Join us for an IN-PERSON concert, Art of the Recital: "Rhapsodie Franćaise", on Saturday, April 20, at 2PM!

Do not miss an electrifying violin & piano duo performance by award-winning musicians Joshua Peckins and Eliko Akahori. Violinist Joshua Peckins and pianist Eliko Akahori perform classical music by French and French-inspired composers, ranging from the elegant sounds of the classical period, through French Impressionism, a few brief hints of the more modern, and a virtuosic showstopper. There’s something for everyone in this concert, from music by beloved composers Ravel and Debussy, to gems by underrepresented women composers, including Lili Boulanger, whose untimely death in her twenties brought an end to this gifted composer’s career. Hear music by Joseph Bologne (aka “Chevalier de St. Georges”, featured in the 2022 movie “Chevalier”), and Saint-Saëns’ exciting first Violin Sonata, a true masterpiece of the chamber music repertoire. This wonderful program is accompanied by Joshua Peckins’ spoken commentary about the music, offering an enriched experience for every listener. 

Art of the Recital: "Rhapsodie Franćaise"

Joseph Bologne: Sonata in G Minor Op. 1a, No. 3

Lili Boulanger: D’un Matin de Printemps

Maurice Ravel: Deux Mélodies Hébraïques

Claude Debussy: Violin Sonata

Grazyna Bacewicz: Slavonic Dance

(intermission)

Camille Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op 75

Jules Massenet: Meditation from Thaïs

Program subject to change for artistic reasons.

About Joshua: Joshua Peckins has presented solo recitals nationally and internationally throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including the renowned Figaro Hall of Palace Pálffy (where Mozart himself presented his “The Marriage of Figaro”), Crystal Hall in Japan, the Haydn and Mendelssohn Halls in Austria, as well on the Artist Series of the Bled Festival in Slovenia, the Salzburg Festival at the Mozarteum, the Orford Festival in Canada, and the Cervo Festival in Italy.

Trained in Europe at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts, and in the United States at the Yale School of Music and the New England Conservatory, Joshua Peckins recently completed a multi-year cycle of the complete solo violin music by Bach and Ysaÿe in a series of over 30 lecture recitals, described by Scout Magazines as “...solo violin music at its best” and Reporter Today as a “...brilliant show…!”

In every recital program, Peckins draws on a traditional classical repertoire studied in Vienna and performed internationally (on tour in Japan, Europe, and North America), and also seeks out new and diverse works by contemporary composers. Peckins firmly believes that programming authentic, diverse, and fresh repertoire, alongside the traditional warhorses of the past, is necessary in order to keep classical music relevant today.

About Eliko: Eliko Akahori has appeared as a chamber musician and collaborative pianist in concerts throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Recent performances include a live broadcast of Brahms’ Clarinet Trio on WGBH radio in Boston, and a series of recitals in the U.S, Austria and Spain with Vienna Philharmonic principal flutist Karl-Heinz Schütz. Ms. Akahori also collaborated with Mr. Schütz in recording two CDs that were released in 2014.

Ms. Akahori received the first prize, Coleman-Barstow Award, in the 57th Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition. Past collaborators in recitals, chamber music concerts, recordings, and radio and television broadcasts include members of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Chicago, Montreal, Boston and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, among others. Ms. Akahori has performed in many festivals including the Banff Centre in Canada, IMAI in Maine, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.

She is currently on the faculty at Wellesley College, where she is also the director of the music performance program.