Duo Arpeggione is bringing the beautiful blend of piano and cello to the Lancaster Cultural Arts Center and will highlight Romantic composers Sunday, January 8, at 3:00 p.m.
The first concert of the year will explore the richness of the combined sounds of these two instruments.
Drs. Catherine Lan and Claudio Jaffe formed Duo Arpeggione in 2017. Both musicians bring life-long international performance experience. They have played in London, Tokyo, and Buenes Aires. Both award-winning musicians have been featured as soloists with orchestras.
“This concert will explore the brilliance, power and versatility of the piano with the lyrical singing voice of the cello,” Lan said.
Lan will play piano and Jaffe will play the cello. The Duo Arpeggione got their name from a sonata written by Franz Schubert for the arpeggione (6-stringed instrument) and piano. The sonata is most often played on cello and piano and it was the first piece Lan and Jaffe played together.
Sensibility, virtuosity and individuality are characteristic of the Romantic composers. Schumann, Chopin and Greig were master composers and virtuoso pianists. Gaspar Cassado was a Spanish cellist and he specialized in typical Spanish style.
Chopin is known for his piano pieces but he also composed works for the cello.The Polish Dance, or Polonaise, is one of Chopin’s most popular genres. He wrote the Polonaise for both piano and cello when he was only 19 years old.
Schumann wrote some of the most beloved songs. Grieg wrote his cello sonata hoping to get back together with his estranged brother, who was a cellist.
CAC Concerts organizer John Craig said “Catherine Lan and her husband Tao Lin have performed as ‘Duo Beaux Arts’ several times at the CAC, and the audience is always enthralled by their virtuoso performance as pianists on one keyboard. This time, we will have the opportunity to see Catherine’s amazing piano skills paired with those of Claudio Jaffe on the cello.”
Lan and Jaffe both teach music. Jaffe teaches at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is the conductor of the Florida Youth Orchestra. He is principal cellist with the Delray String Quartet. He made his orchestral debut when he was just 11 years old, performing a concerto written specifically for him. Jaffe earned four degrees from Yale University including the Doctor of Musical Arts.
Lan is a world-touring classical concert pianist and teaches at Broward College. She is a founding member of several duos including Duo Beaux Arts and Duo Formosa. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Indiana University (Bloomington) and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Miami.
The Cultural Arts Center is housed in the Old Presbyterian Church, at 307 West Gay Street. Built in 1862, it was the first brick Church building in Lancaster County. The French Gothic Revival style architecture features an arch in the pulpit, a three-sided balcony, and breathtaking stained glass windows, some reaching nearly 20 feet high.
For future concerts, Craig encourages those interested to purchase their tickets early, $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at the user-friendly website http://www.lcshp.org. Patrons are encouraged to call 803-287-6826 if they have any difficulties on the website.
For more information on Duo Arpeggione, visit their Facebook pages (Catherine Lan, Claudio Jaffe) and websites: https://catherinelan.com/duo-arpeggione and http://www.claudiojaffe.com.
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