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Van Cliburn Concert: Bax-Chung Duo

Music/Performance
Great Hall
$45 ($36/members, $10/students & teachers)
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Crystal Bridges will close early at 4 PM on Friday, May 3, to prepare for the VIP Premiere of The Portal: An Art Experience by Jewel. Lunch will be served in the Great Hall on Friday. The Coffee Bar and select galleries will close at 3 PM.
Bax & Chung Duo courtesy of the artist

Prepare for the grand finale of the Van Cliburn Concert Series! Join us for a spectacular evening featuring the enchanting Bax-Chung Duo, comprised of the virtuoso pianists Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung.

In this exquisite four-hand performance, witness the profound synergy that has captivated audiences worldwide, creating an unforgettable musical experience like no other. With their remarkable talent and unparalleled chemistry, Bax and Chung promise to transport you to a realm of harmonious wonder with the flawless tones of the iconic Van Cliburn Piano. See you there!

Tickets are $45 ($36/members, $10/students & teachers). Reserve your spot online or with Guest Services at (479) 657-2335 today.

 

Program

J.S. Bach (arr. G. Kurtág)
Sonata no. 1 in E flat BWV 525 (first movement)
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit no. 1, Sonatina, from Actus Tragicus BWV 106

G. Ligeti
Five Pieces for Piano Four-Hands
I Induló (March). Allegro (1942)
II Polifón etüd (Polyphonic Etude). Allegro comodo (1943)
III Három lakodalmi tánc (Three Wedding Dances) (1950)

  1. A kapuban a szekér (The Cart is at the Gate). Allegro
  2. Hopp ide tisztán (Quickly come here pretty). Andantino
  3. Csángó forgós (Circling Dance). Allegro

IV Sonatina (1950)

  1. Allegro
  2. Andante
  3. Vivace

V Allegro (1943)

F. Schubert
Fantasy for Piano 4 Hands in F minor, D. 940

INTERMISSION

C. Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (arr. M. Ravel)
La fille aux cheveux de lin (arr. Roques)
La plus que lente (arr. L. Roques)

A. Piazzolla (arr. Bax/Chung)
3 Tangos

  1. Lo que vendrà
  2. Milonga del Angel
  3. Libertango

About Bax-Chung Duo

About Alessio Bax

Alessio Bax is praised for creating “a ravishing listening experience” with his lyrical playing, insightful interpretations, and dazzling facility. First prize winner at the Leeds and Hamamatsu international piano competitions, a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, and a winner of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award, he has appeared as soloist with more than 150 orchestras, including London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, NHK Symphony in Japan, St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Yuri Temirkanov, and the City of Birmingham Symphony with Sir Simon Rattle. His much-lauded discography includes Italian Inspirations, an eclectic recital inspired by his native country, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, an album of Russian favorites by Scriabin and Mussorgsky, Mozart Piano Concertos K. 491 and K. 595, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier and Moonlight Sonatas, Alessio Bax Plays Brahms, Rachmaninov: Preludes & Melodies (an American Record Guide “Critics’ Choice”), Bach Transcribed, and Baroque Reflections (a Gramophone “Editor’s Choice”). He also released the collection Lullabies for Mila on Signum Classics, which also features Chung and is dedicated to their young daughter, born in 2014.

Bax & Chung Duo courtesy of the artist

About Lucille Chung

First prize winner of the Stravinsky International Piano Competition, Lucille Chung has been celebrated for her “stylish and refined” performances by Gramophone. She was born in Montreal and made her debut at the age of ten with Montreal Symphony Orchestra, after which Charles Dutoit invited her as soloist on the orchestra’s tour of Asia. She has since performed with orchestras around the world, including Philadelphia Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Seoul Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, and Israel Chamber Orchestra, as well as all the major orchestras in Canada, among them the Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphonies and National Arts Centre Orchestra. She has appeared with conductors such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Vladimir Spivakov, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Vasily Petrenko. Her solo discography includes the first volume of her recording of György Ligeti’s complete piano works on the Dynamic label, as well as Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Transcriptions, Mozart & Me, as well as an all-Poulenc and an all-Liszt albums for Signum Classics.

Sponsored By

The Van Cliburn Concert Series Endowment Fund supported by
Susan and Chip Chambers | Mary Ann and Reed Greenwood | Kay and Ellis Melton | Marti and Kelly Sudduth | Alice L. Walton

Additional sponsorship provided by Ellen and Malcolm Hayward and Jill and Tom King

Special thanks to Tommy Smith and Steinway & Sons.