The Program

Paganini: Quartet No. 15 for Guitar and Strings in A Minor
Hindemith: Viola Sonata, Op. 25, No. 1
Shostakovich: Viola Sonata in C Minor, Op. 147

The Artists

Roberto Díaz is former principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and President of the Curtis Institute of Music.  As a renowned recitalist and professor of viola at Curtis, he follows in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Rudolf Serkin and Gary Graffman.  In addition to regular recitals, he is frequently heard as a member of the Díaz Trio, with violinist Andrés Cárdenes and cellist Andrès Díaz, with whom he has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico and Chile.  Roberto Díaz has received numerous awards, including prizes at the Naumburg and Munich international viola competitions, as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2006 C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given annually to “the member of the Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation of the Philadelphia Orchestra.”

Recipient of the 2002 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Taiwan-born pianist Meng-Chieh Liu first made headlines in 1993 as a 21-year-old student at The Curtis Institute of Music when he substituted for André Watts at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. The concert earned high acclaim from critics and audience alike, and was followed by a succession of widely praised performances, including a recital at the Kennedy Center and a concert on the Philadelphia All-Star Series.  However, the stellar beginning of Meng-Chieh Liu’s career was abruptly halted by a rare and debilitating illness that affected his connective tissues.  Hospitalized and almost immobile for a year, doctors believed his chances for survival were slim, but with arduous determination and relentless physical therapy, Mr. Liu was restored to full health and embarked again on his concert career in 2002.  He has since performed in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Seattle and San Diego as well as internationally in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Bulgaria and Spain.