21C Artists To Watch: February 2011

Pianist Joyce Yang pinch-hit for an indisposed Lang Lang in snowy Buffalo on January 29^th with the Buffalo Philharmonic under JoAnn Falletta. The Buffalo News headline declared, "Yang is the real deal" after her performance of Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto. "She stepped into [Lang Lang's] shoes, at the last minute. And she did a fine job of it, too ... The finale, written to bring the house down, did exactly that."

The 24-year-old pianist basked in warm climates and equally warm attention in recent weeks in a Florida recital with violinist Stefan Jackiw and her first collaboration with the Miró Quartet in California. "The first date is so exciting," Yang said in a La Jolla Chamber Music Society preview interview. "[Playing with a new group] is like going on a blind date with really good recommendations. See if the sparks fly."

They did. "Yang has been a formidable presence over the last three SummerFest seasons, clearly realizing the promise that garnered her the Silver Medal at the Van Cliburn International Competition in 2005. Her patrician touch and lithe phrasing in the Mozart Piano Quartet complemented the Miró strings at every turn." --SanDiego.com, 1/25/11 [Kenneth Herman]

For more information, visit Joyce Yang's web site or the Opus 3 Artists web site.

Jessica Rivera sings John Adams

This month soprano Jessica Rivera is at the Metropolitan Opera covering the role of Pat Nixon in John Adams's Nixon in China. It's not her first "stand by your man" role in an Adams opera. She made her European debut at Netherlands Opera as Kitty Oppenheimer in his Doctor Atomic (view brief clip), a role she reprised at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In December she sang El Niño with the San Francisco Symphony under Adams's baton.

Also at the Met right now is sound designer Mark Grey, who has collaborated with Adams since the 2002 premiere of On the Transmigration of Souls for the New York Philharmonic. A gifted composer, Grey has written Ātash Sorushān ("Fire Angels") for Rivera on a co-commission from Carnegie Hall and CAL Performances. She sings the premiere of the piece on March 29th in her Zankel Hall recital, shortly after making her Cleveland Orchestra debut.

Rivera's Met Opera residency marks the ten-year anniversary of an event that changed her life: she stepped in from the chorus to sing Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro during final dress rehearsals at Los Angeles Opera, which led to an invitation from Plácido Domingo and a decade of "magnificent adventure," as she writes in her new blog. Read more...

For more information, visit Jessica Rivera's new web site or the IMG Artists web site.

Julian Kuerti leads five orchestras in a month

Julian Kuerti has kicked off 2011 with a quintet of conducting engagements in the U.S. and his native Canada. "Beethoven's Fifth is thrilling" headlined the Democrat & Chronicle review of his debut with the Rochester Philharmonic on January 20^th, and City Newspaper concurred: "I should hope that we will see more of Kuerti, paired to our RPO." Listen to WXXI radio interview with Kuerti and violin soloist Karen Gomyo.

Itzhak Perlman was in the spotlight for Kuerti's debut with the Seattle Symphony, and when the conductor returned to the Utah Symphony last weekend, he was paired with yet another violinist, the fast-rising star Augustin Hadelich. "The rest of the evening was all about color," noted the The Salt Lake Tribune. "Kuerti led an assured performance of 'La Mer,' highlighted by the second movement's sparkling musical depiction of light on the waves."

Following his debut with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and soprano Dawn Upshaw this weekend, Kuerti heads home to Toronto to lead the Royal Conservatory Orchestra on February 18^th. But they're still talking about him at the Cincinnati Symphony, where his unscheduled debut last spring made the Cincinnati Enquirer's list of 2010 favorites: "Julian Kuerti stepped in at the 11th hour and wowed with a program that included a volcanic performance of Respighi's 'The Pines of Rome.'" He was immediately re-engaged...twice.

For more information, visit Julian Kuerti's new web site or the IMG Artists web site.

Joshua Roman plays the State Department

It's not every day that cellists get mentioned at ForeignPolicy.com, on the wire services, and in the New York Times for hobnobbing with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Last month Joshua Roman performed with Yo-Yo Ma at the State Department dinner honoring Chinese President Hu Jintao. There "the ascendant rock star of the cello world," as Seattle's PI has dubbed Roman, played three pieces with Ma by Western and Chinese composers for over 260 politicians, lawmakers and business leaders.

Roman is fast becoming an ambassador for classical music. He was recently selected as a 2011 TED Fellow. At the end of this month he heads to Long Beach, CA, to participate with other global innovators in TED's annual conference dedicated to Ideas Worth Spreading. He also recently made a Voice Project video with DJ Spooky to help bring attention to the plight of Ugandans and raise funds on their behalf.

What's next? "It has been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid to play for the Queen of England," Roman told PI. "Preferably in the throne room."

For more information, visit JoshuaRoman.com, his YouTube channel, or the Opus 3 Artists web site.

James Valenti debuts at the Paris Opera

Tenor James Valenti sings the role of Lt. Pinkerton this month for his Paris Opera debut at the Bastille. In between performances of Robert Wilson's striking production, he's found time to travel to London to record some tracks at the Abbey Road Studios for soprano Angela Gheorghiu's next EMI CD.

"Since the late Franco Corelli how many tall, slim, golden-voiced and handsome tenors have there been?" asked The Italian Tribune in an extensive January feature on Valenti's journey from singing pop songs in high school to winning the 2010 Richard Tucker Award and starring in the world's top opera houses. Valenti has said that seeing the first "Three Tenors" concert on TV changed his life. (Read more) Now he's sharing the stage with one of them, Plácido Domingo, on February 24th at Opera Tampa's "Night of Stars" Gala.

Valenti returns to the Dallas Opera next month as the Duke in Rigoletto. In 2009 the young tenor received the company's Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award, recognizing his outstanding debut in La bohème. And hot off the press: Dallas Opera has announced its 2011-12 season, in which Valenti will sing Alfredo in La Traviata.

For more information, visit JamesValenti.com, his YouTube channel or the IMG Artists web site.

Photos: Oh Seok Hoon (Yang), Isabel Pinto (Rivera), Dario Acosta (Kuerti, Valenti), Jeremy Sawatzky (Roman)

About 21C Artists To Watch

21C Artists To Watch is an image- and awareness-building program for artists on the brink of major careers in classical music. Each month, 21C Media Group publishes an e-newsletter profiling several members of this select group and highlighting their recent and upcoming activities.
Read past newsletters here.

For inquiries regarding
21C Artists To Watch, please contact:
Wende Persons
Artists To Watch Program Director
Phone (917) 691-1282; click here to e-mail