Wei-Wei Le, violin
Chih-Long Hu, piano
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
PROGRAM
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F minor, Op 80
Sergei Prokofiev
(1891-1953)
- Andante assai
- Allegro brusco
- Andante
- Allegrissimo - Andante assai, come prima
Porgy and Bess
George Gershwin
(1898-1937)
arr. Jascha Heifetz
(1901-1987)
- Summertime and A Woman is a Sometime Thing
- My man’s Gone Now
- It Ain’t Necessarily So
- Bess, You is my Woman Now
- Tempo di Blues
INTERMISSION
Sonata for Violin and Piano, FP 119
Francis Poulenc
(1899-1963)
- Allegro con fuoco
- Intermezzo
- Presto tragico
Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25
Pablo de Sarasate
(1844-1908)
- Allegro moderato
- Moderato
- Lento assai
- Allegro moderato
- Moderato
We hope you enjoyed this performance. Private support from music enthusiasts enables us to improve educational opportunities and develop our student artists’ skills to their full potential. To learn more about how you can support the College of Music, contact Chris Cox, Director of Advancement, 865-974-3331 or ccox@utfi.org.
Quoted by legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin “one of the most talented young musicians I have ever seen”, a native of Shanghai, Wei- Wei Le began her violin studies at the age of six. Over the course of her career, Ms. Le won numerous national and international violin competitions, including the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition (England), the Kloster Schontal International Violin Competition (Germany), and the Starling International Violin Competition (USA), among others. She is the recipient of the “Distinguished Artist Award” by the Department of Culture in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Ms. Le’s musicianship has earned her full scholarships to the Yehudi Menuhin School, New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cincinnati University Conservatory of Music, Oberlin Conservatory with world renowned violin pedagogues, such as Yehudi Menuhin, Donald Weilerstein, Almita & Roland Vamos, Dorothy DeLay, Kurt Sassmanshaus, and Wenzhou Li.
As a solo performer, Le has given recitals and concerts worldwide, and has been featured in leading music stages such as: the Carnegie Hall (New York, U.S.A.), the Barbican Center (London, U.K.), the Wigmore Hall (London, U.K.), the Royal Festival Hall(London, U.K.), and the Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco, U.S.A.). She was invited for recitals in Korea, Taiwan, Israel, England, Switzerland, France, Japan, Germany, China, USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Australia, Puerto Rico, among others. She
also performed with noteworthy orchestras such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic (Hong Kong), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (London), Queensland Symphony (Australia), State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra (Mexico), Marquestte Symphony Orchestra (USA), World Youth Orchestra (Italy), Bermuda Symphony (Bermuda), Tianjin Symphony Orchestra (China), and WuHan Symphony Orchestram (China). She was featured many times as a soloist to perform for Queen Elizabeth II of England and her royal family in Buckingham Palace. Le soloed with Royal Philharmonic (London) with Lord Menuhin conducting at the “50th Anniversary of United Nations Celebration Concert”, and was congratulated by the President of Poland, Secretary of the United Nations, and Princess Margaret of England. Le was featured in articles in the Strad magazine, Evening Standard (England), String Magazine, Shanghai Evening Daily.
In the biography of Lord Yehudi Menuhin‟s book “Unfinished Journey”, he dedicated several paragraphs to Ms. Le's musicianship “ One of these – Weiwei Le from China ... She stole everyone‟s heart. She played in a way that enables each note to be a “happening”, with a continuity which was equally caressed, nurtured and respected.” World-renowned violin pedagogue Mr. Donald Weilerstein described her playing as “She is a very fiery player – and she's very virtuosic also. She moves around the instrument really very very well and at the same time she can play with a lot of expression depth. She has a lot of flair and intensity in her playing, and she has a real musical personality.”
As a devoted chamber music player, Le collaborated with top musicians and quartets, including Richard Stoltzman, William Preucil, Christopher O'Riley, Sara Chang, Eliot Fisk, the Ying Quartet and the St. Petersburg Quartet, and gave many concerts in North America, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. She was the first violin of Vega Quartet in 2006-2008, the Quartet-in-Residence at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The main concert project of the 06-07 season includes "Bach and Bartok" - the complete six string quartets by Bela Bartok combined with the 6 solo violin Sonatas and Partitas and 6 cello Suites by J.S.Bach played in six concerts throughout the season. The quartet also appeared at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in February of 2007, and made their Zankel Hall debut with Richard Stoltzman.
Wei-Wei Le currently resides in Las Vegas, NV. She is a Professor of Violin at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As a passionate educator, she enjoys teaching private lessons and coaching chamber music. Her students have won top prizes in national and international competitions. Vegas Seven Magazine names Le “Best Classical Musician” in the “best of city” issue.
In her spare time, Ms. Le is very interested in social volunteering. She is an active supporter of the Red Cross and World Food Program