HB Artist Series: Hoff-Barthelson’s Faculty in Performance

An Evening of Musical Excellence: Hoff-Barthelson’s HB Artist Series Showcases a Blend of Classical and Contemporary Masterpieces in Fourth Faculty Concert

Scarsdale, New York – January 22, 2024 – Hoff-Barthelson Music School is pleased to present the fourth faculty concert in the HB Artist Series, on Friday, February 9, 2024, at 7:30 pm (Snow date: Thursday, February 15, 2024) in the School’s Joan Behrens Bergman Auditorium, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, NY.

Featuring an ensemble of highly accomplished faculty members, the concert promises a captivating blend of classical and contemporary masterpieces. Pianists Rie Matsumoto and Tomoko Uchino, along with violinist Anna Rabinova, will be joined by guest pianists Bari Mort and Gloria Lin for an evening of extraordinary musical artistry.

The program is curated to showcase a diverse selection of works, ranging from the Romantic era to modern experimental compositions. Highlights include Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn’s expressive “Drei Stücke zu Vier Händen,” Francis Poulenc’s rhythmic “Sonata for Four Hands,” and Gyorgy Ligeti’s avant-garde “Fünf Stücke für Klavier zu vier Händen.”

The repertoire also includes Richard Strauss’ “Sonata Op.18 in E flat major” for violin and piano, a romantic gem, featuring lush melodies and rich harmonies, Mozart’s “Sonata for Piano Four Hands in D major, KV 381,” a classical masterpiece, showcasing the composer’s melodic ingenuity, the “Romance” movement from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s emotive “Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos, Op.17,” and Astor Piazzolla’s vibrant and sultry “Libertango.”

Tickets are priced at $20 for general admission and are complimentary for HBMS students. Tickets can be purchased in advance through Eventbrite, the School’s website (www.hbms.org), by calling 914-723-1169, or by e-mailing hb@hbms.org. Please note that the program and artists are subject to change.

About the HB Artist Faculty Concert Series
Hoff-Barthelson faculty comprises some of the nation’s most distinguished performers and educators. Many hold chairs in prominent New York orchestras, are members of world-class chamber ensembles, perform in major Broadway productions, and are in international demand as solo artists. Others teach at leading conservatories including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes College of Music. The School’s superb faculty have contributed to the Music School’s national recognition for unsurpassed leadership in music education, performance, and community service. Hoff-Barthelson prides itself on providing access to these outstanding artist-educators in the heart of Westchester. Held in Scarsdale, these concerts guarantee riveting music-making of the highest caliber, in an intimate setting, at prices far below those in New York’s major concert halls.

Additional concerts in the series will be held on March 1, and April 19, 2024.

About the Faculty Artists
Pianist Rie Matsumoto received her B.M. and M.M. from the Juilliard School as a student of Sascha Gorodnitzki. Further piano studies were with György Sándor and Miyoko Nayaka. She studied chamber music with Joseph Fuchs. Ms. Matsumoto has appeared in chamber ensemble performances at the Beethoven Society, SUNY/Purchase with the Philharmonia Virtuosi, and on radio station WQXR. Ms. Matsumoto coaches chamber music and is the Coordinator of the School’s Adult Chamber Music program. She is also the Co-Director of the Summer Arts Program.

Violinist Anna Rabinova joined the New York Philharmonic in 1994 and has performed as a soloist with the orchestra in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 led by Lorin Maazel. She has toured Europe with the Moscow State Symphony, and performed with the Halle Philharmonic, Schwerin Philharmonic, Moscow Radio, Russian State, Berlin and American Symphony Orchestras, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She has appeared at the Schleswig Holstein, and Caramoor Festivals, and has given recitals in Berlin, Moscow, Leipzig, Belgrade, and Washington, D.C., as well as in New York City.

Tomoko Uchino has performed in recitals and concerts throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. As a soloist, she has been a top prize winner in such competitions as the Ettlingen International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Germany and the Takahiro Sonoda Piano Award International Competition in Japan. She has also appeared in recitals, collaborating with numerous instrumentalists and vocalists in such concert halls as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Weill Hall, Herbst Theater in San Francisco, and Hamarikyu Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

For complete faculty artist biographies visit https://hbms.org/faculty/

Photo: New York Philharmonic member and HBMS faculty member violinist Anna Rabinova. Photo supplied by the artist.