Essential Piano Trios
Warmth, Dialogues, and Drama
Artists
Randall Hodgkinson, piano
Irina Muresanu, violin
Ronald Lowry, cello
Violinist Irina Muresanu and pianist Randall Hodgkinson join cellist Ronald Lowry in a program featuring Beethoven’s sixth piano trio, combining elegance, Schubertian melodies, daring harmonics, and rhythmic energy, and the Dvořák F-minor trio, infused with stirring Czech melodies and rhythms.
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio No. 6 in E-flat major, Op. 70, No. 2
Antonín Dvořák, Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65, B. 130
About the Artists
Pianist Randall Hodgkinson has performed as a soloist with major orchestras in the United States and abroad. In addition to his work with the Orion Ensemble, he is an artist member of the Boston Chamber Music Society. He also performs the four-hand and two-piano repertoire with his wife, Leslie Amper. Mr. Hodgkinson is a faculty member of the New England Conservatory, Wellesley College, and the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge. As a young artist, he won the International American Music Competition and the Tanglewood Music Center’s Cabot Award.
Romanian violinist Irina Muresanu is known for elegant and passionate performances that stretch the boundaries of classical music. A sought-after soloist and chamber musician who has appeared throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and South Africa, Ms. Muresanu is a compelling interpreter of contemporary music. As a faculty member of the University of Maryland, she has documented worldwide variations in violin technique, and she is engaged in development of AI technology for use in violin instruction. Ms. Muresanu earned the Artist Diploma and Doctor in Musical Arts degrees from New England Conservatory. She plays an 1849 Giuseppe Rocca violin with an Étienne Pajeot bow.
Needham Concert Society artistic director Ronald Lowry — praised in the Boston Globe for “superb” musicianship—is principal cellist of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. He performs frequently with the Boston Symphony, both at home and on international tours. He has presented solo recitals at Jordan Hall and at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and he has been a guest artist with the Boston Chamber Music Society, the New England Conservatory First Mondays concert series, and the Muir String Quartet. Mr. Lowry teaches at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, and the Rivers School Conservatory.
