CONCERTS

77TH SEASON OF

national gallery of art | october 14, 2018
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PROGRAM

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Nigel Armstrong, violin

Jason Vieaux, guitar

Curtis on Tour: The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring 

Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music

October 14, 2018 | 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Program subject to change.

Isaac Albéniz (1860 – 1909)

Recuerdos de Viaje, op. 71

“Rumores de la Caleta — Malagueña”

Rapsodia Cubana, op. 66

Ástor Piazzolla (1921 – 1992)

Histoire du Tango

Bordel 1900 

Café 1930

Nightclub 1960

Concert d’aujourd’hui

Mauro Giuliani (1781 – 1829)

Gran Duetto Concertante, op. 52 

Andante sostenuto

Menuetto: Allegro vivace

Rondo militaire: Allegretto

Intermission

PROGRAM

above Jason Vieaux, photo by GMD Three 

left Nigel Armstrong, photo by David Fung
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THE MUSICIANS Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927 – 1994)

Medley

Jeremy Cohen (b. 1957)

Tango Eight

Nigel Armstrong (b. 1990)

Improvisation

Manuel de Falla (1876 – 1946)

Siete canciones populares españolas

El paño moruno 

Seguidilla murciana

Asturiana

Jota

Nana

Canción

Polo

Nigel Armstrong is emerging as a dynamic and creative artist both within and beyond 

the realm of classical music. From his musical beginnings as a member of The Little 

Fiddlers in Sonoma, California, to collaborations with tango musicians in Argentina, he 

has enjoyed using the violin in a versatile manner.

As soloist, Armstrong has performed with orchestras such as the Dusseldorf 

Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, 

YOA Orchestra of the Americas, the Pacific Symphony, and the Boston Pops, and with 

conductors that include Sir Neville Marriner, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Carl St. Clair. 

He received the 2nd Ole Bull Prize and the Nordheim Award at the 2010 Menuhin 

Competition Senior Division in Oslo, Norway, and the 4th Prize and the Prize for the 

Best Performance of the Commissioned Work STOMP, by John Corigliano, at the XIV

International Tchaikovsky Competition. As a chamber musician, his concerts have 

taken him across the United States and abroad. Highlights have included sharing the 

stage with the Tokyo String Quartet and pianist Jonathan Biss.

Armstrong feels fortunate to have had the chance to explore great orchestral 

literature throughout his career. Since 2009, he has appeared as concertmaster with 

the Colburn Orchestra, the American Youth Symphony, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, 

and the New York String Orchestra in their annual Carnegie Hall performances. Armstrong serves as concertmaster of the Santa Cruz Symphony in California.

A graduate of the Colburn School and the Curtis Institute of Music, Armstrong’s 

teachers have included Arnold Steinhardt, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Robert Lipsett, Zaven 

Melikian, and Donald Weilerstein, among others.

Jason Vieaux, described as “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” by Gramophone Magazine, is a guitarist who goes beyond the classical. His most recent solo 

album, Play, won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Recent 

highlights include performances at the Caramoor Festival as artist-in-residence, the 

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, 

the 92nd Street Y in New York, and many other distinguished venues. He frequently 

collaborates with the Escher Quartet, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, and accordion /

bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro. Vieaux has performed as soloist with more than one 

hundred orchestras, and his passion for new music has fostered premieres by Avner 

Dorman, Dan Visconti, Vivian Fung, and José Luis Merlin. Vieaux continues to bring 

important repertoire alive in the recording studio, with upcoming releases on Azica, BIS, 

and Naxos. His recent recordings include Infusion (Azica) with Julien Labro; Ginastera’s 

Guitar Sonata, which is featured on Ginastera: One Hundred (Oberlin Music), produced 

by Yolanda Kondonassis; and Together (Azica), a duo album with Kondonassis.
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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.

Vox Luminis

Funeral Music for a Prince and a Queen

October 21, 3:30

Trio Sefardi

Sound Sketches

October 26, 12:10

Location will be posted the day 

of the concert.

PUBLIQuartet 

With Ian Rosenbaum

Celebrating Rachel Whiteread

MIND /  THE  /  GAP

October 28, 3:30

Flophouse Crew

Celebrating Gordon Parks: The New Tide,

Early Work 1940 – 1950

November 4, 4:00

East Building Auditorium

Tapestry

Lessons of Darkness: Armistice Day 1918

November 11, 3:30

Nobuntu

Featuring traditional Zimbabwean songs, 

Afro jazz, and gospel

November 18, 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 © 2018 

Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, 

Washington

Cover Konrad Cramer, Untitled (Guitar)

(detail), 1949, National Gallery of 

Art, Washington, Reba and Dave 

Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and 

Dave Williams

In 2011, Vieaux cofounded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music, 

and in 2015, he was invited to inaugurate the guitar program at the Eastern Music 

Festival. He has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music since 1997, heading the guitar 

department since 2001. His awards include a Naumburg Foundation prize, a Cleveland 

Institute of Music Distinguished Alumni Award, a Salon di Virtuosi Career Grant, and 

First Prize at the GFA International Guitar Competition. Vieaux was the first classical 

musician to be featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk series. He plays a 2013 Gernot Wagner 

guitar with Augustine strings.

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians 

to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. One of the 

most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts 4 percent of applicants each 

year on average, and a tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are 

the only considerations for admission.

With a small student body of about 175, Curtis ensures that each young musician 

receives an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by a “learn by doing” 

philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes a high proportion 

of actively performing musicians.

Curtis students hone their craft through more than two hundred orchestra, opera, 

and solo and chamber music offerings each year and programs that bring arts access 

and education to the community. This real-world training allows these extraordinary 

young musicians to join the front rank of performers, composers, conductors, and 

musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities.

Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute 

of Music. An embodiment of the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, it offers students 

real-world, professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. 

In addition to performances, musicians offer master classes, interactive programs, and 

community engagement activities while on tour. Curtis on Tour also facilitates solo 

performances of Curtis students and alumni with professional orchestras and recital 

series. Since the program was established in 2008, students, faculty, and alumni have 

performed more than two hundred concerts in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
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