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Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse, Piano and Clarinet
Thursday, November 30 2017, 06:30 PM at
Sol Joseph Recital Hall Map
Faculty Artist Series

Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse, Piano and Clarinet

Thursday, November 30 2017, 06:30 PM
at
Sol Joseph Recital Hall Map

Program

Johannes Brahms
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in F Minor, Op. 120 No. 1              

Frédéric Chopin
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22             

Paquito D’Rivera
Lecuonerias from The Cape Cod Files
commissioned by the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival for the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, 2009

Gordon Goodwin
Four Views for Clarinet and Piano      
commissioned by VanDoren by DANSR Inc. for the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, 2012

John Novacek
Full Stride Ahead+ from Four Rags for Two Jons
commissioned by the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, 2006

MANASSE/NAKAMATSU DUO

Comprised of clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu, two of America's most distinguished artists, the MANASSE/NAKAMATSU DUO immediately established itself with a highly acclaimed 2004 performance in Boston. Subsequent coast-to-coast touring has included appearances on some of the country's most prestigious series: New York City's Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Washington's Dumbarton Oaks and National Gallery of Art, Brookings Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Corvallis, Chamber Music Monterey Bay, Eastman School of Music, Des Moines Art Center, Duke University, Kansas State University, Montalvo Center for the Arts, Northeastern Illinois University, Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society, Rhode Island Chamber Music Concerts, St. Bonaventure University, Samford University, San Jose Chamber Music Society, Fort Worth's Van Cliburn Foundation, Charlottesville's Tuesday Evening Concert Series, University of Massachusetts Amherst. The artists are also heard at the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, which they serve as co-directors.

The Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo's current season is highlighted by a return to the distinguished series of Chamber Music Corvallis, as well as performances for Joplin, Missouri's Pro Musica, Oregon's Rogue Valley Symphony and California's Music at Kohl Mansion.

The Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo is also dedicated to expanding the concert repertoire for their instruments' beautifully combinative sounds. To date, the artists have commissioned John Novacek's Four Rags for Two Jonsand Paquito D'Rivera's The Cape Cod Files. Subsequently expanded and orchestrated by the composer, The Cape Cod Concerto received its world premiere in May 2011 by Symphony Silicon Valley.

Individually, Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu have developed extensive repertoires and lengthy discographies. Their hundreds of performances include concerto engagements, solo recitals and chamber music collaborations with orchestras, universities and music festivals, here at home and throughout the world. Additionally, Jon Manasse served as the principal clarinetist of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, performing under the batons of Artistic Director James Levine and, among others, Andrew Davis, Valery Gergiev and Vladimir Jurowski; Jon Nakamatsu is the Gold Medalist of the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

The Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo's debut CD, a harmonia mundi usa album of the Brahms Clarinet Sonatas, was released early in 2008. Almost immediately, The New York Times exclaimed, "Jon Nakamatsu's contribution is just as important as Mr. Manasse's, and their partnership is complete. Mr. Nakamatsu's playing is as meltingly beautiful as Mr. Manasse's. Harmonia Mundi's production is impeccable, capturing such disparate instruments in full color and a lifelike perspective." An all-American album, comprising works of Bernstein, D'Rivera, Gershwin and Novacek, was released to international acclaim in Fall 2010.

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Thursday, November 30 2017, 06:30 PM to Thursday, November 30 2017, 08:30 PM