Join us on Sunday, November 26 at 2:00 pm to welcome back violinist Sophie Wang and pianist Alice Chenyang Xu. When the duo first performed here in 2019, both artists were graduate students at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC). Sophie joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2022 and Alice is now pursuing a doctorate at NEC.
Program
| Composer | Work | Catalog |
|---|---|---|
| Fazıl Say | Violin Sonata No. 2 | Op.82 |
| Gabriel Fauré | Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major | Op.13 |
| Intermission | ||
| Richard Strauss | Violin Sonata in E-flat major | Op.18 |
| “Morgen!” from Four Songs | Op.27 |
About the Artists
Sophie Wang
A native of Irmo, South Carolina, Chinese-American violinist Sophie Wang joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s violin section in April 2022. She has performed in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall and soloed with the South Carolina Philharmonic and Schwob School of Music Philharmonic. She has won top prizes in the Beijing International Music Festival, New York International Artists, and Music Teachers National Association competitions. Prior to the BSO, Sophie Wang was senior assistant concertmaster of the South Carolina Philharmonic and assistant principal second violin of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with notable artists Roberto Díaz, Wendy Warner, and Charles Wetherbee and has worked closely with the Borromeo, Shanghai, and Brentano string quartets. She was a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center and has also participated in such festivals as IMS Prussia Cove, Taos School of Music, and Sarasota Music Festival.
Sophie Wang received her graduate diploma and master’s degree from New England Conservatory and a bachelor’s degree from Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Georgia. Her principal teachers have included Malcolm Lowe, Donald Weilerstein, Sergiu Schwartz, and William Terwilliger. She currently plays on a 1738 Testore violin on generous loan from The Colburn Collection.
Alice Chenyang Xu
In a recent performance with violinist Sammy Andonian, The Boston Musical Intelligencer described Alice Chenyang Xu’s playing as “incisive and with innate musicality.” Xu has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Germany, USA, Canada, and throughout China. Notable concerts include performances at Chicago Symphony Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago Auditorium Theatre, Corbett Auditorium in Cincinnati, Hochschule Musik Hall in Leipzig, Germany, and Jordan Hall in Boston.
Xu has collaborated with Borromeo String Quartet and members of the Cleveland Quartet, violinist Anthony Marwood, cellists John Myerscough and Bonnie Hampton, soprano Lucy Shelton, baritone William Sharp, and pianist Christina Dahl. She has worked directly with composers George Crumb, Jörg Widmann, and Helen Grime.
Xu graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music and Roosevelt University and is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at New England Conservatory of Music.