Washington Performing Arts Presents Ray Chen – October 9th at The Kennedy Center In a Recital Program of Mozart, Sarasate and Beethoven, with Pianist Julio Elizalde

Mozart Album with Christoph Eschenbach & the Schleswig-Holstein Orchestra Available Now on Sony Classical

On October 9th, acclaimed violinist Ray Chen will return to The Kennedy Center for the first time since his triumphant debut there in 2009, after which the Washington Post proclaimed, “Ray Chen can do pretty much anything he wants on the violin.” Winner of both the International Yehudi Menuhin and Queen Elizabeth competitions, Chen will perform a recital program of Mozart (Violin Sonata in A major), Sarasate (Spanish Dances “Habanera”, “Playera” and Zigeumerweisen) and Beethoven (Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major), together with pianist Julio Elizalde.

This spring, Ray Chen released his latest recording for Sony Classical, an album fully dedicated to works by Mozart. The “delectable” (Baltimore Sun) album includes Mozart’s Violin Concertos K216 in G Major and K218 in D Major, for which Ray Chen composed his own cadenzas, plus Violin Sonata K305 in A Major. On the recording, Chen is joined by the internationally renowned interpreter of Mozart’s works Christoph Eschenbach, who not only conducts the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in the concertos, but also performs with Ray Chen on the piano for the sonata. Sample the album here.

A combination of technical brilliance and charisma puts Ray Chen among the most compelling young violinists today: “Chen’s warmly communicative manner is something to be treasured,” commented Gramophone magazine. He reaches out to the young generation via social media platforms, and is followed by over 700,000 people on SoundCloud. The support of Giorgio Armani, who styled the cover image for the album, a recent feature in Vogue magazine and his fashion/music/touring blog for Italy’s prestigious publishing house, RCS Rizzoli, show the success of his efforts to break down barriers between classical music, fashion, and pop culture.

Ray Chen, born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, was invited to play solo with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. He studied under Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music, and won the Yehudi Menuhin Competition in 2008 and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2009. In 2012, he became the youngest soloist ever to perform in the televised concert for Nobel Prize laureates and the Swedish Royal Family. His Carnegie Hall debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic under Sakari Oramo and his sold-out Musikverein concert with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly received standing ovations, and last year he made his debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Ray Chen plays the 1702 “Lord Newlands” Stradivarius violin, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. For Ray Chen’s complete concert calendar visit www.raychenviolin.com.

Program Details: Ray Chen in Recital – October 9, 2014
The Kennedy Center, 7:30 pm
MOZART – Violin Sonata in A major, K. 305
SARASATE – Spanish Dances, Op. 21 “Habanera”
SARASATE – Spanish Dances, Op. 23 “Playera”
SARASATE – Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
BEETHOVEN – Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer”

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

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