Prize-winning artists Miroslav Hristov, violin; and Chih-Long Hu, piano, have performed in prestigious venues around the world including New York’s Carnegie Hall, the International Violin Festival of Puerto Rico, and the International Interharmony Festival in Italy. As part of their East Asian tour which includes performances in Shanghai, Taipei, and Kaohsiung, the duo will present some of the most monumental and challenging works for violin and piano. 

The program commences with a staple of the classical literature and one of Beethoven’s earliest compositions for this medium, his Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 1 in D Major. A signature work of the classical style, the beauty and simplicity of this sonata exudes an elegance and nobility that is uniquely Beethoven. From there, the duo looks to the East with an expressive performance of Five Melodies for Violin and Piano by the Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev. Written in 1945, the Five Melodies were championed by the legendary violinist, David Oistrakh. In regards to the Five Melodies, Oistrakh commented that, “it is music in which nothing can be omitted, not a single turn of the melody, not a single modulation. It requires the strictest attention to every detail of expression, a fine, but not over-refined execution of each individual intonation, as in the case of well-enunciated singing.”

The second half of the program starts off with the thickly textured and evocative work from the Romantic period, the Violin and Piano Sonata in A Major by composer César Franck. A depiction of love and passion, Franck’s Violin Sonata was a wedding gift to the Belgian violinist, Eugène Ysaÿe.

In a technically thrilling tribute to Gypsy music, the program ends with a burst of energy and emotion with Ravel’s virtuosic rhapsody, Tzigane. Depicting the unconventional style of the Eastern European Gypsy, Ravel’s Tzigane is a work that explores the widest range of sounds and colors from the violin. 

“The performance by Hristov and Hu was completely sublime.”
- Daniel Nina, El Post Antillano, 2013

“Finely honed, richly hued tone…”
- Jerry Dubins, Fanfare: The Magazine for Serious Record Collectors, 2012

Featuring:

1. Miroslav Hristov, violin
2. Chih-Long Hu, piano 

Programmes:

1. L.van Beethoven
   Sonata op 12, No 1
   1. Allegro con brio
   2. Tema con Variazioni, Andante con moto
   3. Rondo
       
2. S. Prokofiev
   Five Melodies
    
3. C. Frank
   Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major
   1. Allegretto ben moderato
   2. Allegro
   3. Ben moderato: Recitativo-Fantasia Allegretto poco mosso
       
4. M. Ravel
   Tzigane