Midori
Nobuko Imai
Antoine Lederlin
Jonathan Biss

Performers

• Antoine Lederlin, Cello
• Jonathan Biss, Piano
• Midori, Violin
• Nobuko Imai, Viola

Program

• HAYDN Piano Trio in A Major, Hob. XV:9
• SCHUBERT Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898
• DVORÁK Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 87
• 
  Encore:
• BRAHMS Andante from Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 60

Bios

• Antoine Lederlin
  
  Born in 1975, French cellist Antoine Lederlin studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse in Paris, where he was a pupil of Roland Pidoux. He has also studied with János Starker, Isaac Stern, and Henri Dutilleux. At age 20, Mr. Lederlin became the solo cellist of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and principal cellist of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. Currently serving as the principal cellist in Sinfonieorchester Basel, Mr. Lederlin has appeared as both an orchestral soloist and as a chamber musician, performing at the major European festivals and Chicago’s Ravinia. In 2006, he joined the Belcea Quartet, with which he has been invited to the most prestigious concert halls around the world.

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• Jonathan Biss
  
  American pianist Jonathan Biss, widely regarded for his artistry and deeply felt interpretations, has won international recognition for his orchestral, recital, and chamber music performances on four continents and for his award-winning recordings. Noted also for his prodigious technique, intriguing programs, and musical intelligence, he performs a diverse repertoire that ranges from Mozart and Beethoven, through the Romantics, to Janáček and Schoenberg, as well as works by contemporary composers, including commissions from Leon Kirchner, Lewis Spratlan, and Bernard Rands.
  
  Mr. Biss made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, and has since appeared with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is a frequent performer at leading international music festivals and gives recitals in major music capitals both at home and abroad. This season, his recital appearances take him to 10 countries across Europe and in the US, with highlights that include his debut at the Edinburgh Festival and his much-anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage.
  
  Mr. Biss’s orchestral debuts include the Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, and Montreal Symphony orchestras. He returns for performances with a dozen other major North American and European orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic; the Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco symphony orchestras; and the National Arts Centre and Budapest Festival orchestras. During his second US tour with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Mr. Biss leads the ensemble in two Mozart piano concertos.
  
  An enthusiastic chamber musician and a frequent participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, Mr. Biss collaborates with many of today’s finest players, including performances with Midori, Antoine Lederlin, and Nobuko Imai. Later this season, he also performs the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 10 sonatas for violin and piano with Miriam Fried in Seoul, Korea.
  
  Mr. Biss’s newest recording is an album of Schubert sonatas and two short Kurtág pieces from Játékok. It follows four acclaimed recordings for EMI Classics, including an all-Schumann recital album, which won a Diapason d’or de l’année; and a recital album of Beethoven piano sonatas, which received an Edison Award. With the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Biss recorded Mozart piano concertos No. 21 and No. 22 in a live performance at Queens College in New York. His first release for EMI Classics was a 2004 recording of works by Beethoven and Schumann.

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• Midori
  
  Since her debut at the age of 11 with the New York Philharmonic more than 25 years ago, Midori has established a record of achievement that sets her apart as a master musician, an innovator, and a champion of the developmental potential of children. Named a United Nations Messenger of Peace by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2007, she has created a new model for young artists who seek to combine the joys and demands of a performing career at the highest level with a hands-on investment in the power of music to change lives.
  
  Midori’s performance schedule is balanced between recitals, chamber-music performances, and appearances with the world’s most prestigious orchestras. Midori’s 2010–2011 season includes new-music recitals and workshops; tours of the US, Europe, and Asia; and increasing her already extensive commitment to music education in her capacity as chair of the string department at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Among the conductors with whom Midori collaborates during the 2010–2011 season are Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Donald Runnicles, Alan Gilbert, Antonio Pappano, Kent Nagano, and Edo de Waart.
  
  In 1992, Midori founded Midori & Friends, a nonprofit organization in New York that brings music education programs to thousands of underprivileged children each year. Two other organizations, Music Sharing, based in Japan, and Partners in Performance, based in the US, also bring music closer to the lives of people who may not otherwise have involvement with the arts. Midori’s commitment to community collaboration and outreach extends beyond these organizations to her work with young violinists in master classes all over the world, and to her Orchestra Residencies Program in the US. In 2010–2011, Midori conducts community-engagement programs in Tennessee, New York, Maine, Iowa, Japan, Bulgaria, and Laos.
  
  Midori’s two most recent recordings are an album of sonatas by Bach and Bartók and The Essential Midori, a two-CD compilation. Like most of her recordings, both are issued by Sony Masterworks.
  
  Midori’s violin is the 1734 Guarneri del Gesu “ex-Huberman,” which is on lifetime loan to her from the Hayashibara Foundation.

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• Nobuko Imai
  
  With her exceptional talent, musical integrity, and charisma, Nobuko Imai is considered to be one of the most outstanding violists of our time. After finishing her studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, Yale University, and The Juilliard School, she won the highest prizes at prestigious international competitions in Munich and Geneva. Formerly a member of the esteemed Vermeer Quartet, Ms. Imai combines a distinguished international solo career with various teaching commitments. She has appeared with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As a keen chamber musician, Ms. Imai has performed with various prominent artists, including Gidon Kremer, Midori, Isaac Stern, Mischa Maisky, and Martha Argerich. In 2003, she formed the Michelangelo String Quartet, which quickly gained international reputation and has become one of finest quartets in the world.
  
  Ms. Imai has dedicated a large part of her artistic activities to explore the diverse potential of the viola. She returns to Japan several times a year to perform as soloist and notably for the annual Viola Space project. In 1995–1996, Ms. Imai was artistic director of three Hindemith Viola Festivals at Wigmore Hall in London, Columbia University in New York, and Casals Hall in Tokyo. In 2009, she founded the Tokyo International Viola Competition, the first international competition in Japan exclusively for viola. She has a discography of more than 40 CDs on the BIS, Chandos, Hyperion, Philips, Sony, and other labels. Ms. Imai was a professor at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold from 1983 to 2003, and she currently teaches at the conservatories of Amsterdam and Geneva, Kronberg Academy in Germany, and Ueno Gakuen University in Tokyo.

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