SOPHIA STOYANOVICH, violin
Hailed as "spectacular" (Bernard Jacobson, Seattle Times) and an artist commanding "superb musical instincts, a lustrous tone, and exemplary technique" (Huntley Dent, Fanfare) American violinist Sophia Stoyanovich has captivated audiences since her 2010 debut with the Seattle Symphony, and performs internationally today in solo, collaborative, and orchestral roles.
Recent highlights include performing Alban Berg’s Chamber Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Winds at The DiMenna Center in New York; her solo European debut at the Wiener Konzerthaus with the Wiener Opernball Orchestra; and her recital debut in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall as the winner of the New York International Artists Association First Prize. In June of 2024, Ms. Stoyanovich released her debut album with Bridge Records, Rue Paradis. Praised as a recording of "extraordinary communication" (Fanfare), she collaborated with pianist Derek Wang and cellist Aaron Wolff to record chamber works by her father, Serbian-American composer, Patrick Stoyanovich.
Born to a family of artists, Ms. Stoyanovich grew up on Bainbridge Island, WA and is currently based in New York City. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music from The Juilliard School, and is a doctoral candidate and fellowship recipient at The Graduate Center under the mentorship of Mark Steinberg. She is on the faculty of Hunter College and The 92nd Street Y School of Music in New York.
More information and concert schedule for Sophia can be found at www.sophiastoyanovich.com.
DEREK WANG, piano
With virtuosity and “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal) at the service of “pure poetry” (Seen and Heard International), pianist Derek Wang is drawing increasing acclaim in the roles of soloist, collaborator, curator, and communicator.
A proponent of the music of Franz Liszt, Derek was awarded second prize at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in the Netherlands in 2022, which followed on the heels of first prize at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021. He held a three-summer-long fellowship position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival, performing a total of over fifty works of the 20th and 21st centuries. In 2025, Derek began a role as Creative Enterprise Fellow at Juilliard, curating a range of programs including sesquicentennial celebrations of composer Charles Ives and poet Rainer Maria Rilke, an interdisciplinary program interweaving ecological texts with George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale), and an all-Philip Glass marathon concert on the composer’s 88th birthday.
Derek holds degrees from Juilliard and from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany in the studio of Arie Vardi. For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.
Program title: Musically Yours, Love Letters in Music
Program Description: Today’s recital program centers around the love letters composers write into their music. Secretively, heartbroken, or euphoric, these letters are the passport to understanding some of the greatest musical compositions in the repertoire. Today’s program celebrates love in loss, elation, and redemption through composers of the past and present including Patrick Stoyanovich, W.A. Mozart and Richard Strauss.
Program:
Patrick STOYANOVICH (b. 1962-) Romance for Violin & Piano (8:00)
W.A. MOZART (1756-1791) Violin Sonata No.21 in E minor, K. 304 (12:00)
I. Allegro
II. Tempo di Menuetto
Richard STRAUSS (1894-1949) Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op.18 (27:00)
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Improvisation: Andante cantabile
III. Finale: Andante - Allegro
Free entry, with an optional donation.