Judith Ingolfsson and Vladimir Stoupel Perform Duo Recital for Curtis Presents Series November 4

PHILADELPHIA—October 31, 2018—Judith Ingolfsson and Vladimir Stoupel appear in recital in Musical Homecoming, part of the 2018–19 Curtis Presents season. The program features duos for violin and piano by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Louis Vierne, and takes place Sunday, November 4 at 3 p.m. in Field Concert Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music.

 

Engaging and imaginative programming is a hallmark of the Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel. Individually they are seasoned soloists who have won acclaim for their performances across the globe. Together they create connections, tell untold stories, and take audiences on a journey to the heart of chamber music. This program also represents a welcome homecoming for alumna Judith Ingolfsson, who studied at Curtis under the legendary teacher Jascha Brodsky.

 

Tickets for $25 are available from the Patron Services Office at (215) 893-7902 or Curtis.edu/Performances.

 

Past and future meet through the Curtis Presents series, which features a diverse collection of artists—alumni, faculty, students, and friends—whose musical foundations are rooted in the Curtis community. This series of intimate and innovative recitals offers a unique experience that transcends generations and genres, with exceptional artistry and one-of-a-kind programs.

 

The Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel regularly performs in such renowned venues as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), and Bargemusic (New York). They are the artistic directors of the festival Aigues-Vives en Musiques in southern France, which they founded in 2009. They curate the Duo Plus concert series at the Mendelssohn-Remise Berlin and the Wednesday series at the Institut Français Berlin. 

        

Violinist Judith Ingolfsson was the gold medalist at the prestigious International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1998. She has performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Indianapolis, National, and St. Louis symphony orchestras; the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Tokyo; and the Budapest, Jena, and Mainz philharmonics.

 

Pianist Vladimir Stoupel has been a guest soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian State Orchestra, among others. Also a conductor, he has led chamber operas at Konzerthaus Berlin and has conducted the Mainz, Marseille, Neubrandenburg, Polish Chamber, and Berlin Chamber philharmonics; the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt, and the Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra.    

 

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. One of the most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts four percent of applicants each year on average. A tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission. With a small student body of about 175, Curtis ensures that each young musician receives an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and a “learn by doing” philosophy. Curtis students hone their craft through than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year in Philadelphia and around the world.

 


 

CURTIS PRESENTS: Musical Homecoming

Sunday, November 4 at 3 p.m.

Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

 

Judith Ingolfsson, violin (’92)

Vladimir Stoupel, piano

 

PROKOFIEV                           Five Melodies, Op. 35bis

LOUIS VIERNE                       Sonata in G minor, Op. 23

SHOSTAKOVICH                   Sonata, Op. 134

 

Tickets: $25, sold by the Curtis Patron Services Office, Curtis.edu/Performances, or (215) 893-7902.

The Curtis Presents season is sponsored by Blank Rome LLP.

 

 

# # #

The Third Movement: Graffman as Curtis Director

After his graduation from Curtis in 1946, Gary Graffman went on to enjoy a long and celebrated career as a concert pianist, performing with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. Yet despite great successes, vast distances, and intervening years, he never fully lost sight of his alma mater. Years later, when Curtis once again beckoned its former student, the connection was re-established, resulting in one of the longest faculty tenures in the school’s history—38 years—and a lengthy and progressive directorship lasting 20 years.

When Gary Graffman won the coveted Leventritt Prize in 1949, his career as an international concert pianist took off almost overnight. Through years of hectic travel and a demanding performance schedule, his ties to Curtis remained intact. Most notably, he maintained a close relationship with piano faculty member Rudolf Serkin, and many summers found the two men collaborating, performing, and teaching together in Vermont at the Marlboro Music Festival, which Serkin had co-founded in 1951. Some years later, during Serkin’s time as Curtis’s director, he invited Graffman to play a recital for the school’s 50th anniversary. Upon hearing that the Curtis performance would be just a few days after Graffman played a recital in New York, Serkin replied, in complete seriousness, “That’s wonderful! Your Carnegie concert will be a perfect tryout for Curtis!” To an outsider that comment may seem lighthearted, but Graffman later admitted that, despite the Carnegie performance, he nevertheless experienced substantial nervousness upon playing for the Curtis audience.

Fortunately Graffman was eventually able to overcome his Curtis-induced nerves: He accepted a position on the piano faculty in 1980. His decision to turn to teaching was precipitated by an injury to his right hand that rendered him unable to play the two-handed literature. This event marked not the end of his career but rather the start of an unexpected new chapter. For, after serving on the piano faculty for six years, he was named Curtis’s new director in 1986, becoming president as a well in 1995.

Over the next 20 years, Graffman placed an indelible stamp on the school, both physically and ideologically. Whether it was extensive campus renovations, inviting world-class conductors and musicians to work with the students, or establishing a reciprocal educational arrangement with the University of Pennsylvania, Graffman actively oversaw, and sought to improve, all facets of the Curtis student experience. Still, Graffman adhered to a traditional view of the school. In an NPR interview given just before his departure as Curtis’s head in 2006, Graffman offered his view of Curtis’s perceived elitism: “In my dictionary, elite means the best. If you’re going to have your appendix out, you want an elite doctor doing it. I know it’s a maligned word these days, but yes, it’s an elite school, and I hope it will continue to be so.”

Gary Graffman has been a part of the Curtis community for 83 years. He has seen the school through the lens of a student, teacher, administrator, and mentor, giving him unmatched insight into what makes it tick. However, it was perhaps his time as director that brought his most marked contribution as he moved Curtis away from insularity towards engagement, creating a more modern music conservatory delicately balanced with Curtis’s storied past. Graffman himself perhaps put it best when, during that same NPR interview, he was asked to articulate a one-sentence basic philosophy for Curtis:

 “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

 

Kristina Wilson / archivist / Curtis Archives
For more information on Curtis history, visit the Curtis Archives.

New Quartet in Residence and Fellows Named for 2018–19

The Vera Quartet has been named Curtis’s string quartet in residence for 2018–19 and 2019–20. Recently added to the roster of Astral Artists, the quartet comes to Curtis with a long list of accomplishments, including winning the grand prize at the Plowman and Yellow Springs chamber music competitions. In October 2018, the quartet announced the addition of violinist and Curtis alumna Rebecca Anderson (Violin ’13). 

Read more

 

Yuwon Kim, from Daegu, South Korea, enters Curtis as the newest conducting fellow, joining conducting fellow Yue Bao, who entered Curtis in 2017. Winner of the 2014 Robert Spano Conductor Prize and the 2018 Princess Astrid International Music Competition, Ms. Kim has worked with numerous orchestras, including the Zürich Tonhalle, Netherlands Philharmonic, and Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Read more and watch video from the Princess Astrid International Music Competition

 

Three Curtis graduates have been named Community Artist Fellows for 2018–19. Nozomi Imamura (Trumpet ’15) returns for a second fellowship year, along with Seula Lee (Violin ’18) and Nicholas DiBerardino (Composition ’18). They will work with community partners in Philadelphia to provide rich artistic experiences to underserved communities.

Learn more about the Community Artist Fellows

The Third Movement: Gary Graffman as Curtis Director

After his graduation from Curtis in 1946, Gary Graffman went on to enjoy a long and celebrated career as a concert pianist, performing with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.  Yet, despite great successes, vast distances, and intervening years, Graffman never fully lost sight of his alma mater.  Thus, years later, when Curtis once again beckoned to its former student, a connection was renewed that resulted in both a lengthy and progressive directorship, and, at 38 years, one of the longest faculty tenures in the school’s history.

When Gary Graffman won the coveted Leventritt Prize in 1949, his career as an international concert pianist took off almost overnight.  However, despite years of hectic travel and a demanding performance schedule, his ties to Curtis remained intact.  Most notably, he maintained a close relationship with piano faculty member Rudolf Serkin, and many summers found the two men at the Marlboro Music Festival* in Vermont collaborating, performing, and teaching together.  Some years later, during Serkin’s tenure as Curtis’s director, he invited Graffman to play a recital at the school’s 50th anniversary.  Upon hearing that Graffman’s Curtis performance would be just a few days after one in New York, Serkin replied, “That’s wonderful! Your Carnegie concert will be a perfect tryout for Curtis!” Now while to an outsider that comment may seem lighthearted, Serkin was being completely serious.  Graffman later admitted that, despite the Carnegie performance, he nevertheless experienced substantial nervousness upon playing for the Curtis audience.

Fortunately, Graffman was eventually able to overcome his Curtis-induced nerves and accepted a position on the piano faculty in 1980.  His decision to turn to teaching, precipitated by an injury to his right hand that rendered him unable to play the two-handed literature, marked not the end of his career but rather the start of an unexpected new chapter.  For, after serving on the piano faculty for six years, he was named Curtis’s new director in 1986, adding President to his title in 1995.

Over the next 20 years, Graffman placed an indelible stamp on the Institute both physically and ideologically.  Whether it was extensive campus renovations, inviting world class conductors and musicians to work with students, or establishing a reciprocal educational arrangement with the University of Pennsylvania, Graffman actively oversaw, and sought to improve, all facets of the Curtis student experience.  However, despite his forward thinking mentality, Graffman yet remained an adherent to the more traditional view of Curtis.  In an NPR interview given just before his departure as Curtis’s head in 2006, Graffman offered his view of the school’s perceived elitism: “In my dictionary, elite means the best. If you’re going to have your appendix out, you want an elite doctor doing it. I know it’s a maligned word these days, but yes, it’s an elite school, and I hope it will continue to be so.” 

Gary Graffman has been a part of the Curtis community for 83 years.  He has seen the school through the lens of a student, teacher, administrator, and mentor, giving him unmatched insight into what makes it tick.  However, it was perhaps his time as director that brought his most marked contribution as he moved Curtis away from insularity towards engagement, creating a more modern music conservatory delicately balanced with Curtis’s storied past.  Graffman himself perhaps put it best when, during that same NPR interview, he was asked to articulate a one-sentence basic philosophy for Curtis:

 “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

*Founded by Serkin and his father-in-law Adolph Busch in 1951

Kristina Wilson / archivist / Curtis Archives
For more information on Curtis history, visit the Curtis Archives.

Overtones Fall 2018 Issue Published

Curtis’s semiannual magazine, Overtones, is in the mail, with a cover story on the 90th birthday of Gary Graffman, beloved piano pedagogue and former leader of Curtis for two decades. The fall issue is packed with interesting profiles of members of the Curtis community, thoughtful articles by faculty and students, and more. For the first time, the online edition of Overtones includes additional digital content, including video, audio tracks, and photo albums relating to the articles. Explore online, or join the Curtis Society to receive Overtones in the mail.