In this lecture recital third-year Cello Fellow Chava Appiah will open your ears to certain musical techniques Western classical composers use to appropriate sounds from musical cultures beyond their own. Sometimes these sounds come from their own experience (such as with Miklós Rózsa), while others were influenced by their studies (John Williams, Richard Strauss and Johannes Brahms). In a way, these composers contributed to genre-crossing early on, similar to what we hear in “fusion” or “crossover” music today. Come explore these subtle influences in hearing some of the most cherished classical chamber music.
Inside the Music: That sounds like… is an NWS BLUE project. Fellow-driven projects are sponsored in part by the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation.
Trio No. 39 in G major for Piano, Violin and Cello, Hob. XV/25
(1795)
III. Rondo a l’Ongarese – Presto
Wesley Ducote, piano Katherine Kobylarz, violin Chava Appiah, cello
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
Quintet No. 2 in G major for Strings
(1890)
II. Adagio
Katherine Kobylarz, Michael Rau, violin Sam Pedersen, Stephanie Block, viola Chava Appiah, cello
Claude Debussy
(1862-1918)
Quartet in G minor for Strings, L. 91
(1893)
II. Quite lively and well paced
Katherine Kobylarz, Michael Rau, violin Sam Pedersen, viola Chava Appiah, cello
Dmitri Shostakovich
(1906-1975)
Quartet No. 9 in E-flat major for Strings, Op. 117
(1964)
V. Allegro
Katherine Kobylarz, Michael Rau, violin Sam Pedersen, viola Chava Appiah, cello
Chava Appiah, cello
Photo by Andrew Port
Chava Appiah is a third-year Cello Fellow at the New World Symphony. Her performance experience spans from Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and Carnegie Hall, to more intimate settings such as Emmanuel Church of Boston and The Cleveland Institute of Art. She has collaborated with notable artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Jaime Laredo, Emanuel Ax, Alisa Weilerstein, Geoff Nuttall and Chris Thile, as well as conductors Valery Gergiev, Herbert Blomstedt, Andris Nelsons and Leonard Slatkin, among many others.Prior to joining NWS she led a varied freelance career in Boston.
Passionate about orchestral and chamber music, Ms. Appiah has played with the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Madeline Island Chamber Music, Spoleto Festival U.S.A. and most recently the Tanglewood Music Center. She was Principal Cellist with the Pacific Music Festival and Youth Orchestra of the Americas, as well as the Oberlin Orchestra and New England Conservatory Philharmonia. While at Spoleto, she performed the U.S. premieres of Vivaldi’sFarnaceand Lachenmann’sLittle Match Girl.
A strong advocate for making the arts more accessible to a wider audience, Ms. Appiah has engaged with various communities through organizations such as the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, the Community Performances and Partnerships Program of New England Conservatory, Boston Philharmonic, Palaver Strings and her all-cello ensemble, Cellos Unleashed! She strives to challenge the common classical music venue and keep the live music experience available to all.
Ms. Appiah studied at the New England Conservatory with Natasha Brofsky and at Oberlin College and Conservatory with Catharina Meints, earning degrees in both cello performance and neuroscience.
In her free time, Ms. Appiah enjoys yoga, travel and exploring nature. She is an enthusiastic animal lover.
