The Canadian Music Centre will be the venue for a concert of music for violin and piano presented by Jialiang Zhu. The Chinese-Canadian pianist will be joined by violinists Alessia Disimino and Heng-Han Hou for an eclectic program on June 23.
It’s the last in a series titled Empowered by Friendship presented at the CMC during the 2023/24 season. True to its theme, violinist Alessia Disimino and pianist Jialiang Zhu are friends in real life, and long time artistic partners.
The Music
The wide ranging program includes music that originates in Italy, China, Mongolia, Canada, USA, and Romania. It includes:
- Amy Beach – Romance for violin and piano
- Béla Bartók – Romanian Folk Dances for violin and piano
- Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Sonata quasi una Fantasia for violin and piano
- Huang Huwei 黄虎威 – E’ Mei Mountain Moon Song 峨眉山月歌 for violin and piano
- David Jaeger – Sonata Tristan and Isolde for violin and piano
- Anita Pari – Incongruous for piano and two violins
- Massimo Guida – Three Compositional Studies in Gestures for two violins
The Artists
Chinese pianist Jialiang Zhu enjoys solo performance, chamber music, and vocal collaboration in her music practice. She is currently studying towards a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree, after earning a Master’s Degree in Piano Peformance and Pedagogy, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance with Honours, all at the University of Toronto.
Jialiang performed as pianist and Project Assistant on Chinese-Canadian composer Alice Ping Yee Ho’s 2022 album A Woman’s Voice – Songs and Duets for Voice and Piano. She is a specialist in Chinese song, and has performed with vocalists in lecture recitals and presentations at the Canadian Opera Company as well as the Universities of Toronto and Ottawa.
Based in both Toronto and Boston, violinist Alessia Disimino is the co-founder and violinist of the Bedford Trio, who were the 2023/2024 Artist in Residence at the University of Toronto. She is also a violinist with the North York Concert Orchestra. Alessia founded and is Director of Strings at the North York String Academy, where she teaches as well as curating the violin program. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Master’s in Music in Performance. She previously earned a Bachelor of Music in Performance with a Minor in English at the same institution.
Originally from Taiwan, violinist Heng-Han Hou is the Principal Second Violin of the Regina Symphony Orchestra. In addition to that position, he has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, and Windsor Symphony Orchestra, along with his work as a soloist and chamber musician. He was the Associate and Assistant Concertmaster for the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Heng-Han is working on his doctoral degree at the University of Toronto, and has performed in a number of public masterclasses for Midori Goto, the New Orford String Quartet, among others.
- Find tickets for Duo Dances — Violin and Piano Recital [HERE].
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