Joint Recital by Elsa Lee & Katy Ho

Dec 16th, 2016

Program

Élégie for Viola and Piano, Op. 30 Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) (7')

Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) (12')

Allegro Maestoso

Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 2 in F major, Op. 22 York Bowen (1884-1961) (28')
Allegro assai
Grave
Allegro giocoso

Program notes
Élégie for Viola and Piano, Op. 30
Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps (17 February 1820 – 6 June 1881) was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an
important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th
century. The Elégie in F minor, Opus 30, scored for viola or cello and piano, was published in 1854. The opening piano chords
suggest a mood later familiar from Fauré, an accompaniment to a poignant singing melody, after which a viola cadenza ushers
in an A flat major passage of greater activity, followed by the return of the opening, leading to a bravura ending.

Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 – Allegro maestoso This sonata was written in 1853 when Johannes Brahms was only 20
years old. It is, however, his last piano sonata and also his largest solo piano work. It is of symphonic proportions and scope,
with free Romantic spirit but strict classical structure. Brahms enamored Beethoven’s mastery on the genre and infused the
sonata with the instantly recognizable ‘fate’ motive from Beethoven’s No. 5 ‘Fate’. The whole sonata consists of five movements
and lasts about 40 minutes to perform. The first movement – Allegro maestoso – starts in F minor and ends in F major. (The
progression of tonality in this center piece in our program also suits perfectly as a pivot as the recital unfolds from the F minor
Élégie to the Bowen Viola Sonata in F major.) This sonata form movement starts with a tumultuous first theme and a lyrical
second theme in relative major key. The “fate” motif can be heard in the transition and the development section. The
recapitulation starts directly with the second subject in the parallel key of F major and the movement concludes with an
extended coda.

Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 2 in F major, Op. 22

Edwin York Bowen (22 February 1884 – 23 November 1961) was an English composer and pianist. Bowen’s musical career
spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was
a talented conductor, organist, violist and horn player. Despite achieving considerable success during his lifetime, many of the
composer’s works remained unpublished and unperformed until after his death in 1961. Bowen’s compositional style is widely
considered as ‘Romantic’ and his works are often characterized by their rich harmonic language. He was one of the most notable
English composers of piano music of his time. Inspired by the ‘father of the modern viola’ Lionel Tertis, London-born composer
Edwin York Bowen preferred the tone of this instrument to that of the violin. Encouraged by Tertis, his two widely
contrasting Sonatas are pioneering in their use of the viola as a virtuoso solo instrument. Though roughly half the length of
the Sonatas, the exuberant Phantasy takes us on a journey through a huge variety of tempo, texture, tonality and moods.
 Biography
Katy Ho
Violist Ieong Cheng (Katy) Ho has quickly gained national and international attention, gracing concert stages around the world.
Her time in New York has included performances at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and The Juilliard School.
Katy performed in various concert halls in United States, China, Germany, Austria, France, and Denmark. She has also attended
the Heifetz International Summer Institute, Round Top Festival, Orford Music Festival, North American Viola Institute, National
Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany, The Juilliard ChamberFest, American Conservatory of
Fontainebleau Schools, Thy Chamber Music Festival, Four Seasons Music Festival, and New York String Seminar.

Katy won numerous prizes in the music competition in Asia and in 2007, Katy made her debut performance with the Macau
Orchestra. Katy served as a principal violist in The New Juilliard Ensemble, and Texas Festival Orchestra and an assistant viola
principal in The Juilliard Orchestra. She had performed with renowned musicians such as Itzhak Perlman, Lang Lang, Robert
McDonald, Trey Lee, and Timothy Eddy.

As a dedicated music educator and advocator, Katy was awarded The Juilliard Morse Teaching Artist Fellowships in 2014, which
she taught viola performance at Lilian Weber School of Art during her artist residency. She was also awarded Juilliard Summer
Grant in 2014, which she founded her own summer outreach project in her hometown – “Project MusiKid.” This project is aim
to help the children who suffer from intellectual disabilities, orphans or children from the minorities in Macao through the love
and power of art education

Katy is a multiple scholarships recipient from Juilliard, Columbia, Macao Government, and Asian Cultural Council. She received
her Bachelor and Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School. Her teachers include Mr. Misha Amory, Mr. Steven Tenenbom,
Mrs Heidi Castleman, and Miss Karen Ritscher. As an Enid W. & Lester Morse Jr. Scholar, Katy is currently studying for her
doctorate degree at Columbia University’s Teachers College in Music and Music Education degree. She holds multiple teaching
positions: she is the applied music instructor at Columbia University's Teachers College, violin and viola faculty at Opportunity
Music Project, and a strings specialist and orchestra coach at Teachers College Community School. Recently, she is honored to
be the only grantee from Macao to receive the Asian Cultural Council grant.

Yung-Yung Elsa Lee

Dr. Yung-Yung Elsa Lee has appeared in solo and chamber recitals in Hong Kong, Australia, United States, England, and Poland.
Her performance of Ginastera Piano Sonata No. 1 in Kraków, Poland was described by the critics as “…extraordinary,
expressive, powerful, and technically perfect…” -Wiadomości24.pl

Under the tutelage of Barry Snyder and Maestro Brad Lubman, Dr. Lee earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano
Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, with a minor in Instrumental Conducting. During her studies at
Eastman, she was awarded the Vaughan Scholarship and also worked as a studio accompanist and orchestral pianist of
Eastman ensembles and orchestras. She attended the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts for her undergraduate degree.
While she was pursuing the Professional Diploma at the Academy in 2007, she was awarded the prestigious Molly McAulay
Memorial Scholarship, which sponsored her with full tuition and living expenses to study at the Sydney Conservatorium of
Music in Australia. During her study at Sydney, she also served as the keyboardist of the Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra.

Aside from performing, Dr. Lee is also a passionate music educator. She was a piano faculty member of the Extension Division
at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. She is currently pursuing the Master of Education degree at the
Teachers College, Columbia University in which her areas of focus are higher education and educational technology. She is
also a graduate instructor of Applied Piano course at Teachers College.