1. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): “Violin Sonata in F major. op. 24” (Spring)

* Allegro
* Adagio molto espressivo
* Scherzo: Allegro Molto
* Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

2. Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): “Violin Sonata in G minor, L 140”

* Allegro Vivo
* Intermede: Fastasque et leger
* Finale: Tres anime


INTERMISSION



3. Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814 - 1886): “The Last Rose of Summer.”

4. Niccolo Paganini (1782 - 1840): “Caprice No. 4 in C Major for Solo Violin.”

5. Gabriele Faure (1845 - 1924): “Andante, Op. 75.”

6. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): “Meditation in D minor, op. 42, No. 1.”

7. Camille Saint-Saens (1835 - 1921): “Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, op. 28.”

Nigel Armstrong, Violinist

Twenty-one-year-old Nigel Armstrong recently came to international attention in 2011 as a finalist in the 14th Tchaikovsky International Competition, receiving Fourth Prize and winning the Prize for Best Performance of the Commissioned Work by John Corigliano with Stomp. In 2010, he had silver-medal wins in the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, held in Oslo, Norway, and the First International Violin Competition in Buenos Aires. In both competitions, he received additional prizes, including the Premio Tango in Buenos Aires and the Ole Bull and Nordheim awards in Oslo. In 2008, Armstrong received multiple prizes in the Corpus Christi International Competition, including the Howard Beebe String Award for Solo Bach Performance and Jean ten Have Award for Violin Performance.

Ever since his solo debut with the Baroque Sinfonia in 2002, Armstrong has performed concertos and showpieces with the Boston Pops and Norwegian Radio orchestras; the Reno and Burbank philharmonic orchestras; the Berkeley and Downey symphony orchestras; Bozeman Symphony, San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Asociación de Profesores de la Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón and the American Philharmonic of Sonoma County, with which he performed for two seasons.

Highlights of Armstrong’s 2010-11 season included concerto appearances with the Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra, American Youth Symphony and the Colburn Orchestra under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner. He was recently co-concertmaster of the Colburn Orchestra as well as concertmaster of the American Youth Symphony.

A graduate of The Colburn School Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Robert Lipsett, Armstrong is currently in the Diploma program at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studies with Arnold Steinhardt and Shmuel Ashkenasi. Nigel began his violin studies with Leta Davis in Sonoma.


Marilyn Thompson, Pianist

Pianist Marilyn Thompson received her Bachelor’s Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she was a student of Adolph Baller. She was awarded a Fulbright grant to the Vienna Academy of Music, and subsequently received her Master’s Degree from Stanford University, where she studied under the Helen Evans Memorial Scholarship - a full-tuition grant. While at Stanford, she gave the West Coast Premiere of Roger Sessions’ Piano Concerto. She has given countless recitals in the United States and abroad, and has been the featured soloist in concerti of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Martinu, Hindemith, Barber and others. She has performed virtually the entire standard chamber music repertoire. Her recordings include performances of the Thomas Beversdorf Cello sonata, the Brahms Trio Op.87, and Ravel’s Violin-Piano Sonate. Miss Thompson has performed in chamber music concerts in Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center; the 92nd Street “Y” in New York City; the Philip’s Gallery, Washington D.C.; Boston’s Symphony Hall; Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco; and most recently in the Teatro Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica. In the 1980’s she was the pianist member of the Chamber Soloists of San Francisco and the San Francisco Trio. At the present time Miss Thompson is the pianist of the Navarro Trio, a group which performs frequently throughout the Bay Area. Marilyn Thompson has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; the College of Holy Names, Oakland, California; at the University of California at Santa Cruz; and is presently on the faculty of Sonoma State University where she has taught since 1976.

The final concert in the Sonoma Classical Music Society’s 2012 Spring concert series will be held on Sunday, May 13th.