Celebrate the arrival of Spring with two monumental works in this unique program – Beethoven’s glorious Spring Sonata and Stravinsky’s earth-shaking Rite of Spring. Featuring Festival favorites, siblings David (violin) & Julie (piano) Coucheron and Elizabeth Pridgen, pianist, this exciting program will leave audiences wanting more.
The program on April 27, 2025 will include:
- VIVALDI: The Four Seasons, La primavera (Spring)
- GRIEG: Lyric Pieces, Op.43, To Spring
- BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata No.5 in F major, Op.24 (Spring)
- STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring (arranged for piano four hands by the composer)
David Coucheron
David Coucheron joined the Atlanta Symphony as Concertmaster in September 2010. At the time, he was the youngest concertmaster among any major U.S. orchestra. Throughout his career, Coucheron has worked with conductors Robert Spano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich and Charles Dutoit, among others. He has performed as soloist with the BBC Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Sendai Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic and the Trondheim Symphony. Coucheron has given solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Olympic Winter Games (Salt Lake City), as well as in Beograd, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Serbia, Singapore and Shanghai. His chamber music performances have included appearances at Suntory Hall as well as Wigmore Hall and Alice Tully Hall. Coucheron serves as the Artistic Director for the Kon Tiki Chamber Music Festival in his hometown of Oslo, Norway. He is also on the artist-faculty for the Aspen Music Festival and Brevard Music Festival.
An active recording artist, recordings with sister and pianist Julie Coucheron include “David and Julie” (Naxos/Mudi) and “Debut” (Naxos). He is also the featured soloist on the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, which was released on ASO Media.
Coucheron began playing the violin at age three. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute, his Master of Music from The Juilliard School and his Master of Musical Performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with teachers including Igor Ozim, Aaron Rosand, Lewis Kaplan and David Takeno. Coucheron plays a 1725 Stradivarius, on kind loan from Anders Sveaas Charitable Trust.
Julie Coucheron
Julie Coucheron has established an international career, winning prizes in Italy, Germany and in the United States. Ms. Coucheron has worked with musicians such as Lazar Berman, Claude Frank, Emanuel Ax, Vladimir Feltsman, John O’Connor and Christopher O’Riley and has toured Europe, America, South America and Asia, playing in great halls like Verizon Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Born in Oslo, Norway, Ms. Coucheron started playing the piano at the age of four. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees with honors from the Royal Academy of Music in London while also gaining her teaching diploma at the same institution.
Ms. Coucheron has performed at festivals including the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Bergen International Music Festival and at La Jolla Summer fest. In 2002 she released her first recording, ‘Debut’ on the Naxos label, together with her brother David containing lyrical and virtuoso music from the classical repertoire. The response was excellent and it sold more than 40.000 copies in Norway alone.
They released their second recording ‘David and Julie’ on the Mudi/Naxos label in 2008. In 2009 she won first prize at the Pinerelo International Chamber Music Competition in Italy. Ms. Coucheron enjoys a close collaboration with David and the ASO principal cellist, Chris Rex, and together they have formed the Christiania Trio that performs regularly in various concert halls around the world. Ms. Coucheron is also an artist with the Georgian Chamber Players.
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 artists such as the Steve Miller Band and Elton John.
Elizabeth Pridgen
Pianist Elizabeth Pridgen has distinguished herself as a soloist and chamber musician and has appeared in concerts at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, Merkin Hall, the Tilles Center on Long Island, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, and the “Rising Stars Series” at the Ravinia Festival. Ms. Pridgen has also performed at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and the Kosciuszko Foundation, and in recitals in London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Washington D.C., Miami, San Francisco, and throughout the Southeast and Caribbean.
Artistic Director of the Atlanta Chamber Players, she performs regularly at festivals including the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Rome, Italy, the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the River To River Festival, the Water Island Music Festival, and the Madison Chamber Music Festival. An avid chamber performer, she has collaborated with artists such as Elmar Oliveira, Robert McDuffie, Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Hilary Hahn, Sarah Chang, Anne Akiko Meyers, Jennifer Koh, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the Diaz String Trio, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, and the American String Quartet. She performs regularly with violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti and cellist Julie Albers as a member of the Cortona Trio and with the Georgian Chamber Players.
Ms. Pridgen was for many years 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. 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.