Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han know how to collaborate, both on and off the stage. The Wall Street Journal once called this classical duo “chamber music’s power couple” and powerful they are. Married since 1985, both artists are recognized for their individual classical prowesses, but they are especially known their bold sonatas for cello and piano.
Finckel and Han will make a special appearance in Asheville at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m., hosted by the Asheville Chamber Music Series. These internationally-known musicians were recently named Musical America‘s Musicians of the Year. It is the first time in the history of the awards that two musicians have been featured on the magazine’s cover since its founding in 1898.
Both musicians boast impressive resumes. David Finckel was the first American student of the renowned Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. He will join the Juilliard faculty this fall. Wu Han began playing piano at age nine and quickly won many of the major music awards in Taiwan. As mature musicians, Wu Han and David Finckel have served as artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2004. They are the founders of the Music@Menio chamber music festival in San Francisco and Chamber Music Today, a new festival in Seoul, South Korea.
The duo’s countless endeavors makes one wonder how they will manage to make a stop in Asheville, especially in a space as intimate as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville. Don’t miss this opportunity to see two of the world’s most impressive musicians while they’re in town.
Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place. $35/students free. The program will include cello sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy and Shostakovich. Info: www.ashevillechambermusic.org or 575-7427.
Photo by Christian Steiner
