The Program

Brahms:  Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 120, No. 2
Saint-Saëns:  Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 167
Bassi:  Clarinet Work TBA
Brahms:  Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114

The Artists

Ricardo Morales joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as principal clarinet in 2003.  Prior to this he was principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a position he assumed at the age of 21.  He has also served as principal clarinet of the Florida Symphony.  A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Morales began his studies at the Escuela Libre de Musica along with his five siblings, who are all distinguished musicians.  He continued his studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Indiana University, where he received his artist diploma.  An active chamber musician, Morales has performed in the MET Chamber Ensemble series at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, and the Kennedy Center, on NBC's The Today Show, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He is highly sought after for his recitals and master classes, which have taken him throughout North America and Europe. In addition he currently serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School and Temple University.  His debut solo recording, French Portraits, is available on Boston Records.

Cellist Efe Baltacigil has been hailed by The Philadelphia Inquirer as "a highly individualized solo artist."  The Philadelphia Orchestra's associate principal cellist, he was selected as a member of the European Concert Hall Association's (ECHO) Rising Stars program, performing at the Barbican in London, Vienna Musikverein, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Brussels Palaix des Beaux Arts, Athens Concert Hall, Stockholm Konzerthuset, and Carnegie Hall in New York.  Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Mr. Baltacigil began violin studies at age 5 before switching to the cello at age 7.  Following training at the Mimar Sinan University Conservatory in Istanbul, he began studies at the Curtis Institute, working with Peter Wiley and David Soyer, and received his Artist Diploma in 2002.  He was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2006.  For more information on Efe Baltacigil visit www.efebaltacigil.net.

The recipient of a 2006 Musical Fund Society Career Advancement Award, the 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2003 Andrew Wolf Memorial Chamber Music Award, pianist Natalie Zhu is a winner of Astral Artistic Services' 1998 National Auditions. The Philadelphia Inquirer heralded Astral’s presentation of Ms. Zhu in recital as a display of "emotional and pianistic pyrotechnics"; selections from the recital were later broadcast on National Public Radio’s "Performance Today."  Natalie Zhu began her piano studies with Xiao-Cheng Liu at the age of six in her native China and made her first public appearance at age nine in Beijing. At eleven she emigrated with her family to Los Angeles, and by fifteen was enrolled at the Curtis Institute, where she received the Rachmaninoff Award and studied with Gary Graffman.  She received a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Claude Frank.  For more information on Natalie Zhu visit www.nataliezhu.com.