Pianist Han Chen To Appear With Argento New Music At DiMenna Center In April

The pianist Han Chen joins members of the Argento New Music Project in concert under the baton of maestro and Artistic Director of Argento Michel Galante at Benzaquen Hall at DiMenna Center (450 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018), Saturday afternoon, April 6, 2024, at 4 pm.

Mr. Chen will participate in a performance of Three Places in New England by American composer Charles Ives, and the world premiere of Korea-born composer Sang Song's Hoarding Behaviors. Entitled "Made in America," all five works on this program were and are conceived and written in America.

Inspired by the case of the Collyer Brothers, Song took inspiration from Beethoven's Diabelli Variations (a set of 33 variations when Beethoven was commissioned to write just one), J. M. W. Turner's bequest to the National Gallery (a heap of 20,000 drawings and sketches) and Alfred Lord Tennyson's In Memoriam A. H. H. (a collection of 133 elegies with a total of 2,916 lines) and created a musical reflection on human frailty. Hoarding Behaviors is commissioned by Fromm Foundation at Harvard University.

Full program follows:

Edgard Varèse Octandre (1923) for chamber ensemble

William Grant Still Mother and Child (1943) for string orchestra

Charles Ives The Housatonic at Stockbridge (1921) for soprano and piano

Charles Ives Three Places in New England (1903-1929) for chamber orchestra (with pianist Han Chen)

~Intermission~

Sang Song Hoarding Behaviors (2022-2023) for soprano and 11 instruments (with pianist Han Chen)

Tickets

Suggested donations of $20 for general admission and $10 for student admission are available on Eventbrite. For further information, please visit Argento Music's website and pianist Han Chen's website.

Mr. Chen will be joined by colleague and fellow musicians: Sharon Harms, soprano, Francesca Ferrara, flute, Kathy Halvorson, oboe, Carol McGonnell, clarinet, Karl Kramer, horn, Joshua Butcher, bassoon, Brad Siroky, trumpet, Jen Baker, trombone, Sean Statser, percussion, Josh Perry, percussion, Conrad Harris, violin, Giancarlo Lotta, violin, Clara King, violin, Chala Yance, violin, Gregory Luce, viola, Carrie Frey, viola, Michael Katz, cello, Aaron Wolff, cello, Austin Lewellen, bass, Troy Rinker, Jr., bass.

About Han Chen

Pianist Han Chen has emerged among the new generation of concert pianists as a uniquely fearless performer in a wide variety of musical settings. Gold Medalist at the 2013 China International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition, he has been praised by Gramophone as "impressively commanding and authoritative" and further cited by The New York Times for his "graceful touch," "rhythmic precision" and "hypnotic charm." Chen's virtuosity is enriched by a probing commitment to new and lesser-known works as well as the great cornerstones of the piano repertory. This vision is clearly evident in his four solo Naxos CDs focusing on Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Thomas Adès, and more recently, György Ligeti's Complete Piano Études. As soloist with orchestra, Chen's appearances include the Calgary Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Taiwan Symphony, China Symphony and Xiamen Philharmonic. He made his Lincoln Center debut with Riverside Symphony at Alice Tully Hall in December 2022 performing Mozart's early masterwork, the Piano Concerto No. 9 le Jeunehomme. Chen has performed as solo recitalist throughout Europe, North America, and China. In frequent demand as a chamber musician, Chen is a core member of Ensemble Échappé while regularly collaborating with The Metropolis Ensemble and other adventurous groups in performances in America and abroad. In 2021, Chen launched Migration Music, an ongoing series of interviews and performances featuring immigrant composers.

Han Chen has studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Wha Kyung Byun, and Ursula Oppens at The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and CUNY Graduate Center. He is represented by Black Tea Music.

About Argento

Argento is one of New York City's premiere virtuoso chamber ensembles dedicated to innovative musical performance and the discovery of daring artistic paths. Championing contemporary cutting-edge composers and framing classical repertoire in new contexts, Argento inspires musical inquiry through artistic collaboration and education.

Argento has built an international reputation since its founding in 2000. With a firm commitment to intellectually rigorous interpretations, the nine-member ensemble regularly expands to thirty musicians to deliver technically demanding performances. The ensemble collaborates with leading and emerging composers, produces internationally acclaimed recordings, and brings pressing concerns of contemporary music to the forefront.