Levinson and Fadial Duo Concert at UW Oct. 24

The University of Wyoming Department of Music will present the Levinson-Fadial Duo concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall. The recital is free and open to the public.

The program will feature music for violin and piano, including “Sonata” in G minor, L. 140 by Debussy; “Sonata” Op. 30, No.3 in G major by Beethoven; “5 Melodies” Op. 35bis by Prokofiev; “Sonata 6194” by Corigliano; and “Sonatensatz Scherzoin in C minor” from “F.A.E. Sonata” by Brahms.

Gary Levinson, known for his Bel Canto playing style and adroit technique, is the senior principal associate concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. Levinson performs on an Antonio Stradivari violin, crafted in 1726.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Levinson began studying the violin at five with Professor Sergeev at the Special Music School of Leningrad Conservatory. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1977, he won the top prize at the 1986 Romano Romanini International Violin Competition in Brescia, Italy, and was the top American prize winner at the 1987 Jacques Thibaud International Violin Competition in Paris, France. He made his New York Philharmonic solo debut in 1991, just as he completed his M.M. degree at the Juilliard School.

As a soloist, Levinson has collaborated with artists such as Erich Leinsdorf, Jaap van Zweden and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Eugenia Zukerman, Lukas Foss, Carter Brey, Joseph Kalichstein and Christopher O’Riley.

In 1998, Levinson was appointed as first violinist of Elysium String Quartet. He serves at various summer music festivals, and is a champion of contemporary music and has recorded many new solo and collaborative works.

Award-winning pianist Vanessa Fadial is a highly regarded teacher, chamber music coach and adjudicator. She is a member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California and is a faculty member in the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts.

While living in New York City, Fadial was on the roster of the Golden Key Salon Series at Klavierhaus and was a member of Circadia Ensemble, a New York–based chamber group. She performed with her trio in the Trinity Concerts at One series at Trinity Church. As a member of the Lilac Piano Quartet, formed with members of the Rochester Philharmonic, she performed on WXXI’s backstage pass radio program and at the George Eastman House.

Fadial performs music by living composers. In 2018, with violinist Anyango Yarbo-Davenport, she recorded “Americana,” a CD of contemporary American music that included premieres of works by Dan Visconti and Grammy Award-winner Robert Livingston Aldridge.