Violinist Nancy Zhou and pianist Jeffrey Kahane stopped by our Performance Studio on Thursday, Nov. 14 to treat listeners to what Kahane calls “arguably one of the most beautiful works ever written for any pair of instruments, or any instrument period— the first sonata by Johannes Brahms for piano and violin.”
He quickly corrected himself with a laugh.
“Or violin and piano!”
Zhou, a San Antonio native, was recently back home to perform the Brahms violin concerto with the San Antonio Philharmonic. This weekend, she’s here as an appreciative listener as the Philharmonic performs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and the Piano Concerto No. 4, with Kahane both conducting and acting as soloist.
Next month, Zhou will premiere a brand new concerto by Canadian composer Vivian Fung, with the La Jolla Symphony and conductor Sameer Patel. Zhou calls the piece both “fantastic” and “effervescent,” and praises Fung’s ethnomusicological research that makes its way into her music.
