$65.00

PLEASE NOTE

The price of your ticket includes hors d’oeuvres and drinks from the open wine and beer bar at receptions before and after the concert and during intermission.

Arts Club of Washington

2017 I Street Northwest,
Washington, DC, 20006

Saturday February 13, 2027

First Reception begins at 6:30pm
Concert begins at 7:15pm

EVENT DETAILS

The worlds of the imagination are especially alluring to musicians and composers; if not explicitly denoted in the titles of their works, they are by their very nature endowed with an aspect of subjective, fantastical reality. The nature of Robert Schumann’s internal emotional landscape was characterized by extreme contrasts, highs and lows, feverish intensity and profound tranquility, and his Fantasy pieces embody this spirit of impulsivity. Gabriel Fauré profoundly altered the harmonic progressions of his forbears to create whimsical worlds of effervescence with an entirely new sonority, almost a musical portrayal of the visual art of his Impressionist contemporaries. The “Fairy Tale” of Leos Janácek was inspired by Vasily Zhukovsky’s epic Russian poem “The Tale of Tsar Berendyey” casting the cellist as protagonist, undergoing impossible trials by the ruler of the underworld to win the love of his princess.

PROGRAM

Schumann -Fantasy Pieces (Fantasiestücke), Op. 73

Zart und mit Ausdruck

Lebhaft, leicht

Rasch und mit Feuer

Leoš Janáček - Pohádka (Fairy Tale)

Intermmission

Gabriel Fauré - Élégie, Op. 24

Gabriel Faure - Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 109

FEATURED ARTISTS

Featured

Christopher Schmitt, Piano

Described as "carefully colored" and "sensitive" by The Washington Post, pianist Christopher Schmitt was also hailed as a “formidable talent” and “mature beyond his years” by The Santa Barbara News-Press, regarding his performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Having completed his doctorate at The Juilliard School in 2016, he has been sponsored for concerts by The Chopin Foundation of the United States, The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, and The Embassy Series. He performs at the festival Málaga Clasica in Spain, as well as in July of 2016 in his own concert series in Barcelona, Classics in Catalan. A collaborator with cellist Kian Soltani on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts in March 2019. Dr. Schmitt currently resides in Washington DC, and as pianist of “The President's Own" US Marine Chamber Orchestra, performs regularly in the White House and in concert halls across the Washington DC metropolitan area, leading a multifaceted career as chamber musician, pedagogue, and soloist. In 2024, he founded the Classical Arts Society of Washington, where he hopes to share the Beauty of classical music with the world through engaging public concerts, educational outreach initiatives, and the cultivation of a core community of classical music lovers.

Read more →

Loewi Lin, Cello

Cellist Loewi Lin discovered his passion for the cello at the age of eleven in Calgary, Alberta, after moving with his family from Taiwan. Initially on a path towards a medical career, he switched gears during his junior year of high school, committing wholeheartedly to music. Mr. Lin is a member of the National Symphony in Washington, D.C.

For over a decade, Mr. Lin was a pivotal figure in Boston's music scene, co-founding the chamber orchestra A Far Cry, known for its conductor-less performances and now a staple of the city's musical landscape. As a founding member, he curated concerts and collaborated with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Philip Glass, and Simone Dinnerstein. Mr. Lin's dedication to innovative programming and artistic excellence significantly contributed to A Far Cry's rise as an esteemed, GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble. He also performed extensively as a guest musician with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Modern Orchestra Project and served as principal cellist of the Boston Lyric Opera. Mr. Lin also performed regularly with other orchestras, such as the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. He has performed at the Mainly Mozart, Halcyon, Taos, Tanglewood and Ravinia music festivals.

Mr. Lin pursued his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Ottawa, and the New England Conservatory, where he earned his Master of Music in Cello Performance. Beyond his musical accomplishments, Mr. Lin is passionate about nurturing the next generation of musicians. He shares his expertise and love for music with aspiring talents through teaching roles at the University of Maryland and the National Symphony Youth Fellowship Program. He was previously on the faculty of Phillips Exeter Academy.

Fables and Fantasies

Arts Club of Washington

Saturday February 13, 2027

The Sound of Silence

Chopin’s Chanson