Korean-American cellist Minna Rose Chung is Professor of Cello at the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada). In addition, she is co-author alongside Hans Jørgen Jensen (Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois) of the internationally acclaimed CelloMind: Intonation and Technique, a discerning pedagogy method praised for its “dense and fascinating treatise focusing not just on the left hand, but almost exclusively on the aspects underpinning the most minute gradations of intonation…it takes written pedagogy to a new level” (Strings Magazine, April 2018).

Chung performs with the Borealis Piano Trio and the Nacka Duo, which tour extensively in recital and lecture performances at world music conferences, primarily focusing on the art of chamber music. Currently within Winnipeg, Minna performs regularly with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and enjoys performing in various music collaborations. International tours include Canada, UK, Sweden, Germany, Serbia, Poland, Brazil, Asia and the USA.

Since 2008, Chung has been the director of Project Rio, a multi-collaborative program that supports the Rio International Cello Encounter (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), the second largest free music festival in the world through masterclasses and faculty performances in Brazil. To date, she has returned to perform across Brazil in over thirty recitals and concerto performances. She will be returning to Rio de Janeiro this August to celebrate in multiple performances for the 30^th anniversary of RICE.

Dr. Chung is a recipient of multiple national awards in the creative field and featured in Strad Magazine “Teaching & Playing”, April 2018 issue. Her latest pedagogy initiative is devoted to the intermediate, amateur, and up-and-coming teachers in the revised and expanded publication of Fun in Thumb Position alongside co-author and mentor Hans J. Jensen.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Sonata for cello and piano (1915)

The cello sonata was written in a few weeks in July 1915 at the Normandy seaside town of Pourville, just west of Dieppe. It is a relatively short work but, as so often with Debussy, draws a dazzling variety of sounds from the two instruments; it is technically demanding for both players. Structurally the work refers to classical French styles – Couperin was a favourite of Debussy – with just three movements, and without the clear exposition, development, and recapitulation of the German tradition. The principal theme is heard as a lyrical, descending line in the cello (illustrated). The mood changes dramatically for the episodically quirky Sérénade with lots of pizzicato from the cello. It leads without a break into the Finale which combines elements of the two preceding movements.

Marlos Nobre  (b.1939) Tres Cantos de Iemanja (Goddess of the Orisha, Queen of the Sea) for Cello and Piano

Marlos Nobre is an eclectic compositional style that features a mixture of classical compositional techniques such as polytonality, atonality and serialism combined with stylistic and conceptual influences from Brazilian traditional and popular music. His diverse approach to composition has been enhanced through his studies of prominent composers, including Koellreutter, Garnieri, Ginastera, Messiaen, Dellapiccola, and Bernstein.

From Marlos Nobre: Tres Cantos de Iemanja (Three songs of Iemanjá) is based on my work "Beiramar" for voice and piano, composed in 1968. I always wanted to write this piece for cello, whose particular dramatic and cantabile features would be well displayed. I made this version in 2009 for a concert in Rio de Janeiro, celebrating my seventieth birthday. The work has 3 parts. The world premiere at this concert was by Maria Luiza Corker (piano) and Bernardo Katz (cello).

Iemanjá is the patron saint of fishermen and the protective deity of travel and marriage. Iemanjá is venerated throughout Brazil, but it is in Bahia, the cradle of Candomblé and Umbanda (syncretic African-Brazilian religions that blend African traditions with Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and Indigenous beliefs - translator’s note) that her influence on popular culture is most keenly felt. Beyond ritual, Iemanjá is an inexhaustible source of musical inspiration.

André Mehmari (*1977) Suíte Brasileira para Violoncelo e Piano (2016)

Brazilian composer André Mehmari (b.1977) has also remained true to his homeland, perhaps because he is at home in all musical styles. He is considered one of the most original composers of his time. As a pianist, Mehmari is a welcome guest at many well-known jazz festivals, and in addition was named Composer in Residence of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra in 2007. The well-known Cidade do Sol, a work commissioned by Deutsche Welle, was also authored by him. The Suíte Brasileira is a declaration of love to his country, which knows how to dance and celebrate even in difficult times. After a prelude introduction, the typical Brazilian musical style known as choro follows. Afterwards, Mehmari presents three Brazilian dances: the frêvo (with fast movements in a squatting position and with the obligatory umbrella in one’s hand), the valsa (waltz), and a baião, which is fast and very rhythmic.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Fünf Stücke für 2 celli und Klavier

Shostakovich was one of the most prolific of 20th century composers, producing 15 symphonies, six concertos, four operas, four ballets, 15 string quartets, five other major chamber works, 24 preludes and fugues for the piano and several song cycles. Moreover, he maintained that pace notwithstanding his frequent bouts with Soviet authorities including Stalin himself, which blocked the performance of his music.

To pay his bills, he composed music for the Soviet Union’s giant film industry, producing music for 36 motion pictures over a 50-year period. To supplement that income and keep his name before the public, he asked his friend Lev Atovmian, a film director and scriptwriter, to arrange suites of his film and ballet music for home and school performances.

This is one such suite. According to The DSCH Journal - the international authority on Shostakovich’s music — the five pieces are drawn from a variety of ballet and film sources. Shostakovich himself had used them more than once, and the original sources given in the published score are often in error.

As might be expected, the Five Pieces are easy-to-follow film background music, suitable more for entertainment than for serious listening. The opening Prelude is sentimental and occasionally played as a separate piece. The second piece is a lively dance entitled Gavotte. Next is a lilting tune with the curious title Elegy. A swinging Waltz follows, and. the suite ends with a fast gypsy-style Polka.

Copyright © 2015 by Willard J. Hertz