March 22/23, 2014 – Kuchar/Argenta Trio

Saturday, March 22, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 23, 2014, 2:00 p.m.

Theodore Kuchar, Music Director and Conductor
Argenta Trio (Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, violin; Dmitri Atapine, cello; James Winn, piano)

Beethoven: Turkish March from “The Ruins of Athens”
Beethoven: Romance, Op. 50
Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4

This very special all-Beethoven concert, led by Maestro Theodore Kuchar, highlights the artistry of the Argenta Trio, UNR’s resident chamber ensemble, in the Triple Concerto. Also on the program are the dynamic Symphony No. 4 and two melodic shorter works.

Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio

Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio joined the Argenta Trio in the fall of 2007 as she began her new position as Assistant Professor of Violin & Viola and Director of the Orchestral Career Studies graduate program at the University of Nevada, Reno. Founder and Artistic Director of Cactus Pear Music Festival, Stephanie was the Concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony for thirteen years, appearing annually as a soloist. Formerly First Assistant Principal Second Violin of The Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnanyi, she recorded and toured internationally with this acclaimed ensemble for eight seasons. Ms. Sant’Ambrogio has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S. and in the countries of Canada, Estonia, Sweden, Ghana, Italy, Peru, Chile and Mexico. In addition to her active performing career over two decades, she is devoted to teaching serious young violinists, many of whom have successfully chosen careers in music. Read More

Dmitri Atapine

Described as ”a splendid, elegant cellist, with a gorgeous sound” (MundoClasico), Dr. Atapine has been hailed as a performer with “brilliant technical chops” (Gramophone), whose playing is “highly impressive throughout” (The Strad). A cello professor and member of the Argenta Trio at the University of Nevada Reno, Dr. Atapine is an avid soloist and recitalist, and has appeared on some of the world’s most coveted stages including Zankel and Weill Halls at Carnegie Hall, National Auditorium of Spain, Juan March Foundation (Madrid), Prince Philip Auditorium (Asturias), among many others. Read More

James Winn

Dr. James Winn, piano and composition professor at the University of Nevada, Reno since 1997, made his professional debut with the Denver Symphony at the age of thirteen, and has been performing widely in North America, Europe, and Japan ever since. With his duo-piano partner, Cameron Grant, he was a recipient of the top prize given in the two-piano category of the 1980 Munich Competition. Dr. Winn has been a solo pianist with the New York City Ballet, a member of the New York New Music Ensemble, and of Hexagon (woodwind quintet plus piano), as well as a frequent guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum, the Washington Square Contemporary Music Series, the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento, the Group for Contemporary Music, and Bargemusic. Read More

Theodore Kuchar

Theodore Kuchar, one of the most prolifically recorded conductors of the past decade, appears on over 100 compact discs for the Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine and Marco Polo labels. For the past 17 years, he has served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of two of Europe’s preeminent orchestras, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. He presently also serves as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela and the Fresno Philharmonic. An avid chamber musician, he served as the Artistic Director of The Australian Festival of Chamber Music (1990-2006), and has served as the Artistic Director of the Nevada Chamber Music Festival since 2005. Since 2004, he has served as Resident Conductor at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, the educational institution established by the late George Szell, in cooperation with The Cleveland Orchestra. Read More.

Program Notes Coming Soon

Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, cellist Lynn Harrell, pianist Andre Previn, and the London Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Masur.