Beethoven Celebration
May 15, 2027 | 7:30 PM | ANNEX
Jasper Wood, violin
Daniel Hamin Go, cello
Wanting Cheng, piano
Avan Yu, piano
PROGRAM:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Sonata for Cello & Piano in F major, Op.5 No.1
Grosse Fuge (for Piano 4-Hands)
Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op.97 "Archduke"
Two hundred years after Beethoven's death, we close the season with three works that span almost his entire creative life.
The Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 5 No. 1, comes from 1796, written for a virtuoso cellist at the Prussian court and, with its companion, the first work in history to treat the cello and piano as genuine equals. The "Archduke" Trio, Op. 97, is Beethoven at his most expansive — composed in 1811 for his student and patron the Archduke Rudolph, and the last work he ever played in public as a pianist. And the Grosse Fuge arrives in Beethoven's own arrangement for piano four hands, Op. 134: he made it in 1826, in the final months of his life, so that the most uncompromising music he ever wrote could be heard by anyone with a piano and a willing friend.
Early, middle, and late, in one evening, in a room small enough that you can hear the players breathe.
Jasper Wood, violin — A soloist with orchestras across Canada and a founding member of the piano trio Triple Forte, he trained at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His recordings have been recognized by the Junos and the East Coast Music Awards, and the Canada Council awarded him its Virginia Parker Prize. He heads the Strings Division at the UBC School of Music.
Daniel Hamin Go, cello — His training spanned five countries, the Manhattan School of Music, the Hanns Eisler Hochschule in Berlin, and the Royal Academy of Music in London among them, and his playing has taken him to Carnegie Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, and the Konzerthaus Berlin. He has been a guest at the Kronberg Academy, Ravinia's Steans Institute, and Yellow Barn, and released his debut album, ARIRANG, on Orchid Classics in 2025 with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Wanting Cheng, piano — Praised for her interpretive insight and technical command, she has brought her playing to audiences on four continents. Her path runs from the Middle School of the Central Conservatory in Beijing to the Manhattan School of Music — where she graduated as the sole recipient of the Roy M. Rubenstein Award — and on to Berlin, where she studied with Kirill Gerstein. She is now completing the Meisterklasse degree in Leipzig.
Avan Yu, piano — Winner of the 2012 Sydney International Piano Competition and Silver Medallist at the Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition, the Vancouver-raised pianist has appeared with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Dresden Philharmonic, and with musicians such as Jaap van Zweden, Pinchas Zukerman, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Yo-Yo Ma. He is Muzewest's Artistic and Executive Director.