean-Claude Pennetier. His chamber music and collaborative piano coaches included Francois Salque, Michel Moraguais, David Walter and Jean Koerner. Yannick then moved to Boston, where he obtained a graduate diploma from the New England Conservatory in piano performance and a master of music in chamber music as a student of Vivian Weilerstein. He lives in Berlin.

What's the music?

Yannick Rafalimanana

Nathan Meltzer Violin

Attendees

Christos V.

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Adrian S.

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Mosa T.

Maria S.

Francesco C. Groupmuse Superhost

Jeffrey A.

Howard S.

Sankar N.

Alan E.

Deborah L.

Clementine G.

Orvill T.

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Kelly T.

David G.

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Kurt H.

Eda S.

Jonathan T.

RaNae M.

Stephanie Y.

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Stephanie Y.

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Marina S.

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Elaine B.

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