VIOLIN AND PIANO
"Both players were terrific. Xu's fiddling featured spotless finger and bow technique, a keen feel for dramatic flair, and a big, sturdy tone free of forcing. Choi was a more than equal partner at the keyboard. His sound was lively and lucid, his digital work was immaculate, and his shaping of material showed insightful articulation of phrase and voicing."
New Music Connoisseur
"Guest artist Minghuan Xu followed with a lovely refined rendition of Max Bruch's popular violin concerto...
Xu showed impressive technique, passion, and intensity. And again warmth was the key word..."
Oak Ridge Observer
"Pianist Choi was also the urbane sophisticate. Here and elsewhere, he was the musical partner of a soloist's dreams, the sensitive, can-do facilitator you'd always want at your side."
Palm Beach Post
"Choi is an intellectual when it comes to music. It manifests itself in his handling of musical forms and of composers' styles and wishes. Xu is spontaneous, rhapsodic and romantic. Together, it is a wonderful dynamic."
Victor Yampolsky, conductor
PRESS KIT
AUDIO
MOZART
ALLEGRO CON SPIRITO
SONATA IN G MAJORSTRAUSS
IMPROVISATION: ANDANTE CANTABILE
SONATA IN E-FLAT MAJOR
Duo Diorama comprises Chinese violinist Minghuan Xu and Canadian pianist Winston Choi. They are compelling and versatile artists who perform in an eclectic mix of musical styles, ranging from standard works to the avant-garde. It is a partnership with a startlingly fresh and powerful approach to music for violin and piano.
The duo’s name “diorama” defines its artistic ideals. In visual arts, a diorama is a scene or story reproduced on cloth transparencies with various lights shining through to produce changes in effect. In the case of Duo Diorama, the musicians’ performances create an illusion of colour and three-dimensionality, transporting the listener to another time and place.
Having toured extensively throughout Europe and North and South America, Duo Diorama has gained a loyal following. The duo’s recent performances at the Festival Musica Nova in Brazil and the Festival Encuentros in Argentina were met with critical and audience acclaim. In 2005 they were the inaugural recipients of The Banff Centre’s Rolston Fellowship in Music. Most recently, Xu and Choi gave their successful New York debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, as winners of Artists International Presentations’ “Special Chamber Music Award.” A feature broadcast on the debut was covered by Voice of America, a weekly television program viewed by millions of people in Asia.
Having already commissioned and premiered over 20 works in its first few years, Duo Diorama is a leading proponent of music of living composers. Its commitment to and insightful and dynamic interpretations of music of living composers has established the duo as a true champion of contemporary music. Xu and Choi are committed to music from today’s culture and take a very personal approach to the presentation of these works – both those by the established modern masters and today’s emerging young composers. Duo Diorama is committed to performances that emphasize the relevance and vivacity of music of our time.
Minghuan Xu performs extensively in recital and with orchestra in China and North America. She is also a highly sought-after chamber musician, having collaborated with the St. Petersburg Quartet, Colin Carr, Eugene Drucker, Ilya Kaler, and Ani Kavafian. She delights audiences wherever she performs with her passion, sensitivity and charisma. Xu was a winner of the Beijing Young Artists Competition and gave her New York debut at age 18 as soloist with the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra. She is Assistant Professor of Violin at Grand Valley State University.
Winston Choi was Laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition (Canada) and winner of France’s 2002 Concours International de Piano 20e siècle d’Orléans. He regularly performs in recital and with orchestra throughout North America and Europe. Already a prolific recording artist, he can be heard on the Arktos, Crystal, l’Empreinte Digitale, Intrada and QuadroFrame labels. Formerly on the faculties of the Oberlin Conservatory and Bowling Green University, he is Assistant Professor and Head of Piano at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
