Program

Sonate (Troisième) pour violon et piano (1917) – Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

            i. Allegro vivo

            ii. Intermède: fantasque et léger

            iii. Finale: très animé

Sonate (Deuxième) pour violon et piano (1927) – Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)

            i. Allegretto

            ii. Blues

            iii. Allegro

About the Artists

Astonishing in her musical versatility, violinist Qing Li brings great warmth, poise and insight to her music making. Ms. Li is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Principal Second Violin, appointed by Yuri Temirkanov in 2000 upon winning the audition, and is frequently featured as a soloist with the BSO. Other solo engagements have included the Butterfly Lovers Concerto at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the Haydn violin concerto with the Richmond Symphony and the Bach Double Concerto with Hilary Hahn, to name a few. Ms. Li is a Piatigorsky Foundation Artist, a much sought-after recitalist, chamber musician, and guest concertmaster both locally and internationally. Noted performances in that capacity include the Iceland Symphony in Reykjavik and the Singapore Symphony. Her last featured solo performances with the BSO was Vivaldi’s Winter in fall 2018 under the direction of Maestro Nicholas McGegan. Throughout the great cities of America, South America, Europe, and Asia, her broadcast appearances include television stations in US, Germany, and China and a biography on Voice Of America. Notable reviews for Qing Li include the Baltimore Sun: ‘the highest level musically’. . . 'unsurpassed technical brilliance;’ The German Hohenlohe News: ‘excelled with ethereal play;’ and the Richmond Times: ‘her style was impeccable.’ She is also a member of the three-time Emmy-Award winner, The All-Star Orchestra on PBS.

On top of being a veteran member of the BSO for 25 years and serving under three music directors, including her current music director, Marin Alsop, Ms. Li is also a violin faculty artist of the Peabody Institute of Music at the Johns Hopkins University. She is a faculty artist of the NYO-China, a Carnegie Hall project, and is active in International Festivals throughout US, South America, Asia, and Russia.

Born in Beijing, China, Ms. Li began violin studies at age 4 with her father. At age 12, Qing Li was accepted to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing; there, she was discovered at a master class by Berl Senofsky. Based on a prize-winning Sibelius Violin Concerto performance at the first Beijing International Violin Competition, Mr. Senofsky brought her to the renowned Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she was granted a full scholarship and won the Marbury violin competition. Ms. Li has also studied with Herbert Greenberg. After graduating from Peabody, she studied with the legendary Joseph Gingold. Under David Zinman’s directorship, Ms. Li won her first position in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra while playing a $100 Chinese violin, which was a gift from her father before coming to America. She now performs on a 1736 Neopolitain instrument made by Nicolo Gagliano.

​Internationally acclaimed pianist Wan-Chi Su has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States. She has played major venues including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Salle Cortot in Paris, and Taiwan National Concert Hall. In 2019, Ms. Su appeared in the Washington National Cathedral with the Post-Classical Ensemble, as a soloist in the concert “Cultural Fusion: The Gamelan Experience” and was praised by the American Scholar, “…played with sensitivity and imagination.” 

In duo with cellist Ismar Gomes, Ms. Su has toured the United States, giving concerts in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. This has included the Harbor Front concert series, Encore concert series, Youngstown State University, Loyola University, Old Town Hall, the Odean Chamber Music series, the Barns of Rose Hill, and other notable halls. Additionally, Ms. Su travels for the Piatigorsky Foundation, bringing music to unconventional venues, such as public schools, nursing homes, and retirement communities, where there is typically less access to live classical concerts. Ms. Su is sought after for collaborations with venerated musicians, which have included members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, violinist Hebert Greenberg, cellist Michael Kannen, baritone William Sharp, trumpeter Joe Burgstaller, pianists Seth Knopp and Benjamin Pasternack, and others. 

Ms. Su performs a wide range of repertoire, from Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th century to Contemporary. She has premiered music by prominent active composers, such as Curt Cacioppo, William Weigel, and Aaron Malone; she has also enjoyed working with celebrated composers like George Walker, Aaron J. Kernis, Ying-Chen Kao, and others. Steeped in an array of styles, Ms. Su collaborates regularly with the dance department at the Peabody Institute (both performing and arranging music), accompanies dozens of instrumental and vocal recitals each year, and had served as music director for the Episcopal Church of the Holy Covenant from 2013 to 2020. A dedicated educator, Ms. Su currently serves on the piano faculty of the Park School of Baltimore and maintains a small private studio. 

Decorated with numerous awards, Ms. Su won first prize in the Taiwan Cultural Cup Invitational Piano Competition. On the collegiate level, she won first prize in the Taiwan National Student Music Competition in Piano. She has also been a semi-finalist in the San Jose International Piano Competition, the Art of Duo Competition, and the Liszt-Garrison Duo Competition, and a finalist in the Harrison L. Winter Piano Concerto Competition. Further, she has been invited to numerous international music festivals, including the Taos School of Music, the Beethoven Institute, both the Icicle Creek Piano Festival and the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival, the NTSO International Piano Program in Taiwan, and the Paris Piano Program in France.

Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Ms. Su began piano lessons at age four. She earned a bachelor’s degree in piano, minoring in French horn, at the National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan, followed by a Master of Music and a Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Conservatory, studying with Seth Knopp. She has performed in masterclasses for many artists, including Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, and Gil Kalish. Ms. Su is currently a doctoral candidate at Peabody, under the tutelage of Benjamin Pasternack.