Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival Musician Bios

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Artistic Director, Edward Arron, cellist

In the fall of 2000, cellist Edward Arron made his New York recital debut at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Earlier that year, the Cincinnati native performed Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Cellos with Yo-Yo Ma and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at the opening of New York's Caramoor International Music Festival. Since that time, he has performed recitals throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, and has appeared as a soloist with the Charleston Symphony, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Greensboro (NC) Symphony Orchestra, the Stamford (CT) Symphony Orchestra, and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. In the 2003-2004 season, Mr. Arron will be featured in a new Metropolitan Museum Concerts venture inaugurated for the series' 50th anniversary: a new ensemble, Metropolitan Museum Artists In Concert, whose three concerts will be aired on New York's classical radio station, WQXR. Recent highlights of Mr. Arron's career have included collaborations with Renee Fleming, James Taylor, and Yo-Yo Ma, as well as with the Tokyo and Shanghai Quartets. Mr. Arron is a regular performer at Bargemusic and is the artistic coordinator for the Caramoor Virtuosi. He has also performed at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In recent seasons, Mr. Arron has performed with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project and has appeared at the Salzburg, Ravinia, Tanglewood, and Piccolo Spoleto festivals, as well as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Isaac Stern's Jerusalem Chamber Music Encounters. For four seasons, Mr. Arron was the artistic administrator and resident performer for WQXR's "On A-I-R" weekly radio series devoted to chamber music. Edward Arron began his studies on the cello at the age of seven. He later studied with Peter Wiley in New York and graduated from The Juilliard School in 1998, where he was a student of Harvey Shapiro.

Rieko Aizawa, Pianist

Japanese pianist Rieko Aizawa is known for that rare combination of technical mastery and musical sensitivity, which has repeatedly earned the admiration of musicians and critics alike. In 1988, Ms. Aizawa was brought to the attention of Alexander Schneider by the recommendation of pianist Mitsuko Uchida. Schneider engaged her as soloist with his Brandenburg Ensemble at the opening concerts of Tokyo's Casals Hall; later that year, Schneider presented 14-year-old Ms. Aizawa in her U.S. debut concerts at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, performing Mozart's Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414, with his New York String Orchestra. The Washington Post celebrated her performance: "She played with a beautiful, limpid tone and a sense of characterization and cohesiveness that is unusual." To complete her triumphant season of U.S. debuts, during January of 1989 Ms. Aizawa stepped in as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony,guest conducted by Schneider. The San Francisco Chronicle noted her performance for its "poise and bearing beyond her years . . . She presented the Andante in a gentle, thoughtful way that graced the music, returning Mozart's thought in its spirit . . . satisfying and uplifting." In succeeding seasons, Ms. Aizawa performed in solo and orchestral engagements throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, including Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall and Chicago's Orchestra Hall. She has also participated in numerous festivals, such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Vermont; the Kammermusik Festival Moritzburg, Germany; and the Evian Festival, France. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Aizawa has performed with the Guarneri, Shanghai and Orion String Quartets. Highlights of recent seasons have included acclaimed performances of Mozart's Concerto in C Major, K. 467, with Seiji Ozawa and the New Japan Philharmonic; the Chopin Concerto No. 1 with Jiri Belohlavek and the Japan Philharmonic; and the Festival Strings Lucerne in Switzerland under Rudolf Baumgartner. Other orchestral appearances include the English Chamber Orchestra under Heinz Holliger, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Wolff, the Curtis Institute Orchestra with Peter Oundjian, the St. Louis Symphony conducted by David Loebel and, most recently, a wonderfully received performance with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. As a recitalist, Ms. Aizawa has been heard in many North American cities, including Philadelphia, Toronto, St. Louis, Seattle, Boulder, and Houston; at the Caramoor International Festival; at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in New York; and at Pepperdine University where the Los Angeles Times described her concert as "an impressive debut . . ." giving "evidence of a large and comprehensive musical talent in her Bach-Schubert-Takemitsu Schumann." She has appeared frequently in Tokyo and throughout Japan, and this season her recital at Casals Hall will include the Tokyo premiere of Akira Nishimura's piano sonata. Also in the coming season, Ms. Aizawa will present her "Prism" series in Japan, with tributes to Beethoven, Brahms and Schumann, and specially commissioned works for each program. Following a recent all-Beethoven recital in Dresden, Germany, a reviewer wrote: "Her listeners followed her playing -full of details and delicate contrasts- breathlessly." She will continue her exploration of Beethoven's music this season with a Beethoven cycle at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Ms. Aizawa received her Masters Degree from the Juilliard School, where she worked with Peter Serkin. She is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was awarded the prestigious Rachmaninoff Prize and studied with Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Seymour Lipkin and Peter Serkin. Ms. Aizawa is a Steinway Artist.

Jonathan Crow, Violinist
Jonathan Crow has enjoyed astonishing success for someone so young; he is currently the Associate Concertmaster and youngest member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Born in Prince George in 1977, Jonathan Crow began the Suzuki violin method at age six and continued studies at the Prince George Music School. When he was fifteen, Mr. Crow studied at the Victoria Conservatory of Music with Sydney Humphreys and attended the Banff Centre Master Class Program. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Honors Performance from McGill University, studying with Yehonatan Berick. Beginning in January, Jonathan will join the violin faculty at the University of Montreal. As a winner of numerous awards and distinctions in British Columbia and Montreal, Jonathan received the Doris Schine Maxwell Scholarship at the Ravinia Festival in June 1996 and 1997. In May 1997 Mr. Crow performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in a special benefit for the Victoria Symphony under the baton of Sir Yehudi Menuhin. Lord Menuhin was so impressed he invited him to perform again with the Vancouver Symphony in April 1998. He continues to perform in North America, having performed with the Vancouver, Victoria, Kingston, NAC, Montreal, and Charlotte Symphony Orchestras, among others, and is often heard on CBC broadcasts. An avid chamber musician, Jonathan has performed at chamber music festivals in Canada, the United States, and Italy. Highlights for this concert season include performances with the Victoria Symphony, Orchestra London, and Ottawa's Thirteen Strings, appearances at the Ottawa and Montreal Chamber Music festivals, as well as a trip to Japan to perform with the ST Japan Super World Orchestra.

Erika Raum, Violinist

Known for her "engaging sensitivity and a gorgeously full tone," [THE STRAD] Canadian violinist Erika Raum continues developing a following here in her native country and internationally. Playing professionally since the age of twelve, Ms. Raum quickly rose through the ranks by taking first place at the 1992 Joseph Szigeti International Violin Competition in Budapest as well as the award for best interpretation of a Mozart concerto. She has returned on many occasions to perform in Hungary, Portugal, Austria, Germany, England, Italy and France. She has appeared as guest artist with such orchestras as the Budapest Radio Orchestra, the Szombathely Symphony Orchestra, the Austro-Hungarian Orchestra, and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. A distinguished musician abroad, Erika also performs frequently throughout her homeland with orchestral appearances in cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Victoria, Halifax, and Edmonton. Both a recitalist and chamber musician, some of her recent highlights include appearances at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Festival of the Sound, and Vancouver Chamber Music Festival. Abroad, she has performed at the Budapest Spring Festival, Szombathely Festival in Hungary, Carnegie Hall as well as the Caramoor and Prussia Cove festivals. This past summer, Erika had her debut at two festivals, Festival Pablo Casals in Prades France and the BargeMusic Festival in New York. Highlights of this season include a 17 concert tour of the Canadian Prairies under the Prairie Debut network, recitals and concertos appearance across Canada, United States and return performances in Poland and Belgium. As a recording artist, Erika joins internationally renowned pianist Anton Kuerti in releasing the world premiere recording of Carl Czerny's piano and violin works. Recorded on this country's most active label, Musica Viva of CBC Records, this premiere recording highlights the masterfully composed, powerfully expressive works by the precocious composer during his teen years. Along with this recording, Ms. Raum's performances are often heard on an array of CBC networks across Canada. In 1993, composer Elizabeth Raum, Erika's mother, wrote her a violin concerto entitled AFace of Woman. The work was commissioned by the Regina Symphony Orchestra and broadcast nationally by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Erika's sister, Jessica Raum, produced and directed the award winning documentary Like Mother, Like Daughter which recorded the event. Erika is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she studied with Professor Lorand Fenyves and was awarded the prestigious Eaton Scholarship upon her graduation. She is also a recipient of The Canada Council for the Arts - Career Development Grant. Ms. Raum is currently on the faculty of the Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. During the summer season, she serves on the faculty of The Banff Centre for the Arts.

Aaron Janse, Violist

Aaron Janse has performed across the globe as both a violist and violinist. Washington Post critic Daniel Gawthrop wrote of him, "Rarely have I heard Ravel's Tzigane played with such intensity and authority". After a performance of Paganini's First Violin Concerto, the El Paso Times called him "a tour-de-force at any age". He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at venues such as Lincoln Center' Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls, Kennedy Center's Concert Hall, and Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. As a violist, he has recently performed with the Berlin Philharmonic as a substitute under Sir Simon Rattle's direction, as well as with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival. Recent solo performances include appearances with Evan Wilson, Principal Violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #6 at the Las Vegas Music Festival. He has also collaborated in many chamber music performances with such esteemed as Gil Shaham, Alicia DeLarrocha, Joseph Silverstein, Charles Castleman, Hillary Hahn, and Stephen Hough at venues such as the Aspen Music Festival, Cincinnati's Linton Series, and Minneapolis's "Sommerfest". As a violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra (formerly known as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra of Ormandy, Mitropoulis, and Dorati fame), he has performed throughout Europe, Japan, and America, including numerous performances at the Vienna Philharmonic's "Musikverein", Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic's "Philharmonie", London's Barbican Hall, and Tokyo's Suntory Hall. Mr. Janse received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the Juilliard School where he studied with Dorothy DeLay, and the Juilliard Quartet's Joel Smirnoff. Chamber Music studies included extensive studies with Felix Galimir, Joseph Fuchs, and Zoltan Szekely, as well as the members of the Guarneri and Juilliard String Quartets. Viola studies have included work with Steven Ansell, Evan Wilson, Tom Turner, and Li-kuo Chang. At Juilliard, he served as a teaching fellow for Dorothy DeLay and as Concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra. This marks Mr. Janse's first performances at Alpenglow.