Hailed as “fresh, different and exhilarating” by the San Francisco Chronicle, violinist Grace Park, winner of the prestigious Naumburg International Violin Competition, presents her debut solo recording with the Prague Philharmonia directed by Emmanuel Villaume.
DVORAK AND MOZART
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
1. Romance in F minor, Op.11
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Concerto No.5 for Violin and Orchestra in A Major “Turkish”, K.219
2. I Allegro aperto – Adagio – Allegro aperto
3. II Adagio
4. III Rondeau: Tempo di Menuetto – Allegro – Tempo di Menuetto.
Antonín Dvořák
Four Romantic Pieces
5. I Cavatina 3.21
6. II Capriccio 2.44
7. III Romance 2.49
8 V Elegy 7.55
Arranged by Alex Fortes
Grace Park, violin
Prague Philharmonia
Emmanuel Villaume, conductor
I was worried choosing repertoire for my debut album would seem like such a monumental decision. In fact, it was quite easy. I wanted to pick pieces that I’ve lived with for most of my musical life and that I’ve fallen more in love with over the years. Although Mozart and Dvorak lived centuries ago, I’ve always felt connected to them, and their musical language has always spoken to me in a profound way. Each of the works on the album represents a personal milestone in my development as both an artist and a performer.
When I first learned Mozart’s Concerto No. 5, it was one of the first times I knew I wanted to be a violinist. I’m drawn to Mozart’s exuberance, inventiveness and infectious energy. The concerto captures Mozart’s fascination with life, and that has always been an inspiration to me.
I first performed Dvorak’s Romance in my teens, and that was the first time I felt I had found my own voice. Dvorak’s unique soulful quality speaks to the deep emotions we all carry, without becoming too heavy or overly sentimental. His writing is rich with lush phrasing, yet with a sense of restraint that gives the violin a lyrical, yearning voice.
Along with these works, I have asked my dear colleague and friend who I trust and respect deeply, Alex Fortes, to arrange the Dvorak Romantic Pieces, which I love for their sweeping emotional range. Every note of this work declares meaning through both boldness and subtly. For me, this piece captures the essence of what it means to be a Romantic composer: Dvorak, a master of blending folk elements with profound emotional depth.
The experience of recording these pieces was incredibly meaningful. Working with Emmanuel Villaume and the Prague Philharmonia brought so much richness to the performances. And I truly cherish the artistic guidance of my wonderful producer and friend, Michael Fine. His clarity in understanding the music helped ensure that the nuance and depth of our performances would resonate.
This project would not have been possible without the support of many friends. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge you all. An especially heartfelt thanks to Todd and Jeri Corgill, David Yeh, George and Katherine Drastal, Michael and Diana Bickford, Shawn Dunn, McNeese Foundation, Michael Buckles, Edie and Bo Lycke, Dennis and Sharon Schneider, Jo Anne Miller, Patricia Fuller, Virginia Baker, Carol Joyce, Gail Kammermeyer, Henry and Ruth Sobel, and Gail Gresham, Julian McAdam and Margaret Tillman.
This album is dedicated to Todd and Jeri Corgill. Your spirit and love for life carried me through this all.
This album represents a moment in my musical life—an exploration of deep emotion, of beauty in complexity and simplicity, and of the joy of virtuosity. These pieces have been with me for years, and recording them has been a deeply personal experience. I am grateful for the opportunity to share these moments of vulnerability and celebration with you.
With love and gratitude,
Grace Park
Notes on the romantic pieces
When Grace asked me what pieces might pair well on a recording with Dvořák’s haunting Romance, she quickly mentioned that she had absolutely loved performing Dvořák’s Op.75 Romantic Pieces for violin and piano in recent recitals. In the span of just a few minutes, a thoughtless interjection about potentially orchestrating these pieces turned into an arrangement project that we were both very excited about. The Romantic Pieces were already Dvořák’s own rearrangement for violin and piano of a set of four “Miniatures” for two violins and viola (Op.75a) he had written weeks earlier, and that he himself had seemingly forgotten about in a letter written 14 years later to Fritz Simrock, his publisher.
While the pieces are small in scale, they encapsulate my favourite elements of Dvořák, effortlessly fusing hypnotic rhythmic elements with painfully beautiful, deceptively simple lyricism. It is no wonder that he wrote of composing these pieces (in a letter to Simrock): “I enjoy the work as much as if I were writing a large symphony.” In my arrangement, I referred to the two different existing versions of this work, Dvořák’s own orchestrations of his Slavonic dances, as well as the lush orchestrations he used to accompany solo instruments in works such as the Romance and the Violin and Cello Concertos, to evoke a “Dvořák-like” orchestral texture for these intimate pieces.
Alex Fortes
Hailed as “fresh, different and exhilarating” by the San Francisco Chronicle, violinist Grace Park, winner of the prestigious Naumburg International Violin Competition, presents her debut solo recording with the Prague Philharmonia directed by Emmanuel Villaume.
The album features a new orchestration of Dvořák’s Four Romantic Pieces, a rarely played work of exceptional lyrical beauty, alongside the composer’s Romance, which showcases Park’s ability to blend heart-stirring warmth with absolute technical mastery. The recording also includes Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 (“Turkish”), a work known for its elegance and charm with the lively, exotic flair of its famous “Turkish” finale.
With a burgeoning concert schedule that has included performances at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Prague’s Dvořák Hall, Grace Park is gaining recognition as an important young artist internationally, while this recording marks a meaningful milestone in Park’s evolving career.
Grace Park
Violin
Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as being “fresh, different and exhilarating” and Strings Magazine as “intensely wrought and burnished“, violinist Grace Park captivates audiences with her artistry, passion and virtuosity. Winner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition, she is one of the leading artists of her generation.
Ms. Park’s has made her most recent solo debuts at Colorado Music Festival, Bard Festival under the baton of Leon Botstein, Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall with the New York Youth Symphony, The Rudolfinum/ Dvorak Hall in Prague with Prague Philharmonia, and recital debuts at Krannert Center, Beethoven Minnesota Festival and Merkin Hall. Recent collaborations include her debut at Seoul Arts Center with Les Musiciens du Louvre with Maestro Marc Minkowski, Sarasota Orchestra with Maestro Peter Oundjian, Orlando Philharmonic with Maestro Eric Jacobsen, Savannah Music Festival and Camerata Pacifica.
A devoted and passionate educator, Ms. Park is an alumnus of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect and has taught masterclasses and coached at Conservatorio de Musica de Cartagena, Mannes School of Music, University of North Carolina, University of Mississippi, Washington and Lee University, North Dakota State University, Skidmore College, among others.
As a native to Los Angeles, California, Ms. Park began violin at the age of 5 where she trained at the Colburn School of Music. She continued her studies at Colburn Conservatory and New England Conservatory for her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Principal teachers are Donald Weilerstein, Miriam Fried, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Robert Lipsett. She now resides in New York City.
She performs on a 1717 Giuseppe Filius Andrea Guarneri on loan from an anonymous sponsor.
Prague Philharmonia
In 1994 the world-famous conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, together with a group of talented young musicians, founded the Prague Philharmonia an orchestra filled with energy and music passion. Over the last 30 years, the orchestra has gained respect throughout the music world for its characteristic sound as well as for the focus of its repertoire – music by Joseph Haydn, W. A. Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Since 2015 the orchestra has been led by the French conductor Emmanuel Villaume. The Prague Philharmonia is regularly invited to international music festivals (BBC Proms, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden) and gives concerts at top world venues (Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Gasteig Munich, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, Seoul Arts Center and Musikverein among others).
The Prague Philharmonia has also performed with internationally famous conductors and soloists including András Schiff, Isabelle Faust, Luciano Pavarotti, Anna Netrebko, Plácido Domingo, Maxim Vengerov, Jonas Kaufmann and many others. The discography of the Prague Philharmonia includes more than 90 compact discs for prestigious international and Czech music labels.
Emmanuel Vuillaume
Conductor
The Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Prague Philharmonia, Emmanuel Villaume, continues his tenure this season also as the Music Director of The Dallas Opera. A frequent collaborator with major international opera houses, Villaume leads performances at The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Santa Fe Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Liceu Barcelona, Montreal Opera, Teatro Colon, Opera de Paris, Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Cologne Opera, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Regio di Torino and Teatro Real Madrid.
Also leading a distinguished career on the international symphonic platform, Villaume collaborates with esteemed ensembles such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Montreal
Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and NHK Tokyo.
Villaume studied at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg and at Sorbonne University in Paris (literature, philosophy, music) and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Indianapolis.
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