Han-Fadial Duo Performance at UW April 24

The University of Wyoming Department of Music Faculty Recital Series continues with the Han-Fadial Duo at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24, in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall. The performance is free and open to the public.

UW Department of Music faculty collaborative pianist Jiwon Han and Professor John Fadial, violin, will present two rarely performed works by two of the great composers of the 20th century -- Richard Strauss and Ottorino Respighi.

The first half of the concert features Strauss’s early work “Violin Sonata” Op.18 in E flat. The piece departs from other German and Austrian works of the time by the free expression and virtuosity required from the musicians.

Following on the heels of the “Cello Sonata” and “Piano Sonata,” Violin Sonata Op.18 in E flat is arguably Strauss’s most orchestral work of the three, a precursor to his next major work “Don Juan.”

The second half of the concert features Respighi’s “Sonata P110” in B minor for violin and piano. Respighi studied both violin and piano, becoming master of both. As his focus shifted to composing, Respighi leaned more heavily toward performing as a pianist, serving many times as piano soloist in his own concerti. He excelled in a vast range of compositional styles and genres, influenced by not only Italian Renaissance and Baroque masters, but also Richard Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov and Italian compatriot Giacomo Puccini. Respighi’s B minor Sonata combines all of these influences in its three movements.

Han, a South Korean-born pianist, first gained attention in 1997 at age 10 when he appeared as a soloist with the Korean Philharmonic Orchestra performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K.488. The same year, he gave a solo recital at Incheon Culture and Arts Center. Han performs as a chamber musician, orchestral pianist and collaborative pianist, and he also teaches and conducts regularly.

At age 11, Fadial performed for President Gerald Ford and has since appeared around the globe as a critically acclaimed chamber musician, soloist and pedagogue. He served as an Artistic Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and as concertmaster of the North Carolina Opera; Colorado Festival’s ProMusica Colorado; Menuhin Festival Orchestra of Saumur in France; Germany’s Heidelberg Schloss-Spielel; and Greensboro, N.C., Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in various festivals and venues around the world and has performed with well-known artists.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirisk@uwyo.edu.