Cellist Jonah Ellsworth, and pianist Evren Ozel presented by FCPA

Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts - Summer Concert Series
Concert 6, Thursday, August 13, 2024, 7:30 pm
NEC's Williams Hall, Boston MA

Jonah Ellsworth, cello • Evren Ozel, piano
http://www.chineseperformingarts.net/...
Patrick Keating audio & video • Xiaopei Xu, picture

Robert Schumann:
0:00:09 Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70

Frédéric Chopin:
Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 65
0:09:22 Allegro moderato
0:20:21 Scherzo: Allegro con brio
0:25:29 Largo
0:29:13 Finale: Allegro

Leoš Janáček:
Pohádka JW VII/5 ("Fairy Tale")
0:35:57 I. Con moto
0:41:28 II. Con moto
0:45:35 III. Allegro

Johannes Brahms:
Sonata No. 2 in F Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 99
0:48:44 Allegro vivace
0:57:30 Adagio affettuoso
1:05:11 Allegro passionato
1:12:17 Allegro molto

Jonah Ellsworth was recently named the newest cellist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, debuting on February 2024, and has been recognized as one of his generation’s leading cellists. Praised for performances with the Boston Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, and others, he’s described as “fearless” with a “complete range of expressive richness” by critics. Highlights include the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto, Dvořák Cello Concerto, and Strauss’s Don Quixote, earning accolades from The Boston Globe, Clevelandclassical.com, and The Boston Musical Intelligencer.

A Marlboro Music Festival participant from 2014–2016 and a Rockport Chamber Music Festival guest, Ellsworth’s performance of Don Quixote in Prague with conductor Benjamin Zander drew praise from Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer for his “profoundly moving” interpretation. On the same tour, his rendition of the Dvořák Concerto in Basel, Switzerland, was hailed for “technical mastery, imagination, passion, and deep feeling.”

His 2017 Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations performance with YPO in Slovakia prompted The Boston Musical Intelligencer to call him “a young man on the verge of an international career.” Ellsworth was a prize winner in the 2017 Hudson Valley String Competition, a finalist in the 2011 Stulberg International String Competition, and won the top Harvard Musical Association prize in 2012. He has also appeared on PBS's From the Top at Carnegie Hall.

Ellsworth studied under Lawrence Lesser at New England Conservatory and Peter Wiley at Curtis Institute, with prior instruction from Andrew Mark and Natasha Brofsky. In 2016, he joined the Boston Trio and will be performing in California, Florida, and making his Carnegie Hall debut.

American pianist Evren Ozel is recognized for his “refined restraint” (Third Coast Review), combining virtuosity with thoughtful interpretations. A recipient of the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, he is represented by Concert Artists Guild as a 2021 Ambassador Prize Winner.

Ozel debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra at 11 and has since performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and The Orchestra Now, under conductors like Jahja Ling and Leon Botstein. His debut album, featuring Mozart Concertos with Vienna’s ORF Radio Symphony and conductor Howard Griffiths, releases in March 2025.

Highlights of his 2024-25 season include solo recitals for La Jolla Music Society and Cal Performances. Known for his diverse recital programs, his 2023-24 repertoire spanned from Bach to Beethoven’s final Piano Sonatas. A dedicated chamber musician, he collaborates with David Finckel, Wu Han, Stella Chen, and others. He has performed at Marlboro Festival and is a 2024-27 Bowers Program Artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with upcoming tours and CMS performances at Alice Tully Hall.

Ozel resides in Boston, pursuing an Artist Diploma at New England Conservatory with Wha Kyung Byun, and has studied with mentors like Jonathan Biss and Andras Schiff.