Acclaimed Cello-Piano Duo Perform at University Feb. 18

Cellist Mark Kosower and pianist Jee-Won Oh to perform Sunday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center at the University
The renowned husband-and-wife duo of cellist Mark Kosower and pianist Jee-Won Oh will perform Sunday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission is free.
The renowned husband-and-wife duo of cellist Mark Kosower and pianist Jee-Won Oh will perform Sunday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission is free.

 

 Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a recital by the renowned husband-and-wife duo of cellist Mark Kosower and pianist Jee-Won Oh on Sunday, Feb. 18. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Earlier that day, Kosower will give a free masterclass for strings, with a primary focus on cello. The class is open to local amateur and professional string players, ages 16 and older. Those interested in taking part should email music@scranton.edu for more information.

This will be Kosower and Oh’s third performance at the University, said Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga, who first met the couple over a decade ago through her friend, Grammy Award-winning classical music composer, producer and recording guru Michael Fine.

“It’s not really cello with piano accompaniment when these two perform together. This is really more of a cello and piano duo. Everything they play, they play as a duo, and it’s remarkable,” Boga said. “He’s one of the greatest cellists alive and she is equally amazing.”

Kosower is currently the principal cellist for the Cleveland Orchestra, and has been called “a virtuoso of staggering prowess” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Early in her career, the South Korean-born Oh served as the studio pianist and assistant to the famed cellist Janos Starker for five years, and taught piano at Indiana University. Today, she gives recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the world.

The couple have performed together in concert throughout the United States and the world, with recent and upcoming engagements at the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Barge Music in New York City, the Kronberg Academy in Germany, the Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro, Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, South Korea, and many more.

In addition, Kosower and Oh have been frequent guests at numerous national and international chamber music festivals, and have recorded for the Ambitus, Delos, Naxos International and VAI labels.

Still, despite their very busy schedules, the couple has remained committed to teaching. Kosower is a member of the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, as well as a visiting distinguished professor at the University of Oregon. Oh, meanwhile, teaches and coaches clinics, workshops and masterclasses for solo and collaborative pianists.

“They’re in high demand all over the world, as players and teachers,” Boga said. “But when they play together, there’s this magic that, even if you didn’t know they were husband and wife, you would still know there was something amazing and extraordinary in their collaboration.”

For further information on the recital, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu, or visit scranton.edu/music. For more information on Kosower, visit colbertartists.com/mark-kosower. For more on Oh, visit pcmsconcerts.org/artist/jee-won-oh-piano.

 

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