SOR Concert September 17, 2023 / UM Music Recital Hall – 4:00 pm
SOR’s 39th season opens with the award-winning, Grammy-nominated viola superstar Cynthia Phelps, who has been described as “a performer of top rank…technically flawless… sensuously breathtaking” (The Boston Globe), performing as soloist with SOR in Franz Schubert’s “Arpeggione” Sonata. In addition to her position as the principal violist of the New York Philharmonic, Ms. Phelps serves on the faculty of the Juilliard School in New York and tours worldwide as a member of the critically acclaimed New York Philharmonic String Quartet. Winner of the Tertis International Viola Competition, she has performed both in recital and as soloist in London, Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, New York, and Los Angeles and has been featured on broadcasts of CBS Sunday Morning and Live from Lincoln Center. Our program also features the tempestuous String Sonata of one of England’s most cherished composers, Sir William Walton. Full of post-Romantic dense harmonies, this edgy and complex work is a perfect contrast to the lilting Viennese melodies of Schubert. We hope you join us for an afternoon filled with unforgettable string music!