Violinist Laurie Smukler and pianist Robert McDonald will perform an all-Bartók program on Thursday, March 17, 2016, at 7:30pm in Juilliard’s Paul Hall, presented as part of Juilliard’s Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series

NEW YORK —- Violinist Laurie Smukler and pianist Robert McDonald will perform an all-Bartók program on Thursday, March 17, 2016, at 7:30pm in Juilliard’s Paul Hall, presented as part of Juilliard’s Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series. The program features Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Sz. 87, 88/BB 94a (1928), Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 2, Sz. 76/BB 85 (1922), and Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 1, Sz. 75/BB 84 (Op. 21) (1921).

Tickets at $20 are available at events.juilliard.edu. Tickets for Juilliard students are free; non-Juilliard students may purchase tickets for $10.

Laurie Smukler provided this note about the program: “Our all-Bartók program includes the First Rhapsody, and both the Violin and Piano Sonatas, No. 1 and No. 2. The Rhapsody was dedicated to the great violinist Josef Szigeti, who was good friends with Bartók. It is full of folk melody and is a real virtuosic show piece. The sonatas were written within a year of each other, both for the fiery and beautiful woman violinist Jelly d’Arányi, with whom Bartók was smitten. The relationship with the older Bartók did not develop into a romance, but the two did perform the sonatas together. The pieces themselves are full of romantic lyricism, intensity, exoticism, and rhythmic excitement, in addition to Bartók’s trademark use of folk music.”

Robert McDonald

Pianist Robert McDonald has toured extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America. He has performed with major orchestras in the U.S. and was a recital partner with violinist Isaac Stern for many years. He has participated in the Marlboro, Casals, and Luzerne festivals, performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and for broadcasts over BBC Television. He has also appeared with the Takács, Vermeer, Juilliard, Brentano, Borromeo, American, Shanghai, and St. Lawrence string quartets as well as with Musicians From Marlboro. His discography includes recordings for Sony Classical, Bridge, Vox, Musical Heritage Society, ASV, and CRI. Mr. McDonald’s prizes include the Gold Medal at the Busoni International Piano Competition, the top prize at the William Kapell International Competition and the Deutsche Schallplatten Critics Award. His teachers include Theodore Rehl, Seymour Lipkin, Rudolf Serkin, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Beveridge Webster, and Gary Graffman. He holds degrees from Lawrence University, the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music. A member of the faculty at Juilliard since 1999, Mr. McDonald has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music since 2007, where he holds the Penelope P. Watkins Chair in piano studies. During the summer, he is the artistic director of New Mexico’s Taos School of Music and Chamber Music Festival.

Laurie Smukler

Laurie Smukler is a graduate of Juilliard and began her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Margaret Randall. By age 14, she had appeared as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2013, she played the Shulamit Ran Violin Concerto with the Mannes Orchestra and returned to the work last month with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra. She appears regularly in New York, and has also played at leading venues in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Houston, and Memphis. An original member of the Mendelssohn String Quartet, she spent eight years with that group, traveling and performing internationally. She has also appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music From Marlboro. Collaborations with colleagues in various chamber ensembles include duo and trio performances with cellist Joel Krosnick and the late pianist Seymour Lipkin. Pianist Jane Coop has been a longtime duo partner, and performances with Robert McDonald began over 30 years ago. Ms. Smukler joined the faculty of Juilliard in 2013, and has also taught at the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, Bard College’s Conservatory of Music, and spent 18 years as a professor at Purchase College Conservatory of Music. She also teaches and performs at Maine’s Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival and School, where she is currently interim artistic director. She has premiered works by composers including Ned Rorem, Morton Subotnik, Steven Paulus, Shulamit Ran, and Bruce Adolphe.

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Rhapsody No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Sz. 87, 88/BB 94a (1928)

Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2, Sz. 76/BB 85 (1922)

Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1, Sz 75/BB 84 (Op. 21) (1922)

Tickets at $20 are available at events.juilliard.edu. Tickets for Juilliard students are free; non-Juilliard students may purchase tickets for $10.