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Beethoven’s Magnificent Late Sonata Opus 106 (the “Hammerklavier”)
One of Beethoven’s most innovative, challenging, and deeply moving works, performed by Aleck Karis.

Aleck Karis has performed recitals, chamber music, and concertos across the Americas, Europe, Japan, and China.  As the pianist of the new music ensemble Speculum Musicae he has participated in over a hundred premieres and performed at major American and European festivals.  His appearances with orchestra have ranged from concertos by Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin to those of Stravinsky, Messiaen and Carter.  His seven solo discs on Bridge Records are: Chopin/Carter/Schumann, Mozart, Stravinsky, Cage, Feldman/Webern/Wolpe, Poulenc, and most recently, Debussy.  His two discs on Roméo Records are Music of Philip Glass and Late Chopin.  A Distinguished Professor of music at the UCSD, he has studied at the Manhattan School and Juilliard, and his teachers include William Daghlian, Artur Balsam and Beveridge Webster.

Jeff will be performing solo concerts where he’ll mix both instrumental and vocal music, playing original compositions, along with pieces by some of his favorite composers from jazz and popular music (such as Irving Berlin, The Beatles, Peter Gabriel and more) and spontaneous improvisations inspired by the beautiful surroundings at Rancho La Puerta.

Jeff Denson has balanced a full career as both an acclaimed performing musician and a highly respected educator. Jeff has toured more than fifty times in Europe, performing in nearly every country in Western Europe, several in Eastern Europe, Canada and much of the US as a leader and/or sideman. He has recorded 16 albums as leader/co-leader and over a dozen more as a featured sideman – four with Konitz. Over the past 20 years, Jeff has shared the bandstand with an impressive and diverse array of remarkable musicians including Brian Blade, Romain Pilon, Edward Simon, Gerald Cleaver, Joshua Redman, Mimi Fox, Anthony Davis, Jane Ira Bloom, Cuong Vu, Joe Lovano, Walter Smith III, Lionel Loueke, Warren Wolf, Bob Moses, Charles McPherson, Ralph Alessi, Dayna Stephens, Vadim Neselovskyi, Florian Weber, Dan Weiss, Mike Clark, Mimi Fox, Paul Hanson, Kenny Werner, Dave Douglas and many more, including having had an ongoing relationship with the legendary Lee Konitz for twelve years until his passing in 2020, recording four albums including two live recordings from the Village Vanguard. Jeff’s work with the Lee Konitz New Quartet was documented in the Jazz Oral Histories of the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

Pei-Chun Tsai, from Tainan, Taiwan, is two-time first-prize winner of the Taiwan National Violin Competition. She has performed in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. Pei-Chun has participated in many music festivals in the United States and Europe. After receiving Bachelor and Master’s degrees in violin performance from The Juilliard School, she completed her Doctorate in Musical Arts from the City University of New York. Pei-Chun is the founder and director of the Campanile Music Festival at San Diego State University where she curates innovative residencies of visiting artists from across the country. Recent guests include the Formosa Quartet and Brooklyn Rider. Pei-Chun has been a member of the San Diego Symphony since 2006. As a violin lecturer at San Diego State University, Pei-Chun performs with the San Diego State University Chamber orchestra regularly. She has recently released her solo violin album “Chaconnes” which you can find on Apple Music or Spotify.

Abe Liebhaber, from Santa Barbara, California, has performed frequently with the San Diego Symphony, the Santa Barbara Symphony, Camarada San Diego, as well as in chamber settings domestic and abroad. He holds a tenured position in the Arizona Opera and has performed for nine seasons with the Sarasota Opera in Florida. He received his degrees in music performance from University of California Los Angeles, and California State University Sacramento.

Abe is a trained violin bowmaker and restorer of fine bows, and enjoys teaching the craft at his workshop on Adams Avenue “Antiques Row” in San Diego.

Bach, Dance, and Song
This recital, which begins and ends with the music of Bach explores the dance and vocal elements of his instrumental music, but also journeys through a variety of composers who also found expression in these forms of composition. Besides the music of Bach you will hear Spanish and Brazilian dances, and composers such as Chopin, Chaminade, Granados, Nazareth, and the late Chick Corea.

Performance with Juan Pablo Andrade, piano; Martha Aarons, flute and Lev Polyakin, violin
Join us in beautiful Oaktree Pavilion for a concert featuring music by Brahms, Bach, Ibert, Nino Rota and more. The repertoire covers several centuries chronologically, composers from several countries, and encompasses a wide variety of styles—from contemplative to charming to downright virtuosic!

Costa Rican pianist Juan Pablo Andrade is the recipient of numerous awards at several international piano competitions in Costa Rica, The U.S. and Brazil, besides being awarded the National Prize of Music by the Costa Rican Ministry of Culture. He performs extensively across the U.S., Latin America and Europe as a recitalist, collaborator and soloist with orchestras. Andrade has been a soloist with the Costa Rica and the Bolivia National Symphonies, as well as the South Bend and the Greensboro Symphonies among others. Recent performances include Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, in Gillette, Wyoming, and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto in Costa Rica’s National Theater.  His recent CD for Centaur Records (CRC3666) titled War to Peace, a recording with violinist Betul Soykan featuring works composed during WW II, has received worldwide critical acclaim. In addition to his performance activities, Andrade is a professor of piano at UT Rio Grande Valley and at the Semper Music international Summer Festival in the Italian Alps.

Martha Aarons’ professional career began with her appointment as principal flute of the North Carolina Symphony. Subsequently she played with the Cleveland Orchestra for 25 years.  After becoming a freelancer she performed often with the Philadelphia Orchestra. During this time she appeared as guest principal flute with the Metropolitan Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Mostly Mozart Festival. Ms. Aarons served as Artist Faculty with the Aspen Music Festival for 19 years. Her teaching credits include the Cleveland Institute of Music, Duke University, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, Oberlin College, Skidmore College, Shanghai Conservatory and Eastman School of Music. She has been soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, and with the Aspen Festival Chamber and Festival orchestras. Her first solo CD, The History of the Tango, is recorded on the Azica label and additionally features pianist Frances Renzi and Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux.  Her newest release is the CD Last Silence with violinist Lev Polyakin and pianist Frances Renzi.  Martha is also an avid runner and will be participating in the 126th Boston Marathon in April 2022.

Lev Polyakin was appointed co-concertmaster of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra at age 21. In that position he was regularly featured as soloist. In the U.S. he served as assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as concertmaster of the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen Music Festival. Lev has won several prizes in international violin competitions, including the Beethoven Prize in Carl Flesch in London, and Gold Medal and Special Prize in Brescia, Italy. In addition to solo performances with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, he has appeared as soloist with the London Mozart Players, Royal Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra. Recording credits include Melodia, BBC, National Public Radio, and Decca. He is prominently featured on an album entitled Cafe Music comprising chamber music by Paul Schoenfield, which was nominated for a Grammy.  Lev has a special interest in jazz and has recorded three CDs, entitled Russian Blue, The Other Side of the Road, and Christmas Kaleidoscope.  He is also featured in the recent release by Azica Records entitled Last Silence, with flutist Martha Aarons and pianist Frances Renzi.

Concert with Nic McGegan, piano, Joana Morrison, cello, Martha Aarons, flute, Lev Polyakin, violin

Nic McGegan, renowned as a specialist in music of the baroque and classical eras, will be joined by violinist Lev Polyakin, flutist Martha Aarons and cellist Joanna Morrison for an evening featuring music by Bach (J.S. and C.P.E.), Handel, Vivaldi and more. Nic will regale us with his always sparkling repartee about the composers, styles and customs of the period.

Nicholas McGegan, British born conductor and performer, is now in his sixth decade on the podium. For 34 years he was Music Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in the Bay Area, as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Pasadena Symphony, Artistic Director of the Göttingen International Handel Festival (1991-2011), Music Director of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, and in the 1990’s, Principal Guest conductor of Scottish Opera and the Drottningholm Court Theatre in Sweden. He has recorded over a hundred CDs specializing in music of the Baroque and Classical periods. He has directed orchestras all over the world and at such opera houses as Covent Garden. In addition to performing, he lectures regularly at the Juilliard School of Music and Yale. He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard.  In 2010 he was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for ‘services to music abroad’.

Cellist Joanna Morrison completed her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Degrees at Boston University.  In 2007 Ms. Morrison won a position in the Honolulu Symphony and served as principal cello of the Hawaii Symphony from 2012 to 2015.  Concert tours have taken Ms. Morrison to Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea as well as much of Europe and the United States performing under conductors including Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman and Manfred Honeck.  Joanna was an acting member of the San Diego Symphony from 2016-2020.  An avid chamber player, Ms. Morrison has collaborated with various artists and has studied under members of the Guarneri and Juilliard Quartets. She has received fellowships to summer festivals around the world including Verbier Festival where she served as principal cellist for the world tour with Charles Dutoit and Martha Argerich.

Martha Aarons’ professional career began with her appointment as principal flute of the North Carolina Symphony. Subsequently she played with the Cleveland Orchestra for 25 years.  After becoming a freelancer she performed often with the Philadelphia Orchestra. During this time she appeared as guest principal flute with the Metropolitan Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Mostly Mozart Festival. Ms. Aarons served as Artist Faculty with the Aspen Music Festival for 19 years. Her first solo CD, The History of the Tango, is recorded on the Azica label and additionally features pianist Frances Renzi and Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux.  Her newest release is the CD Last Silence with violinist Lev Polyakin and pianist Frances Renzi.  Martha is also an avid runner and will be participating in the 126th Boston Marathon this April.

Lev Polyakin was appointed co-concertmaster of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra at age 21. In that position he was regularly featured as soloist. In the U.S. he served as assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as concertmaster of the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen Music Festival. Lev has won several prizes in international violin competitions, including the Beethoven Prize in Carl Flesch in London, and Gold Medal and Special Prize in Brescia, Italy. In addition to solo performances with the Moscow Chamber

Orchestra, he has appeared as soloist with the London Mozart Players, Royal Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra. Recording credits include Melodia, BBC, National Public Radio, and Decca. He is prominently featured on an album entitled Cafe Music comprising chamber music by Paul Schoenfield, which was nominated for a Grammy.  Lev has a special interest in jazz and has recorded three CDs:  Russian Blue, The Other Side of the Road, and Christmas Kaleidoscope.  He is also featured in the recent release by Azica Records entitled Last Silence, with flutist Martha Aarons and pianist Frances Renzi.

Kate Hatmaker is the founder and Executive/Artistic Director of Art of Élan, a San Diego-based chamber music organization committed to bringing innovative classical music to diverse audiences (www.artofelan.org), and has been a violinist with the San Diego Symphony since 2006. She has played with a wide variety of American orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony. She completed her Master of Music degree at Carnegie Mellon University and her undergraduate training at both the University of Iowa and the Sorbonne University in Paris, France