Sunday, March 16, 2012 at 7:00 PM
WMP Concert Hall, New York, NY
Cellist Amber Docters Van Leeuwen will be joined by Pianist Taisiya Pushkar in a program presented by the van Lier Foundation. On the program compositions by Eef van Breen; Debussy’s Sonata in D Minor; Alfred Schnittke’s Sonata No. 1; and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102 No. 2
New York based Dutch cellist Amber Docters van Leeuwen captivates audiences with her warm, lush sound. Her daring concert programs ambitiously balance modern music by established composers such as Berio, Schnittke and Carter, new work written by her contemporaries like Eef van Breen and older reportoire that varies from the “standards” to pieces that are rarely performed such as Ibert’s Ghirlarzana or Myaskovsky’s cello sonata no.1. Always looking for new ways of expression Amber can often be found alongside musicians who cross genres like the singer Gabriel Rios, pianist Jef Neve or the incredible Bobby McFerrin, with whom she performed indian music at the World Science Festival in 2009 in New York. Graduated with honours from the Royal Concervatory of The Hague where she studied with Dmitri Ferschtman, Amber moved to New York, with the help of the Fulbright Foundation, to continue her studies under Colin Carr at the Stony Brook University and with David Geber at the Manhattan School of Music from where she graduated with a Masters degree, the Pablo Casals Award and Van Lier Award. Amber is the first prize winner of the 2008 Cello Bienale in Amsterdam, receipient of the Samuel Mayes Memorial Cello Award from the Tanglewood Music Center and has given recitals all over the world, from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Fukushima Hall in Tokio, Amber leaves audiences wanting more, or as the Volkskrant wrote: “…the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ shook from all the ovations”
Eef van Breen, who wrote his work “Flavors” especially at the request of Ms. Docters van Leeuwen for her recital debut at Carnegie Hall, is a personal friend of the cellist. Mr. van Breen, who is among the most sought after composers of his generation in The Netherlands today, has composed music for film and chamber ensembles. He was named winner of the ‘Best Original Music Award’ at Spain’s 2004 film festival Reus and his music has been released on Challenge Records. In addition to being a composer, Eef van Breen is also a well known jazz trumpeter and singer.
