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Press Releases
Violinist Sean Lee & Pianist Peter Dugan Celebrate Paganini in New EP and Concert at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts and Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214
Violinist Sean Lee & Pianist Peter Dugan Celebrate Paganini
Performing all 24 Paganini Caprices for the First Time in the
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 52-Year History
Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 7:30pm
The Rose Studio at CMS, Lincoln Center
Livestream Available Here
Paganini x Schumann: 9 Caprices EP Out January 28
Each with Accompanying Music Video
Review Downloads Available Upon Request
Watch Lee and Dugan Perform Paganini’s Caprice No. 5 in The Strad
“Breathtakingly beautiful” – The New York Times
www.seanleeviolin.com | www.peterduganpiano.com
New York, NY (December 10, 2021) — In January 2022, violinist Sean Lee and pianist Peter Dugan celebrate Paganini in the first ever performance of all 24 Caprices in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 52-year history as well as the release of a new EP of nine Caprices with accompanying music videos. A top prizewinner at the “Premio Paganini” International Violin Competition, Lee embraces the legacy of his late mentor, violinist Ruggiero Ricci, as one of few violinists who dare to perform the complete 24 Caprices of Niccolò Paganini in recital. His ongoing educational YouTube series Paganini POV uses modern technology to share a unique perspective on violin playing.
On Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 7:30pm at the Rose Studio at CMS, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents Lee and Dugan in Schumann’s arrangement of Paganini’s Complete Caprices for Violin and Piano, Op. 1 (c. 1805), marking the first time all 24 of Paganini’s Caprices have been performed in one concert in the organization’s 52 year history.
On January 28, Lee and Dugan release a digital album featuring nine of the Caprices, each with accompanying music videos. An LP of the recording is planned for spring 2022. Watch the video for Caprice No. 5 in The Strad! The duo will release two singles, Caprice No. 15 on January 7, 2022 and Caprice No. 20 on January 21, 2022.
Lee says, “The 24 Caprices of Niccolò Paganini are like the Mount Everest of the violin repertoire. But beyond the technical challenges, each Caprice is a compelling character piece and even more colorful with the addition of Robert Schumann's piano arrangements, which keep the original violin score completely intact, unchanged. Having studied in my high school years with violinist Ruggiero Ricci (who made the first solo violin recording in 1947), I'm thrilled to perform the complete set, something I didn't even dream of when I initially studied them! The musical and technical ingenuity both are tremendous, keeping me constantly fascinated with pondering their countless obstacles. In performance, the electricity in the air is like none other.”
Dugan adds, “It’s unusual to hear the work of two great composers simultaneously, but that’s exactly what this collaboration is all about. In this series of nine videos, you’ll get a closeup look at all of the violin pyrotechnics of the Paganini caprices, but you’ll also experience the charm and elegance of these pieces, magnified by Schumann’s piano writing, which ranges from dark and brooding to frothy and quirky.”
Lee and Dugan also perform the complete Caprices in two concerts in Florida in January, presented by Perlman Music Program/Suncoast in Sarasota on January 13 and by The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach on January 19.
Program Information
Art of the Recital: Sean Lee & Peter Dugan
Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 7:30pm
The Rose Studio at CMS | 165 W. 65th Street | New York, NY
Tickets: $68
Link: https://www.
Program:
Paganini – Complete Caprices Nos. 1-12 for Violin and Piano, Op. 1 (c. 1805) (arr. Robert Schumann)
Liszt – Étude No. 2 in E-flat Major from Grandes études de Paganini for Piano, S. 141 (1851)
Paganini – Complete Caprices Nos. 13-24 for Violin and Piano, Op. 1 (c. 1805) (arr. Robert Schumann)
About Sean Lee
American violinist Sean Lee is one of few violinists who dare to perform the complete 24 Caprices of Niccolò Paganini in concert. A recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant, Lee has captured the attention of audiences worldwide, with performances described by The New York Times as “breathtakingly beautiful.” Lee’s ongoing educational YouTube series “Paganini POV” utilizes modern technology to share a unique perspective on violin playing.
Lee’s debut album was released by EMI Classics, and reached the iTunes top 20 classical bestsellers list. In 2018, Lee collaborated with pianist Peter Dugan to release a second album, SONGBOOK, featuring songs from all over the world from classical to jazz. As a soloist, Lee has appeared with orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Camerata Jerusalem, and Utah Symphony, and recital appearances have taken him to Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Festival di Carro Paganiniano of Italy, and Vienna’s Konzerthaus. A top prizewinner at the “Premio Paganini” International Violin Competition, Lee embraces the legacy of his late mentor, violinist Ruggiero Ricci, who made the first solo recording of the 24 Caprices in 1947.
Lee has collaborated in performances with Itzhak Perlman, Sir James Galway, Deborah Voigt, and members of the Emerson and Guarneri String Quartets. With the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Lee has performed numerous times at Lincoln Center, as well as on tour internationally at venues including the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague, Czech Republic; LG Arts Center in Seoul, Korea; National Theater in Taipei, Taiwan; and the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. Lee also performed for PBS’s first international production of Live from Lincoln Center, “Odyssey: The Chamber Music Society in Greece.”
Lee currently resides in the Capital Region of New York State. Born in Los Angeles, Lee studied in Southern California with Robert Lipsett of the Colburn Conservatory, and with violin legend Ruggiero Ricci. Moving to New York City at age 17, Lee studied at the Juilliard School with the internationally acclaimed Itzhak Perlman. At the Juilliard School, Lee earned both Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees, and received the William Schuman Prize upon graduation.
Lee performs on a violin originally made for violinist Ruggiero Ricci in 1999 by David Bague, and a bow made circa 1890 by Joseph Arthur Vigneron. Learn more at www.seanleeviolin.com.
About Peter Dugan
Pianist Peter Dugan’s debut performances with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony were described by the Los Angeles Times as “stunning” and by the SF Chronicle as “fearlessly athletic.” He is heard across America as the host of NPR’s beloved program From the Top. He has appeared as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across North America and abroad, and can be heard as the piano soloist on a new release of Ives’ Fourth Symphony from Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. In 2020, he joined violinist Joshua Bell for At Home With Music, a national PBS broadcast and live album release on Sony Classical. Prizing stylistic versatility as the hallmark of a 21st century musician, Mr. Dugan is equally at home in classical, jazz, and pop idioms.
A sought-after multi-genre artist, Mr. Dugan has performed in duos and trios with artists ranging from Itzhak Perlman and Renee Fleming to Jesse Colin Young and Glenn Close. The Wall Street Journal described Mr. Dugan’s collaboration with violinist Charles Yang as a “classical-meets-rockstar duo.” This season Yang and Dugan are Artists in Residence at New York’s Kaufman Music Center and the Cali School of Music at Montclair State University.
Mr. Dugan has been presented in chamber music recitals by Carnegie Hall, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, Music at Menlo, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and the Moab Music Festival. He was a 2021 featured recitalist and lecturer for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and has soloed with the San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and New World Symphony.
His latest album with baritone John Brancy – The Journey Home: Live from the Kennedy Center – was released on Avie Records in 2021 along with an accompanying documentary film from WNET’s AllArts. Together Brancy and Dugan won first prize at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition and second prize at the 2017 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition.
Mr. Dugan advocates the importance of music in the community and at all levels of society. As a founding creator of Operation Superpower, a superhero opera for children, he has travelled to dozens of schools in the greater New York area, performing for students and encouraging them to use their talents – their superpowers – for good. He is head of the Artist in Residence program at pianoSonoma and a founding faculty member of the Resonance and Soundboard Institutes at Honeywell Arts Academy.
Mr. Dugan holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied under Matti Raekallio. He resides in New York City with his wife, mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan, and serves on the piano faculty at The Juilliard School Extension. Mr. Dugan is a Yamaha Artist. Learn more at www.peterduganpiano.com.
Paganini x Schumann Tracklist
Paganini – Complete Caprices for Violin and Piano, Op. 1 (c. 1805) (arr. Robert Schumann)
1. No. 4 [6:59]
2. No. 5 [3:23]
3. No. 6 [5:36]
4. No. 8 [3:04]
5. No. 9 [3:25]
6. No. 15 [2:55]
7. No. 20 [3:12]
8. No. 21 [3:23]
9. No. 22 [2:25]
Total Time - 34:22
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