The School of Music welcomes Cincinnati guest artists Kun Dong, violin; Lachezar Kostov, cello; and Dror Biran, piano. They will perform Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio in A Minor (1914) and Johannes Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 (1889 Revised version, original completed in 1854). Kun Dong and Lachezar Kostov will also perform a duo selection.
This event is free and open to the public. No ticket required.
KUN DONG, violinist, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Kun Dong began her formal training at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Preparatory School, then the Middle School affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She subsequently earned her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and an Artist Diploma from the University of Southern California (USC). Throughout her artistic development, she studied with Zhao Jiyang, Shen Guanen, Lin Yaoji, Alice Schoenfeld, Eudice Shapiro, Abram Shtern, Piotr Milewski, and Lee Fiser. In 1986, she won the Grand Prize in the Youth Division Beijing International Violin Competition Youth Division, receiving both the Best Performance of a Chinese Composition and Best Performance of Henryk Wieniawski awards. The following year, she captured the Grand Prize at the 3rd Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, performing as soloist with the London Royal Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Sir Yehudi Menuhin. She subsequently garnered top prizes at the Pasadena Instrumental Competition, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra Showcase Competition for Young Musicians, the Carmel Instrumental Competition, the Santa Barbara String Competition, and the Schadt Violin Competition. She has performed extensively across North America, Asia, and Europe, and is an avid solo and chamber music player. Since joining the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a tenured member in 2002, she has toured widely with the orchestra throughout Europe and Asia, performing a rich and diverse orchestral repertoire. In addition to her performing career, Kun Dong is a dedicated educator, mentoring students who have achieved top honors in major competitions and hold principal positions in leading youth and professional orchestras across the United States.
Lachezar Kostov, associate principal cellist of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and holder of the Ona Hixson Dater Endowed Chair | Lachezar Kostov has appeared as a soloist in many of the world’s leading concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Gewandhaus (Leipzig), and Oji Hall (Tokyo). A prizewinner in numerous international competitions, Kostov was the National Winner of the 2006 MTNA Young Artist Competition. His honors include the Cello Award at the Kingsville International Competition, the Grand Prix at the International Music and Earth Competition (Bulgaria), and concerto competition victories at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Rice University. In October 2011, he and pianist Viktor Valkov won First Prize and all Special Prizes at the Third International Liszt–Garrison Piano and Duo Competition (Baltimore, Maryland). Kostov has appeared as a guest soloist and chamber musician throughout the US, Japan, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria. As a member of the Kostov–Valkov Duo, he is represented by Pro-Piano Management. Hailed by European and American critics for “the awesome purity of his playing” and described as a “prodigiously skilled protagonist,” he made his official Carnegie Hall debut in 2009 at Zankel Hall, performing rarely heard works for cello and piano by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Nikolai Roslavets, and Dmitri Kabalevsky. Festival appearances include the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, and the Cactus Pear Music Festival. His principal teachers include Bogomil Karakonov, Aldo Parisot, Norman Fischer, David Grigorian, and Zvi Plesser; he has also participated in master classes with Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Isserlis, and Bernard Greenhouse. A Larsen Strings World Ambassador, Kostov performs exclusively on the Il Cannone string set and plays a rare 1738 Italian cello by Carlo Antonio Testore, graciously on loan from a private sponsor.
Dror Biran, professor of piano, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music | Winner of top prizes at the M.K Čiurlionis International Piano Competition, the Cleveland International Piano among others, Israeli-American pianist Dror Biran has been described by The Cleveland Plain Dealer as “his fortissimos crashed and roared, but next to them came pianissimos that whispered seductively…he has technique to burn and uses it effectively.” Biran’s superb tonal control combined with interesting phrasing and voicing has won him consistent critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences. Biran has performed widely as a soloist with major orchestras including the Lithuanian Philharmonic Orchestra, RTVE Symphony Orchestra of Spain, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has played under the batons of Etinger, Rodan, Gueller, Gacia Asensio, Mester, Lane and others. His concert tours have taken him to the United States, Israel and South Africa, South Korea and China along with Eastern and Western Europe. As an avid chamber musician, Biran has appeared on a regular basis with various ensembles such as Carmel, Amernet and Aviv String Quartets. He premiered works by Grawemyer and Rome Award winners such as York Höler and Sebastian Currier. His concerts have been broadcasted by WUOL, WCLV, WQXR, The Voice of Music – Israel and Classic FM South Africa, among others. Biran can be heard on the JMC (Jerusalem Music Centre) and Centaur labels. A recipient of multiple scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation for distinguished musicians, Biran began his piano studies with Lily Dorfman, and was mentored by Arie Vardi, Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro and Lee Luvisi. He graduated from Rubin Academy of Music at Tel-Aviv University, and from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he received his doctorate in piano performance. Biran taught at the University of Louisville, Youngstown State University, and Case Western Reserve University; he currently serves as professor of piano at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
All events are subject to change.
Getting Here
Two garage options:
Arps Garage (open to visitors M–F after 4 p.m. and on weekends) — located just north of the Timashev Music building.
- A good choice for events in the Timashev Recital Hall, just inside the north end of the building.
Ohio Union South Garage (open to visitors 24/7) — located just south of the Timashev Music building, next to the Ohio Union.
- A good choice for events in Weigel Auditorium, just inside the south end of the building, across from the Oval.
- The only choice for visitors M–F, before 4 p.m.
Weigel Auditorium is on the second floor, via a staircase in the south lobby.
- The elevator to Weigel Auditorium is in the back hallway, located behind the Music Commons.
