August 18, 2000
Friday, 8 PM at Boswell Recital Hall
Lecture
by
Nai-Yuan Hu
Bach's
unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin
Nai-Yuan Hu:
In 1985, violinist Nai-Yuan Hu won the First Prize in the prestigious Queen Elisabeth
International Competition in Belgium, which was juried by a
distinguished panel of musicians such as Yehudi Menuhin, Henryk Szeryng, Igor Oistrakh and
Gidon Kremer. Since then, he has appeared on many of the world's stages. In praise of his
playing, the magazine Strad wrote: Mr. Nai-Yuan Hu is a magnificent violinist" and
described his performance as "elegantly aristocratic..."
Mr. Hu's solo engagements include appearances with the Toronto Symphony, the Netherland
and Rotterdam Philharmonics, Belgian National Orchestra, the Liege Philharmonic and
Orchestre National de Lille in France, Haifa Symphony, Austro-Hungarian Haydn Chamber
Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra
of Taiwan, Hong Kong Philharmonic and others. He has recorded an album of virtuoso violin
music with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, with whom he later toured in
Mexico. With the Belgian National Orchestra, he toured throughout Germany in such cities
as Munich, Hannover and Dortmund. Hu has collaborated with the
conductors Gunther Herbig, Gerard Schwarz, Jahja Ling, Adam Fischer, Maxim Shostokovich
and George Cleve, among others.
Hu has given recitals in such venues as The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Alice Tully Hall
and Weill Recital Hall in New York, Cite de la Musique in Paris, Purcell Room in London,
and Jordan Hall in Boston where he premiered Bright Sheng's "The Stream Flows"
in 1990. He has also appeared in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Brussels, Antwerp, The
Hague, and Bergen, Norway. In Taiwan, Mr. Hu has performed in the Opening Concert at the
National Concert Hall and Presidential Concert. His performances have been broadcast on
WQXR (the radio station of The New York Times), National Public Radio and PBS in the
United States; and Belgian, Dutch and French radio and television stations as well as
National Public Television in Taiwan.
In summer seasons, Hu has appeared as either a guest soloist or chamber musician in such
festivals as Mostly Mozart, Marlboro, Grand Teton, Waterloo, Seattle, and Newport. A
chamber music enthusiast, he has collaborated with musicians such as Fou Ts'ong, Martha
Argerich, and Misha Maisky in Beijing Music Festival, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, and others in
Taipei International Music Festival which was directed by Cho-Liang Lin. He also has
participated in the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society and Brooklyn Bargemusic series.
Hu's recording of Goldmark's Concerto and Bruch's Concerto No.2 with Gerard Schwarz and
The Seattle Symphony released by Delos garnered "Critics' Choice" from
Gramophone as well as praises from many publications including BBC Music Magazine, The
Times of London, and The Washington Post. At the invitation of Taiwan's Chi-Mei
Foundation, Mr. Hu also recorded a series of CDs playing violins from Chi-Mei's priceless
collection of instruments. Most recently, he is in midst of a recording project for EMI.
Born in Taiwan, Mr. Hu began studying the violin at age five and was soloist with the
National Youth Orchestra of Taiwan three years later. He came to the United States in 1972
to continue his studies, first with Broadus Erle and later with Joseph Silverstein. At
Indiana University, he studied with Josef Gingold and later became his assistant. In 1996,
Hu joined the faculty of the Hartt School of Music.