Rediscovered Beethoven Piano Trios Receive NY Premieres At Alice Tully Hall

On May 18, 2010 at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, The International Beethoven Project presents the New York premieres of three Beethoven chamber works. First and foremost on the program is the only completed movement of the recently rediscovered Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Hess 47, which received its world premiere to critical acclaim in Chicago last spring. The evening will also feature the New York premieres of two other virtually unknown Beethoven trios - Piano Trio in D Major, Anhang 3, and Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Opus 63. The beloved "Archduke" Piano Trio completes the concert program, which will be performed by The Beethoven Project Trio - an ensemble founded in 2008 that comprises three critically-acclaimed musicians: pianist George Lepauw, violinist Sang Mee Lee and cellist Wendy Warner.

Lepauw, a concert pianist who resides in Paris and Chicago when not touring, was first told about the existence of a partial manuscript of an unknown Beethoven piece in 2007 by Dominique Prévot, president of the Association Beethoven France. Working with James F. Green, editor of the New Hess Catalog of Beethoven's Works, and members of the American Beethoven Society, Lepauw was able to secure the score of Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Hess 47. He gave the work's world premiere in Chicago with the Beethoven Project Trio on March 1, 2009, an event that received international media attention. According to the Chicago Tribune, the discovery and performance of this piece has "cast revealing light on the master's working methods."

The world premiere recording, produced by the legendary 17-time Grammy winner Max Wilcox at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York, is scheduled for release on Cedille Records (distributed by Naxos) on May 25.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Trio for Piano, Violin and Violoncello in E-Flat Major, Hess 47, 1st movt A New York Premiere
The Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Hess 47 is an arrangement of Beethoven's String Trio Opus 3, composed ca. 1794. Beethoven set out to arrange the work for piano trio sometime between 1800 and 1805, but for reasons unknown, only completed the first movement. The original manuscript is preserved at the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, and to this day, no performance edition has been published. The International Beethoven Project will publish the first performance edition of the 12-minute piece by the end of 2010.

Trio for Piano, Violin and Violoncello in D Major, Kinsky/Halm Anhang 3 A New York Premiere
The Trio in D Major (1799) is an original Beethoven work in two movements. Two missing pages from the first movement - a total of 33 bars - were skillfully reconstructed and arranged by Robert McConnell to create a complete work, and the trio had its world premiere in 2007 in Genoa, Italy. The Trio was originally mistaken as a work of Mozart's, and was even logged by Ludwig Ritter von Köchel as Anhang 52a in his Mozart catalogue; but in 1926, scholars conducted a reassessment, and it was recognized as a work of Beethoven's. A contributing factor to the discrepancies surrounding this work is that the handwriting is that of Kaspar Karl van Beethoven, one of the composer's brothers who frequently acted as a copyist for his older brother. The manuscript is preserved at the British Library in London.

Trio for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, in E-Flat major, Opus 63 A New York Premiere
Beethoven's Trio in E-Flat Major, Opus 63 was published in 1806 in Vienna. A reworking of his Wind Octet (Opus 103) and String Quintet (Opus 4), this four-movement piece is fraught with passionate romantic drama, foreshadowing Beethoven's middle-period manner. The composer's first version was written for wind octet in 1792 (although it wasn't published until 1830). The material was then transformed into the String Quintet Opus 4 in 1795, with significant changes and revisions. The final version, for piano trio, most closely relates to the quintet, and was completed in 1805 or early 1806 - a full 13 years after the work's initial conception.

Trio for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, in B-Flat Major, Opus 97, "Archduke"
Written in 1811 but not published until 1816, Piano Trio in B Flat Major, Opus 97, was dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Beethoven's pupil, patron and friend. It is from this dedication that the work takes its nickname, though the work itself also channels innate nobility. It was first played in public in a charity concert in Vienna in April 1814; Beethoven's last public appearance as a pianist.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL BEETHOVEN PROJECT & THE BEETHOVEN PROJECT TRIO

The International Beethoven Project is a multifaceted endeavor created with the primary mission of educating the public about Ludwig van Beethoven's music, life, and thought. The project was designed to serve as an entry point for those curious about classical music and history, and provides an opportunity for a deeper exploration of Beethoven and the themes associated with his life. The project presents concerts, lectures and exhibits, among many other special events.

The Beethoven Project Trio was founded in 2008. Comprised of Pianist George Lepauw, Violinist Sang Mee Lee and Cellist Wendy Warner, the ensemble has been featured in newspapers and magazines around the globe such as Rheinische Merkur, Atlantic Times, Chicago Tribune, Asia Times, the Associated Press, and on television and radio broadcasts ranging from CBS Evening News and CNN to American Public Media's Performance Today and Chicago's WFMT Radio. This Alice Tully Hall performance marks the trio's New York debut.

GEORGE LEPAUW began his studies at the Rachmaninov Conservatory in Paris at the age of three, and was soon after accepted by Madame Aïda Barenboim as her youngest student (with the exception of her son, pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim). On the recommendation of conductor Carlo-Maria Giulini, George worked under the tutelage of Maria Curcio, a disciple of the great Arthur Schnabel, and later continued his studies in Paris and Alsace with Rena Cherechevskaia. Mr. Lepauw also traveled to Hannover, Germany to work with Russian concert pianist Vladimir Krainev.

Lepauw received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in English Literature and History from Georgetown University, and received his Masters of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University, where he studied piano with Ursula Oppens and James Giles. He was also the recipient of the first Earl Wild Foundation Prize, which awarded him the opportunity to study with the legendary pianist. In recent seasons, Lepauw has performed concertos, recitals and master classes in Europe and Asia, as well as in Chicago, where he frequently collaborates with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

SANG MEE LEE has been called "the rising star to watch in the music world" (Korean Broadcasting System) and "first among equals" (Boston Globe). She debuted as soloist with the Chicago Businessman's Orchestra at the age of five and has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra under Emmanuel Krivine, and the Korean Broadcasting Orchestra under Eun-Sung Park, among others.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Sang Mee holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in violin performance. She has been recognized around the globe, winning first prize at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, the Irving M. Klein International String Auditions, and the William C. Byrd Competition, among others. A frequent chamber musician, Sang Mee appears annually in the concert series at the Music Institute of Chicago, where she has been on faculty since 2000. She also serves on the chamber music faculty at Northwestern University. In 2009, Sang Mee was named one of the fifty most influential persons of Korean descent by Newsweek Korea.

WENDY WARNER, hailed by Strings magazine for her "youthful, surging playing, natural stage presence and almost frightening technique," has become one of the world's outstanding cellists. Since garnering international attention after winning first-prize at the International Rostropovich Competition in Paris in 1990, audiences have watched Warner perform on prestigious stages around the world including New York's Carnegie Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall, Los Angeles' Walt Disney Hall, and Berlin's Philharmonie. Warner has collaborated with leading conductors such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Spivakov, Christoph Eschenbach, and André Previn, and has performed with the Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic. A passionate chamber musician, she has collaborated with the Vermeer and Fine Arts Quartets, and with violinist Gidon Kremer.

Waner's musical studies began at age six under the tutelage of Nell Novak, with whom she studied until she joined Mstislav Rostropovich at the Curtis Institute. She made her New York debut in 1990 with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rostropovich. A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, she is on faculty at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, the Music Institute of Chicago, and the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Georgia.

TICKETS: Tickets are $68, $95 and $125. To purchase, visit the Box Office in the Alice Tully Hall lobby (Broadway at 65th Street), call 212.671.4050 or visit www.lincolncenter.org
VIP tickets, available for $200, include admittance to a 6:30 PM pre-concert reception, a prime seat for the concert, and priority access to the artists after the performance. A portion of the contribution is tax-deductible. To purchase a VIP ticket, please call 1-312-772-5821.

CD RELEASE: Prior to its official release date, the recording will be available for purchase at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble on the afternoon of May 15 at 3:00 PM - where the trio will sign CDs and give a short performance - and in the lobby of Alice Tully Hall on the evening of the May 18 performance.