Category: Curtis Studio

Michelle Cann Named Christel DeHaan Artistic Partner of the American Pianists Association

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Critically acclaimed Curtis alumna and faculty member, pianist Michelle Cann (ʼ13), was announced as the American Pianists Association‘s first Christel DeHaan Artistic Partner. This exciting news accompanies the official announcement naming the five finalists of the 2025 American Pianists Awards, which include Curtis alumnus Michael Davidman (’19), Curtis student Avery Gagliano, and pianists Sasha Kasman Laude, Elliot Wuu, and Angie Zhang. Each of these extraordinary musicians will compete for the prestigious Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship, given every four years to an American classical pianist at the conclusion of the organization’s 13-month competition.

In her new role, a position made possible by a Legacy Grant from the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, Ms. Cann will provide further support and mentorship to the five finalists and oversee all artistic aspects of the competition, including managing the nomination process, jury selection, and concert programming. In spring 2022, she performed on the American Pianists Association’s recital series and has since fostered a strong collaborative relationship with the organization.

“It is an honor to join such a prestigious organization that is elevating the voices of today,” Ms. Cann said. “I am so exited to work through this process and help support these great young pianists, and I cannot wait to see all of this through to the finals in April 2025.”

Read the official announcement HERE, and learn more about the American Pianists Association.

In the summer of 2023, Ms. Cann’s “breathtakingly powerful” debut album Revival, Music of Price & Bonds was praised in BBC Music Magazine with a glowing, four-star review, highlighting “a performance from Cann that is as subtle as it is exuberant.”

Read the review of HERE, and learn more about the recording HERE.

Visit Michelle Cann’s official website.

Photos of Michelle Cann by Titilayo Ayangade.

Trio Zimbalist’s Debut Album Receives Rave Review from Gramophone Magazine

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On January 12, Curtis Studio, the school’s recording label, released its fourth album, the debut recording of Trio Zimbalist: Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach, & Dvořák, featuring three virtuosic works of chamber music performed by distinguished Curtis alumni Josef Špaček (Violin ’09); Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin, (Cell0 ’17); and George Xiaoyuan Fu (Piano’16).  Trio Zimbalist’s “astonishingly accomplished debut” was recently praised in Gramophone magazine with a rave review and concurrently named to their March 2024 Editor’s Choice list as one of the best new classical recordings of the month.

Read the review of the “miraculously fresh,” “imaginative,” and “inventive” album HERE, and learn more about the recording HERE.

The release of Trio Zimbalist: Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach, & Dvořák follows Curtis Studio’s acclaimed recordings Portraits (Viano Quartet, 2023), Revival (pianist Michelle Cann, 2023), and Scheherazade (Curtis Symphony Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä, 2022). All albums are distributed by Platoon.

Visit Trio Zimbalist’s website and artist page via Curtis Artist Management.

Photo of Trio Zimbalist by Viktor Jelinek & Visual Narrative.

Interview with Trio Zimbalist in I Care If You Listen

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Vibrant new ensemble Trio Zimbalist was recently interviewed for I Care If You Listen. Composed of distinguished Curtis alumni Josef Špaček (Violin ’09), Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin (Cello ’17), and George Xiaoyuan Fu (Piano ’16), the trio recently released their debut recording Trio Zimbalist: Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach, & Dvořák from Curtis Studio. Distributed by Platoon, the album is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music Classical.

The trio discusses their album of stirring works by Mieczysław Weinberg, Lera Auerbach, and Antonín Dvořák, and what drew them to program these three selections. They talk about the inspiration to base the project on the “Dumka” and share their favorite piece on the recording and information about their upcoming tour.

For more information about the trio, visit their official website at triozimbalist.com. Learn more about the recording at curtis.edu/TrioZ, and click HERE to watch the official album trailer.

Photos of Trio Zimbalist by Viktor Jelinek.

Curtis Studio Releases Fourth Recording: “Trio Zimbalist: Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach, & Dvořák”

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Learn more about Trio Zimbalist and their debut recording at curtis.edu/TrioZ, and click HERE to watch the official album trailer. Listen to Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach, & Dvořák.

Curtis Studio, the recording label of the Curtis Institute of Music, which is dedicated to discovering new and traditional music and recording performances by inspiring artists of our time, announces its fourth recording: Trio Zimbalist: Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach, & Dvořák. The album consists of three virtuosic works of chamber music performed by distinguished Curtis alumni Josef Špaček, violin; Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin, cello; and George Xiaoyuan Fu, piano. It will be available on all major streaming platforms starting on Jan. 12, including Apple Music Classical. It is distributed by Platoon.

Taking its name from Efrem Zimbalist—a famed violin virtuoso and longtime teacher and director of the Curtis Institute of Music — Trio Zimbalist carries on his legacy through its commitment to artistic excellence. The group has garnered critical acclaim for its “precision and feverish intensity” (Greece’s EfSyn) and received praise for its “liveliness and vigor of playing” in performances that were “pure enjoyment!” (Athinorama) at the Nights of Classical Music at the Gennadius Library festival in Athens, where it served as ensemble-in-residence during a 2021 tour of Greece, Germany, and France. Špaček, Gavriilidis-Petrin, and Fu are in demand across Europe and the U.S. as soloists, chamber musicians, and recitalists, forming an inimitable ensemble with repertoire that spans Romantic masterworks to today’s most lauded composers.

This album of piano trios by Mieczysław Weinberg, Lera Auerbach, and Antonín Dvořák is cast in the spirit of the Dumka, containing works composed under the shadows of troubled and traumatic political histories. Dumka is a Ukrainian term that means “thought,” and in classical music it is a type of epic Slavic ballad. Dumky were sung by traveling minstrels, usually Ukrainian, who played some kind of strummed instrument (like the bandura, kobza, or lira). Their songs often contained a thoughtful or melancholic lament of oppressed peoples.

Dvořák used that form as the foundation of his “Dumky” Trio, which was on Trio Zimbalist’s first program and maintains a special place in its repertoire. The work’s significance transcends the passage of time, finding renewed depth as the echoes of ongoing conflicts reverberate through our lives.

The energetic Piano Trio No. 1 by the Soviet-born contemporary composer Lera Auerbach was completed immediately after her defection from the Soviet Union in 1991, while the dramatic Piano Trio in A minor by Mieczysław Weinberg (1919–1996) carries the trauma of a Polish-born composer who lost his entire family in the Holocaust and was later persecuted by the Soviet Union’s regime. Both works are vibrant yet tragic, reflecting the intensity and strength of the creative human spirit in desperate times, and the emotional catharsis involved in telling one’s own story through music.

The program by Trio Zimbalist is a heartfelt response to the enduring human struggle still unfolding today around the world. It encapsulates an unwavering aspiration for a world where peace, freedom, and individualism can flourish. The album follows Curtis Studio’s acclaimed recordings Portraits (Viano Quartet, 2023), Revival (pianist Michelle Cann, 2023), and Scheherazade (Curtis Symphony Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä, 2022).

More about Trio Zimbalist

The members of Trio Zimbalist—violinist Josef Špaček, cellist Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin, and pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu — are all distinguished alumni of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. The group draws upon the lineage of previous world-class ensembles formed at Curtis. Its members have studied with faculty representing the Guarneri Quartet, the Beaux Arts Trio, and the Chicago Chamber Musicians. With regular appearances at the La Jolla Music Society, ChamberFest Cleveland, Marlboro, and Moritzburg music festivals, they are active composers, adventurous and multidisciplinary collaborators, and passionate advocates for the impact of music on communities across the globe. For more information about the trio, visit triozimbalist.com.

  • To watch the album trailer, click HERE.

Photos of Trio Zimbalist by Viktor Jelinek.

Curtis Studio Releases “PORTRAITS,” the Debut Recording of the Viano Quartet

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“I think the process of self-discovery is really just beginning. We called the project PORTRAITS as a reflection of the music we love and our growth at Curtis, but if there’s something we’ve realized over the last two years, it’s that our portraits will be developing and growing even after we graduate.” —Hao Zhou, Viano Quartet

As a final artistic statement of their time here at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Viano Quartet, the Nina von Maltzahn String Quartet Program participants from 2021 to 2023, has released their debut recording, an exciting audiovisual project entitled PORTRAITS, through Curtis Studio, the recording label of the Curtis Institute of Music.

PORTRAITS is available to stream on all major music platforms. Listen Now. 

Thoughtfully curated, created, and originated by the members of the quartet—violinists Lucy Wang and Hao Zhou, violist Aiden Kane, and cellist Tate Zawadiuk, all 2023 Curtis graduates—in collaboration with the school’s cutting-edge Performance Innovation Lab, the recording offers an intimate view of the string quartet and invites listeners to join the four young artists on an intensely personal and emotional journey.

On Apple Music Classical, PORTRAITS includes companion video performances of each work, allowing viewers to witness the ensemble’s energy and enthusiasm as they bring this music to life. Shot in close-up, each video offers an extraordinarily intimate cinematic experience for viewers, inviting the audience to join each artist on an intensely emotional journey. This unique playlist captures the heightened passion, dramatic depth, and richly hued sound palette of four iconic works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

PORTRAITS includes two movements of Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”); Florence Price’s Andante moderato from String Quartet No. 1 in G major; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Andante cantabile from String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11; and the first movement of Alberto Ginastera’s String Quartet No. 1, Op. 27, Allegro violento ed agitato. As the Viano Quartet reflects on its time at Curtis and concludes its residency to join the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program, this thoughtfully curated collection serves as a historical multimedia document of the ensemble’s experience at the school and a fascinating “portrait” of one of the most sought-after contemporary quartets in classical music.

For nearly a century, Curtis has provided each member of its small student body with an unparalleled education, distinguished by a “learn by doing” philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes a high proportion of actively performing musicians. Students come to Curtis from across the globe to hone their craft, rehearse, and perform alongside their musical peers and the school’s celebrated faculty and alumni to join the front rank of some of the world’s most extraordinary performers, composers, conductors, and musical leaders. The Viano Quartet’s collaborative debut album highlights what makes Curtis unique among conservatories and other educational institutions. Students are given the space and tools to grow in their artistry and hone their craft in a nurturing, supportive environment where creative ideas and musicianship can flourish.

The Viano Quartet on PORTRAITS

Florence Price: Andante moderato, from String Quartet No. 1 in G major
“Florence Price’s quartet in G major’s slow movement evokes the warmth and comfort of home, making it a poignant and universal experience that we love to share with our audiences. As a traveling string quartet, we understand the significance of returning home after a long journey, and we strive to convey that sentiment through the gentle and wholesome melody that opens her Andante moderato.”

Alberto Ginastera: Allegro violento ed agitato, from String Quartet No. 1, Op. 27 
“Viano Quartet plays with fire. We thrive on creating a massive sound and an endless supply of energy. Performing the first movement of Ginastera’s first quartet is the high octane fuel that powers us to play fast and furious.”

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Andante cantabile, from String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11
“In contrast to the Ginastera, we also aim to always play from our hearts. Tchaikovsky’s slow movement, known to have moved Tolstoy to tears, allows us to share our most sensitive playing with our audiences. This piece is a testament to our love for beautiful melodic writing and our ensemble’s quest to create a sound that is both lush and tender.”

Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”)
“Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ is a monumental work that inspires us to find an abundance of colors and emotions in our playing. The first movement to us is a profound battle between light and dark, and we aim to convey this narrative through every note. The finale is a tarantella, which is a dance of hysteria that victims experience upon being bitten by a venomous tarantula—perfect for anyone with a fear of spiders! For us, this work has been a multi-year journey and each time we play it, we push ourselves to take risks to create an experience that is both engaging and visceral.”

Visit the website of the Viano Quartet. Photos of the Viano Quartet by Kevin W. Condon.