Proudly presents a

Special concert dedicated to the memory of

George Enescu

A Program of Music to commemorate Fifty Years since the death of George Enescu (1881 – 1955)

With

Pianists Lory Wallfisch and Matei Varga

Violinist Diana Pepelea

Violist Michael Stepniak

Smith College Professor Emerita, Lory Wallfisch, was born in Ploiesti, Romania and received her musical training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Bucharest, where she was a piano student of the renowned Florica Muzicescu, also the teacher of Dinu Lipatti, Mindru Katz, Radu Lupu, and Julien Musafia. As pianist and harpsichordist of the internationally acclaimed Wallfisch Duo, Lory Wallfisch performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, North Africa, and Israel, occasionally performing chamber music with other artists and also appearing as a soloist. She participated in the music festivals of Edinburgh, York, Venice, Besancon, Menuhin Festivals in Gstaad, Casals Festivals in Prades and made television appearances as well as radio recordings. Also an experienced pedagogue, she taught in Bucharest, Cleveland, and Detroit before joining the Smith faculty, together with her late husband, Ernst Wallfisch, in 1964. Her teaching activity includes master classes in the U.S. and abroad. Her lecture performances are often devoted to George Enescu, whom she had the privilege to know personally. She has presented the oeuvre of the Romanian composer at many colleges and universities, including the Julliard School, NY, various congresses of the “European Piano Teacher’s Association,” at the Sorbonne in Paris, and at the University of Maryland Festival. Her translation (Romanian to English) of the book Masterworks of George Enescu by Pascal Bentoiu will be published by the University of Illinois Press

At 22, Diana Pepelea is a young Romanian musical talent with a promising career ahead of her. Currently, she is a student of David Updegraff at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Born in Brasov in 1983, she started playing the violin at the age of five and under the guidance of her father, Lecturer Professor at the Music Conservatory in Brasov, she won her first prize at the age of eight at the National Music Competition in Deva. By 1998, when she started attending the Arts Academy in Brasov, she was already a regular prizewinner in the national and international music competitions all over Romania.

Since 1994, she has been on tours, recitals and concerts in Austria (May 1994), U.S.A. (1995), England and France (July 1996), live recordings at the National Radio Station-Bucharest (March 1995) and televised performances. She also performed as a soloist with the Arts Academy Orchestra (Brasov-Romania) in March 1995 and with the Gheorghe Dima Philharmonic (June 1995 and June 1998).

Diana studied with professors Petre Munteanu (Violin Faculty at the Hamburg Conservatory-Germany),Viktor Pikaizen and Sergiu Schwartz (violin faculty at the Lynn University- Bocca Raton Music Conservatory-U.S.A.)

She also attended Interlochen Arts Academy from 1999-2002, where she studied with Julia Bushkova, Paul Sonner and Elizabeth Kufferath and won two Fine Arts Awards in violin performance.

In 2004 at the Sugrizimai Music Festival, in Vilnius Lithuania, Diana and Indre held a broadcasted concert at the Vilnius City Hall and received the Honor Award form the Mayor of Vilnius.

Michael Stepniak is an artist and educator. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in major concert halls and venues in 11 countries. He has been featured on National Public Radio, has recorded for the Centaur Records label, and has collaborated with various leading chamber musicians. Newspapers such as the Washington Post have referred to his playing as “tremendously poised,” “transcendent,” and “unfathomably beautiful.” Prior to interdisciplinary doctoral studies at Harvard (where he won the Spencer Fellowship and Entering Award), Polish-Australian Stepniak completed graduate studies in viola at Peabody Conservatory (where he won the Sidney Friedberg Prize and served as principal violist of the Peabody Symphony), in musicology at Northwestern University (where he joined the alpha chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda) and in violin at New England Conservatory (where he was leader of the Honors Quartet). His teachers have included Eugene Lehner, Earl Carlyss, Victoria Chiang, James Buswell, and Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse. Currently, Stepniak is Associate Professor of Music, Director of Summer Programs, Director of Assessment, and Assistant to the President for Special Projects at Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Matei Varga is a fresh and exciting new presence in the piano world. Already established as one of the leading young pianists of his native Romania, his prodigious talent is fast becoming recognized in the United States and Europe. Born in October, 1980 in Bucharest, Mr. Varga's career was effectively launched at age ten, when he won First Prize in both the solo and orchestral concerto categories of the “Citta Di Moncalieri” Competition (Italy), competing against pianists three times his age. Since then, he has received many awards and honors -- most recently, Third Prize at the 2004 Maria Canals International Music Competition (Barcelona, Spain) and a Special Prize awarded by Elisabeth Leonskaja at The Vendome Prize 2003 Piano Competition. Other significant awards include Second Prize at both the 2002 Cidade do Porto International Competition (Portugal) and the 2001 George Enescu International Piano Competition (Romania), as well as First Prize at the 2001 Lory Wallfisch Piano Competition (Romania).

In addition to his numerous appearances in Romania, Mr. Varga has performed as solo recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist at major venues in New York, Washington D.C., Montreal, Paris, Baden-Baden, Venice, Tokyo, and Jerusalem. He has also participated in various prestigious music festivals, including Festival de Sintra (Portugal); Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto, Italy); and the George Enescu International Festival (Bucharest). Mr. Varga's credits as a recording artist include two DVD releases: “Mozart and Schumann” and “Mixtures I: A Classical Surround Sampler” on AIX Records.

After graduating in 1999 from the “Dinu Lipatti” High School of Music in Bucharest, Mr. Varga went on to receive his Bachelor's degree from the National University of Music in 2004, where he studied with Ana Pitis, Ioana Minei and Sandu Sandrin. He is currently a Master of Music degree candidate at Mannes College of Music, where he studies with internationally acclaimed Bulgarian pianist Pavlina Dokovska.

In February 2005 he won the Mannes Concerto Competition and he will perform Chopin's second piano concerto next season at Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center).

PROGRAM

“Toccata” and “Pavane” from the Suite Op. 10…George Enescu

“The Fiddler” from “Impressions d’enfance” …….George Enescu

“Concertpiece” …………………….George Enescu

“Apres un Reve” (After a Dream”) …………….Gabriel Faure*

“Berceuse” (Lullaby)…………………….……Gabriel Faure*

Four Piano Pieces Op. 118 ………………..Johannes Brahms**

“Scherzo” (Op. posthumous) ………………..Johannes Brahms**

*Johannes Brahms heard and praised Enescu (aged 11) in Vienna

**Gabriel Faure was Enescu’s teacher at the Paris Conservatoire