Program Notes: Christina and Michelle Naughton
Christina and Michelle Naughton are an award-winning piano duo who have been described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “paired to perfection.” Pianists since age 4 and performers of individual renown before they paired up at age 18, the identical twin Naughtons, now graduates of The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, are blazing their paths together.
November 10, 2017 | 8PM | LOEB PLAYHOUSE
Christina & Michelle Naughton
Piano Duo
Special thanks
to our performance partners
Westminster Village
David & Janet Elmore
Marshall & Joyce Deutelbaum
| Ravel (1875-1937) | Mother Goose Suite Pavane de la Bella au bois dormant Petit Poucet Laideronnette, Impeatrice des pagodes Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bete Le Jardin Feerique |
| Chopin (1810-1849) | Rondo in C Major for Two Pianos, Op. 73 |
| John Adams (b. 1947) | Hallelujah Junction |
| 15-MINUTE INTERMISSION | |
| Mendelssohn (1809-1847) | Andante et Allegro Brillant, Op. 92, For One Piano, Four Hands |
| Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) | “The Nutcracker” for Two Pianos Op. 71 a/b Overture Miniature Marcia: Tempo Di Marcia Viva Danse De La Fee Dragee: Andnate Non Troppo Danse Russe Trepak: Tempi di trepak, Molto Vivace Danse Arabe: Allegretto Danse Chinoise: Allegro Moderato Danse Des Mirlitons: Moderato Assai Valse Des Fleurs: Tempo De Valse |
With respect to the musicians and your fellow patrons, we request your participation in the tradition of withholding applause between movements of a selection. To the same end, we also ask that you silence and discontinue use of all electronic devices.
https://live-convocations.pantheonsite.io/event/christina-michelle-naughton/
ABOUT
Christina and Michelle Naughton have been hailed by the San Francisco Examiner for their “stellar musicianship, technical mastery, and awe-inspiring artistry”. The Naughtons made their European debut at Herkulesaal in Munich, where the Süddeutsche Zeitung proclaimed them “an outstanding piano duo”. They made their Asian debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, where the Sing Tao Daily said of their performance “Joining two hearts and four hands at two grand pianos, the Naughton sisters created an electrifying and moving musical performance.” An appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra led the Philadelphia Inquirer to characterize their playing as “paired to perfection,” while the Saarbrücker Zeitung exclaimed “this double star could soon prove to be a supernova.” They have captivated audiences throughout the globe with the unity created by their mystical musical communication, as featured by the Wall Street Journal in their own words “There are times I forget we are two people playing together.”
The Naughtons open their 2017-2018 season with recital appearances at the La Jolla Music Society and the Ravinia Festival. Additional engagements include the duo’s Lincoln Center debut as well as appearances at the Gilmore Festival, Rockefeller Evening Concerts, Purdue Convocations, Portland Piano International, Society of the Four Arts, Sharon Lynn Wilson Center, Virginia Arts Festival and the National Gallery. Orchestral season highlights include performances with the Detroit, St. Louis, San Diego, Midland and Puerto Rico Symphonies. The duo will also be seen in recital and orchestral engagements throughout New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium and Spain.
The Naughtons opened their 2016-2017 season with their debut at The Royal Concertgebouw playing Mozart’s Double Piano Concerto with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. Other season highlights included performances across the United States with the Milwaukee, Madison and San Antonio Symphonies in addition to recital engagements at the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the Grand Tetons Festival, the Gardner Museum, Big Arts in Sanibel Island and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. The duo was seen in recital and orchestral engagements throughout Germany, Spain and Portugal including an appearance at the Ruhr Piano Festival.
In February of 2016 the Naughtons released their debut record on the Warner Classics label titled “Visions,” featuring the music of Messiaen, Bach and Adams. The album received much critical acclaim with The Washington Post hailing them as one of the “greatest piano duos of our time.”
Highlights from the Naughtons’ 2015-2016 season included performances presented by the New World Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Hall, at the Classic Festival and the Bonlieu Scène Nationale in Annecy, France, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at the Grand Teton Music Festival. In addition to recital tours of Latin America and China, the sisters appeared with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica do Estado Sao Paulo, the Netherlands Philharmonic, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Frankfurter Opern- and Museumsorchester and the Atlanta Symphony.
Previous orchestral engagements include appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston, Milwaukee, New Jersey, North Carolina, Nashville, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland, Toledo, Delaware, El Paso, Napa Valley, Wichita, Tulsa, Gulf Coast, and Madison Symphonies; the Bu alo Philharmonic, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland’s Red Orchestra, Chicago’s Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, and Erie Philharmonic; as well as with ensembles such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic in Belgium, Solistes Europeens Luxembourg, Hamburg Chorus, Kiel Philharmonic, and Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock. Past and future seasons feature collaborations under the batons of conductors such as Stephane Deneve, Edo deWaart, Charles Dutoit, JoAnn Falletta, Giancarlo Guerrero, Emanuel Krivine, Cristian Macelaru, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Michael Stern and Leonard Slatkin.
Christina and Michelle’s recitals have included venues in America such as the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, New York City’s Naumburg Orchestral Concert Series at the Historic Naumberg Bandshell (Central Park) and Le Poisson Rouge, the Schubert Club in St. Paul, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Wharton Center, Houston’s Cullen Theater, South Orange Performing Arts Center, the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Ramsey Hall in Athens, and Rockefeller University; as well as on series such as the Fortas Chamber Music Festival, Detroit Chamber Music Series, Harriman Jewell Series, Steinway Society- The Bay Area, Artist Series of Sarasota, UAB Piano Series, Chamber Music San Francisco Series, Louisville’s Speed Museum Series, Kingston Chamber Music Festival.
European recital highlights for the Naughtons include the Parc Du Chateau de Florans at France’s La Roque d’Antheron Festival, the Sociedad de Conciertos de Valencia in Spain, Zurich’s Tonhalle, Prague’s Strings of Autumn Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Rheingau Musik Festival, Dresden’s Musikfestpiele, Kissinger Sommer, Berlin’s Kammermusiksaal, Munich’s Herkulesaal, Dusseldorf’s Tonhalle, in Hannover’s Kleiner Sendesaal, Ingoldstadt’s Konzertverein, Reutlingen’s Freidrich-List-Halle, Pullach’s Burgerhaus, Concert Series in Ludwigshafen, on the Homburg-Saar series, the Bremen Music Festival, Nohant Festival Chopin and Festival Berlioz La Cote de Saint Andre, Casa da Musica Porto, Fundacion Juan March, Auditoria Teluda Moraira and Enclave de Camera in Ourense, Spain.
Recital engagements in Asia and South America have included appearances at the Beijing Forbidden City Concert Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall in China, Pallacio de las Bellas Artes, Biblioteca de Luis Angel and Sala Sao Paulo in Brazil.
The Naughtons recorded their rst album in the Sendesaal in Bremen Germany; which was released worldwide in Fall 2012 by label ORFEO. The album has been praised by Der Spiegel Magazine for “stand(ing) out with unique harmony, and sing(ing) out with stylistic con dence’, and described by Classics Today as a “Dynamic Duo Debut”. Their performances have been broadcast on American Public Media’s Performance Today, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, New York’s WQXR, Chicago’s WFMT, Philadelphia’s WHYY, Boston’s WQED, Atlanta’s WABE, Hong Kong’s RTHK, Latvia’s Latvijas Radio 3, Netherland’s Radio 4 Concerthuis; and Germany’s Bayerischen Rudfunks, Nordwest- RadioBremen, WDR and NDR Radio.
Born in Princeton, New Jersey to parents of European and Chinese descent; Christina and Michelle are graduates of Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where they were each awarded the Festorazzi Prize. They are Steinway Artists and currently reside in New York City.