CONCERTS

77TH SEASON OF Upcoming Events of the SeventySeventh Season of The William Nelson 

Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin Concerts

Unless otherwise noted, concerts 

are held in the West Building, West 

Garden Court.

Armonia Nova

Sound Sketches

February 22, 12:10

West Building Lecture Hall

Curtis on Tour: Curtis Opera 

Theatre Vocal Quartet

Featuring Liebeslieder Waltzes by Brahms

February 24, 3:30

Noah Getz and Friends

Absolute Art and Jazz between the Wars

Featuring works by Webern, Bartók, 

and Schulhoff

March 3, 3:30

Peter Vinograde, piano

J. S. Bach’s Seven Keyboard Toccatas

March 10, 3:30

Parthenia

With Ryland Angel, countertenor

Celebrating Drawing in Tintoretto’s 

Venice and Venetian Prints in the 

Time of Tintoretto

Tomb Sonnets

Featuring works by Martin Kennedy, 

Luca Marenzio, Philippe Verdelot, 

Jacques Arcadelt, Cipriano de Rore, 

Girolamo Frescobaldi, and Andrea and 

Giovanni Gabrieli

March 17, 3:30

General Information

Admission to the National Gallery of Art 

and all of its programs is free of charge, 

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording 

equipment during the performance 

is not allowed.

Please be sure that all portable electronic 

devices are turned off.

—

Concerts are made possible in part 

through the generosity of donors to the 

National Gallery of Art through The Circle. 

Reserved seating is available in recognition 

of their support. Please contact the 

development office at (202) 842-6450 or 

circle@nga.gov for more information.

—

The department of music produced 

these program notes. Copyright © 2019 

Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, 

Washington

Cover Charles Caleb Ward, His First 

Appearance in Public (detail), 1870, 

National Gallery of Art, Washington, 

Avalon Fund

national gallery of art | february 17, 2019

NGA.GOV/MUSIC
PROGRAM

Lara St. John

Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John has been described as “something of a phenomenon” by the Strad and a “high-powered soloist” by the New York Times. She has been 

lauded by the Los Angeles Times as “a volcanic violinist with a huge, fabulous tone that 

pours out of her like molten lava. She has technique to burn and plays at a constant high 

heat.” St. John has performed as soloist in prestigious venues worldwide, including with 

the orchestras of Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, Brisbane, 

Amsterdam, São Paulo, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. In 1999, she created her own label, 

Ancalagon, and has recorded with the Royal Philharmonic, the Simon Bolivar Youth 

Orchestra of Venezuela, and The Knights, with which she won a Juno Award in 2011 for 

her Mozart album. Of her recording titled Bach Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo, 

the American Record Guide wrote: “I simply don’t know where else you can go to hear 

Bach played at this level of artistry. Once again she eclipses her competition.”

St. John began playing the violin at age two. At four, she made her first appearance 

as soloist with orchestra and at age ten, her European debut with the Gulbenkian 

Orchestra in Lisbon. She toured Spain, France, Portugal, and Hungary at ages twelve 

and thirteen, entered the Curtis Institute at thirteen, and spent her first summer at 

Marlboro three years later. Her teachers have included Felix Galimir and Joey Corpus. 

She performs on the 1779 “Salabue” Guadagnini violin, thanks to an anonymous donor.

Matt Herskowitz

Uniquely combining the superlative technique of a classical virtuoso with his prowess 

in jazz, world music, and free improvisation, pianist, composer, and arranger Matt 

Herskowitz has carved out a unique and personal voice in music. Over the past decade, 

he has produced a series of critically acclaimed recordings, premiered his works in 

settings from New York’s Central Park to Germany’s Kölner Philharmonie, collaborated 

with top classical, jazz, and pop artists, and performed at worldwide music festivals.

Herskowitz’s extensive recording catalogue includes the critically acclaimed, 

Juno-nominated world music fusion album Jerusalem Trilogy, featuring his original 

compositions and arrangements. His other releases include his 1998 recording of 

Glazunov’s Piano Concerto no. 2 in B Major (Chandos), hailed by the Strad as “by far 

the best performance on disc,” and his 2007 release, Matt Herskowitz Plays George 

Gershwin (rereleased on Justin Time Records in 2018), which features his solo piano 

arrangements of Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Concerto in F, and Rhapsody in Blue. 

A graduate of the Juilliard School in New York and the Curtis Institute of Music in 

Philadelphia, Herskowitz is originally from Rensselaerville, New York, and has made 

Montreal his home since 1999.

THE MUSICIANS

Lara St. John, violin

Matt Herskowitz, piano

February 17, 2019 | 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)

Sonata for Violin and Piano no. 9 in A Major, op. 47, “Kreutzer”

Adagio sostenuto — Presto

Andante con variazioni

Presto

Intermission

George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) and Ira Gershwin (1896 – 1983)

Arr. Matt Herskowitz

“I Got Rhythm”

“Someone to Watch Over Me”

Milica Paranosic (b. 1968) 

Rumelaj

Martin Kennedy (b. 1978)

“Song of the Moon”

Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937)

Tzigane