PHOENIX PARK-KIM AND MERWIN SIU

• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Deep River

"The CD has considerable breadth, and is a notable contribution by the performers to the recorded repertoire of Composers of African Descent."

William Zick, AfriClassical [December 2011]

“Phoenix Park-Kim is a sensitive pianist and she interprets [the Coleridge-Taylor and R. Nathaniel Dett] works beautifully… the various tracks have been very well programmed and fit together to have a single, clear-cut, pleasant ambiance.”

Maria Nockin, Fanfare - Issue 35:5 [May/June 2012]

“R Nathaniel Dett’s four-movement romantic suite for piano solo, a beautiful 15- minute composition, [is] played with feeling… This is a highly listenable collection of  little-known pieces by composers who deserve to be heard… Park-Kim is a warmly competent pianist.”

D Moore, American Record Guide [May/June 2012]

Violinist Merwin Siu particularly enjoys introducing audiences to works by 20th and 21st century composers. Recent highlights include performances of the Chamber Concertos of John Adams and Alban Berg, the Concerto Funèbre of Karl Amadeus Hartmann, the Koncherto for Violin and Percussion by Lou Harrison, and the regional premiere of Keith Jarrett’s Elegy for Violin and Strings, as well as works by Daniel Bernard Roumain, Chen Yi, John Corigliano, Bright Sheng, Christopher Dietz and Andrew Massey. A frequent soloist with the Toledo Symphony, he has also appeared with the New Mexico Symphony, Racine Symphony and Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and has been featured on performing arts series throughout the American Midwest. Mr. Siu is a member of the Zin String Quartet, Bezonian Trio and Cathay Trio. An enthusiastic educator, Merwin Siu maintains a large private studio alongside a schedule of regional and statewide adjudication, lectures, workshops, master-classes and coaching. In 2004, he was recognized as one of the Toledo Business Journal’s 20 Under 40, celebrating young community leaders. Mr. Siu holds a MM degree from Indiana University and degrees in English and Music from Montreal’s McGill University. He currently holds the David W. Robinson Chair as the Toledo Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Second Violin, and serves as the orchestra’s Artistic Administrator.

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim is an active and accomplished soloist and avid chamber musician, with performances that have taken her throughout the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy, Switzerland and Russia. She has won numerous competitions, including First Place at the Miami, Jefferson City and Kansas City Philharmonic Concerto Competitions, and has been featured as a soloist with the Korean Philharmonic Orchestra, UMKC Chamber Orchestra and the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. She has also performed at numerous music festivals, including the Aspen Summer Music Festival, Piano Texas, ARIA International Summer Academy and Summer Music School in Siena, Italy. Upcoming performances include an appearance at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in March 2012 with Soprani Compagni as part of the Distinguished Concerts Artist Series. Dr. Park-Kim is dedicated to bringing music to the underserved public as well as providing more exposure to music by African-American composers. In this endeavor, she was awarded the Lilly research grant and was a featured performer on Live From FM 91 on WGTE radio. She was also a finalist at the 2011 Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition. Dr. Park-Kim graduated from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and subsequently completed graduate work at Miami University (MM) and at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, Conservatory of Music (DMA) under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Weirich. She is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Indiana Wesleyan University. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
DEEP RIVER for violin and piano, Op.59 No.10

R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)
CINNAMON GROVE - Suite for piano (1928)
Moderato molto grazioso
Adagio cantabile
Ritmo moderato e con sentimento - Quasi Gavotte
Allegretto

Howard Swanson (1907-1978)
NOCTURNE for violin and piano (1951)

Hale Smith (1925-2009)
EPICEDIAL VARIATIONS for violin and piano (1979)

David Baker (b.1931)
ETHNIC VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF PAGANINI for violin and piano (1976)
Theme
Variation I (Bebop)
Variation II (Swing)
Variation III Funky groove
Variation IV Calypso
Variation V (Swing) Bluesy
Variation VI Left hand pizz
Variation VII Heavy rhythm and blues
Variation VIII (Spiritual)
Variation IX Finale

Ellis L. Marsalis, Jr. (b.1934)
THE FOURTH AUTUMN for piano (ca.1985)
 



MSR Classics