The National Symphony Orchestra principal horn Abel Pereira will be joined by NSO Concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef and acclaimed pianist Audrey Andrist to perform the celebrated Brahms Horn Trio in E♭ major, Op. 40 in a Conservatory Concert at Westmoreland Circle. Other works for horn and piano by Eugene Bozza, Paul Dukas, and Olivier Messiaen, and Brahms’ Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2 for solo piano will complete the evening’s dazzling program. Admission is free with a $20 suggested donation. Families with children are encouraged to attend.
Time: Saturday, October 26, 8 pm
Location: Washington Conservatory of Music at Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ
Address: One Westmoreland Circle, Bethesda, MD
Parking: Parking is available in the lot on Massachusetts Avenue and along the streets of Massachusetts and Western Avenues. Please do not block neighborhood driveways.
Admission: Free. All donations support the programs of Washington Conservatory.
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Program
Bozza: En Foret, op. 40 for horn and piano
Dukas: Villanelle for horn and piano
Messiaen: Des Canyons aux étoils, “Appel interstellaire” for solo horn
~Intermission~
Brahms: Intermezzo in A Major, op. 118 no. 2 for solo piano
Brahms: Trio in E-flat Major, op. 40 for horn, violin and piano
I. Andante
II. Scherzo. Allegro
III. Adagio mesto
IV. Finale. Allegro con brio
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Abel Pereira was appointed principal horn of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2014 by Christoph Eschenbach. Born in Porto, Portugal, into a family of fishermen, he began his musical studies at the age of ten and within a year began a solo career with orchestras across Europe. He earned his degree at Porto University, studying horn with Bohdan Sebestik, and continued his studies in Frankfurt, Germany with Marie-Luise Neunecker. He received his Ph.D. in coaching and performance from Porto University in 2012.
Pereira has performed and taught at major music festivals across Europe and the United States and has won awards at international competitions in Portugal, Germany, England, Netherlands, Brazil, and Czech Republic. His solo discography includes the complete Mozart horn concerti, “Romantic Repertoire for Horn and Piano,” Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No.1, Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and the Urtext version of Mozart No.4 for EMI Classics. In 2001 he recorded Mozart’s Horn Concerto No.2 for a BBC TV show entitled Mozart for Children. Before joining the National Symphony, Pereira played principal horn with the Porto Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the London Philharmonic, and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Nurit Bar-Josef was appointed Concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2001 by Maestro Leonard Slatkin after previously serving as Assistant Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops from 1998-2001 and Assistant Principal Second Violin of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 1997-1998. She has appeared as guest Concertmaster for the Seattle and Houston Symphony orchestras, and as a soloist with the National Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and St. Louis Symphony orchestras.
Ms. Bar-Josef is an active chamber musician, and has performed at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Bay Chamber Festival (ME), and Aspen Music Festival, as well as festivals in Tanglewood, Portland (ME), Kingston (RI), Steamboat Springs, and Garth Newel. She was a founding member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players for nine years, and is a founding member of the Dryden Quartet. Ms. Bar-Josef has been a featured guest on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition and has had the honor of performing at the White House with Maestro Christoph Eschenbach.
Canadian pianist Audrey Andrist has thrilled audiences around the globe, from North America to Europe and Asia, with her “passionate abandon” and “great intelligence.” She completed Masters and Doctoral degrees at the Juilliard School with Herbert Stessin, and garnered first prizes at the Mozart International, San Antonio International, Eckhardt-Gramatté, and Juilliard Concerto Competitions. She has performed at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Montreal’s Place des Arts, Alice Tully Hall in New York, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Andrist is a member of the Stern/Andrist Duo with her husband, violinist James Stern, and Strata, a trio with Stern and Nathan Williams, clarinet. An ardent exponent of new music, Ms. Andrist has presented many world premieres of music written for her and the ensembles with which she plays, including a piano concerto written for her by award-winning Canadian composer Andrew P. MacDonald, premiered with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra and Mario Bernardi conducting. Ms. Andrist can be heard on over a dozen recordings of both standard and modern repertoire. She teaches at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and the Washington Conservatory of Music, and is in demand as a soloist, chamber player, orchestral pianist, and adjudicator.
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The concert is presented by Washington Conservatory of Music as part of the Washington Conservatory Concert Series.