May 14, 2007 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The National Arts Centre's Music for a Sunday Afternoon chamber music concert on Sunday, May 20 at 14:00 in the Auditorium of the National Gallery will feature German violinist Viviane Hagner with ensembles from the NAC Orchestra in chamber music by Hoffmeister and Dvorák as well as in two solos by Ysaye and Wilhelm Ernst.

The opening Solo String Quartet No. 3 by the prolofic 18th and 19th century composer and music publisher Hoffmeister is unusual in that it not only includes double bass, but has elevated this instrument to the principal voice. It is an excellent opportunity to hear the NAC Orchestra's superb principal double bass Joel Quarrington in a starring role. He is joined by violinist Viviane Hagner, NACO associate principal viola Jethro Marks and NACO principal cello Amanda Forsyth.

Dvorák's seldom performed String Quintet in G major is the only work by a famous composer written for two violins, viola, cello and double bass. Hagner is joined by NACO's Jessica Linnebach on violin together with Marks, Forsyth and Quarrington.

Viviane Hagner will perform two solo works: the Solo Violin Sonata No. 4 in E minor by Ysaye, a master of the instrument who helped develop the modern school of violin playing, and Variations on "The Last Rose of Summer by another supreme violin virtuoso, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst whose works for violin have been described as "so full of technical difficulties as to be almost impossible to perform."

A former student of Pinchas Zukerman at the Manhattan School of Music and the NAC Summer Music Institute, Viviane Hagner has appeared with some of the world's greatest orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Bavarian State Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Czech Philharmonic with conductors such as Abbado, Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Eschenbach, and Nagano. She has appeared often with the NAC Orchestra including as special guest at the 2004 Gala.

Tickets for Music for a Sunday Afternoon on May 20 are on sale now at $28.75 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC's website at www.nac-cna.ca. They may also be purchased at the National Gallery one hour before the concert.

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For more information please contact:
Jane Morris, Communications Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca