On Friday, March 21, the Valley Concert Society will welcome Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene and pianist Sahun Sam Hong to the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
Dalene is a young musician making a huge splash at an early age and showing promise of an outstanding career. He won the prestigious Carl Nielsen Competition in 2019. Three years later he was named Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year. Johan plays the 1725 ‘Duke of Cambridge’ Stradivarius which is on loan to him from the Anders Sveaas’ Charitable Foundation.
Playing alongside Dalene is American pianist Sahun Sam Hong. Hong graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University at the remarkable age of 16. He lives in New York and teaches at the City University of New York Queens College.
In our most recent concert, Jarred Dunn closed his programme with Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1. Dalene and Hong will open their programme with Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 1.
Schumann marked the opening movement of his score with the words “with passionate expression”, a sentiment that is so characteristic of his music. In the short second movement, Schumann’s two alter egos, the introverted Eusebius and the extroverted Florestan, both have their turn in the spotlight. The closing movement brims with energy.
This is followed by Notturno e Danza from a Finnish composer with a delightfully complicated name, Einojuhani Rautavaraa. The atmospheric first section evokes the dreaminess of night, followed by a wild dance that comes to a sudden and abrupt end.
Tickets for this concert are available online at www.valleyconcertsociety.com at $32 for adults/seniors and $20 for students. For more information, call 604-289-3377.
John Wiebe - President
The Valley Concert Society