Celebrate the new year with music that dances. This festive program features Vivaldi’s dazzling “Winter” from The Four Seasons, Dvořák’s spirited Slavonic Dances, Piazzolla’s passionate tangos, Schoenfield’s jazz-inspired Café Music, and a spectacular finale with Strauss’s beloved Blue Danube Fantasy for piano four-hands. Plan to join us after the concert for an artist’s reception at a location to be announced.
Program
*This program last approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a 15 minute intermission
“Winter” from The Four Seasons, Op. 8, No. 4 RV 297 by Antonio Vivaldi
Slavonic Dance in F major, Op. 46, No. 8 by Antonin Dvořák
Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op. 72, No. 2 by Antonin Dvořák
Café Music by Paul Schoenfield
Primavera Porteña (Spring) by Astor Piazzolla
Le Grand Tango by Astor Piazzolla
Blue Danube Fantasy by Johann Strauss arr. for piano, four-hands by Greg Anderson
Performers
David Coucheron, violin
Julie Albers, cello
Julie Coucheron, piano
Elizabeth Pridgen, piano
David Coucheron, violin
David Coucheron joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as concertmaster in September 2010. Throughout his career, Mr. Coucheron has worked with Robert Spano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Charles Dutoit, among others. He has performed as soloist with the BBC, Sendai, and Trondheim symphony orchestras as well as with the Bergen and Oslo philharmonic orchestras. Mr. Coucheron has given solo recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Olympic Winter Games (Salt Lake City), as well as in concert halls across the world. His chamber music performances have included appearances at Suntory Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. Mr. Coucheron is founding member and artistic director for the Kon-Tiki Chamber Music Festival in his hometown of Oslo, Norway. Mr. Coucheron’s recordings with his sister, pianist Julie Coucheron, include David and Julie (Naxos/Mudi) and Debut (Naxos). He is also the featured soloist in Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending, released on ASO Media in the fall of 2014. Mr. Coucheron holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and the Guildhall School, and his teachers include Igor Ozim, Aaron Rosand, Lewis Kaplan, and David Takeno.
Julie Albers, cello
Cellist Julie Albers is recognized for her superlative artistry, her charismatic and radiant performing style, and her intense musicianship. Born into a musical family in Longmont, Colorado, she began violin studies at the age of two with her mother, switching to cello at four. She moved to Cleveland during her junior year of high school to pursue studies through the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Richard Aaron. Ms. Albers soon was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and as a result toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai.
Ms. Albers made her major orchestral debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at the age of 17 and thereafter has performed in recital and with orchestras throughout North America, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. Past seasons have included performances with the symphony orchestras of Colorado, Grant Park Music Festival, Indianapolis, Munchener Kammerorchester, Rochester, San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra among others. In 2001, she won Second Prize in Munich’s Internationalen Musikwettbewerbes der ARD, and was also awarded the Wilhelm-Weichsler-Musikpreis der Stadt Osnabruch. While in Germany, she recorded solo and chamber music of Kodaly for the Bavarian Radio, performances that have been heard throughout Europe.
Ms. Albers was named principal cellist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2015, a position she currently holds. In addition, she regularly participates in chamber music festivals including ChamberFest Cleveland, La Jolla SummerFest, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Toronto Summer Music. 2009 marked the end of a three year residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. Teaching has also held a very important place in Ms. Albers’ musical life from the age of 12 when she started teaching her first students. She held the position of Assistant Professor at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia from 2009-2022.
Ms. Albers’ debut album with Orion Weiss includes works by Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Schumann, Massenet, and Piatiagorsky and is available on the Artek Label. Julie Albers performs on a N.F. Vuillaume cello made in 1872.
Julie Coucheron, piano
Born in Oslo, Norway, Ms. Coucheron began playing the piano at age four. She earned her Bachelor and Master’s Degree with honors from the Royal Academy of Music in London. At a young age, Ms. Coucheron had already established an international career, winning awards and prizes in Italy, Germany, UK and in the United States.
Ms. Coucheron has worked with musicians such as Claude Frank, Emanuel Ax, Chee-Yun Kim, Christopher O’Riley and Yo-Yo Ma and has toured Europe, America, South America and Asia, performing regularly in halls like Verizon Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Ms. Coucheron has performed with the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Jena Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Philharmonic and the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra in Kiev.
Ms. Coucheron regularly performs at festivals such as the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Bergen International Music Festival, Amelia Island Music Festival, Madison Chamber Music Festival, Juneau Jazz and Classics and at La Jolla Summer Fest. She is Artistic Director of the Fjord Cadenza festival in Norway, the Kon Tiki Chamber Music Festival in Oslo, Norway and Georgian Chamber Players in Atlanta, GA. In addition, Ms. Coucheron also performed during the 2003 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
Ms. Coucheron enjoys a close collaboration with her brother, the Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony, David Coucheron, and together they have released two recordings, ‘Debut’ and ‘David and Julie’ on the Naxos label.
In addition to her busy concert schedule, Ms. Coucheron is a sought after teacher and pedagogue. In August 2014, she was appointed Assistant Professor at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the top 50 state schools in the United States. Ms. Coucheron has given masterclasses and taught at schools such as the New England Conservatory, Emory University and Mercer University.
Ms. Coucheron enjoys a various and wide range of styles and repertoire emerging from her highly trained classical background to the more contemporary and popular music. Recent collaborations include performances with the Steve Miller Band and Elton John.
Elizabeth Pridgen, piano
Pianist Elizabeth Pridgen has distinguished herself as a soloist and chamber musician. Named Artistic Director of the Atlanta Chamber Players in 2014, she has led the group in performances of both new and standard chamber works to critical acclaim. Ms. Pridgen made her major orchestral debut with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano and recently released three albums including Icons with violinist Robert McDuffie featuring works of John Corigliano, Philip Glass, and John Adams. An advocate of new music, Ms. Pridgen has participated in the commissioning of works by noted composers such as Adam Schoenberg and Michael Gandolfi and supports underserved composers through her leadership of the Rapido Composition Competition. Ms. Pridgen has toured extensively throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe and performs regularly at festivals including the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Rome, Italy, the Aspen Music Festival, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, the Madison Chamber Music Festival and the Kon-Tiki Chamber Music Festival in Oslo, Norway. An avid chamber performer, she has been a member of the Cortona Trio and Georgian Chamber Players. Ms. Pridgen served as a Distinguished Artist and Piano Chair at the McDuffie Center for Strings and held the G. Leslie Fabian Piano Chair at the Townsend School of Music at Mercer University for more than 10 years. She received her Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School where she studied with Joseph Kalichstein and earned her bachelor’s degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Music as a student of Ann Schein. Ms. Pridgen currently resides in Milton, Georgia with her husband and three young children.