Aubree Oliverson: Live from the Aspen Music Festival Aubree Oliverson & Yanfeng (Tony) Bai

• George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759): Violin Sonata in D Major, HWV 371:
• 1 Handel: Violin Sonata in D Major, HWV 371: I. Affettuoso 03:06
• 2 Handel: Violin Sonata in D Major, HWV 371: II. Allegro 02:28
• 3 Handel: Violin Sonata in D Major, HWV 371: III. Larghetto 02:59
• 4 Handel: Violin Sonata in D Major, HWV 371: IV. Allegro 02:33
• Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971): Divertimento From "The Fairy's Kiss", K049c:
• 5 Stravinsky: Divertimento From "The Fairy's Kiss", K049c: I. Sinfonia 06:30
• 6 Stravinsky: Divertimento From "The Fairy's Kiss", K049c: II. Danses suisses 04:39
• 7 Stravinsky: Divertimento From "The Fairy's Kiss", K049c: III. Scherzo 03:07
• 8 Stravinsky: Divertimento From "The Fairy's Kiss", K049c: IV. Pas de deux. Adagio - Variation - Coda 06:06
• Carlos Gardel (1890 - 1935): Tango (Por una cabeza) (Arr. for Violin & Piano by John Williams):
• 9 Gardel: Tango (Por una cabeza) (Arr. for Violin & Piano by John Williams) 04:04
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV 1004:
• 10 Bach: Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV 1004: V. Chaconne 14:38
• Pauline Viardot (1821 - 1910): Six Morceaux, VWV 3003:
• 11 Viardot: Six Morceaux, VWV 3003: No. 3, Berceuse 03:23
• Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962): Praeludium and Allegro (In the Style of Pugnani):
• 12 Kreisler: Praeludium and Allegro (In the Style of Pugnani) 05:35
• Florence Price (1887 - 1953): Adoration:
• 13 Price: Adoration 03:07
• Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992): Thème et variations:
• 14 Messiaen: Thème et variations: Thème. Modéré — Variation 1. Modéré — Variation 2. Un peu moins modéré — Variation 3. Modéré, avec éclat — Variation 4. Vif et passionné — Variation 5. Très modéré 08:54
• Camille Saint-Saëns 81835 - 1921): Introduction et Rondo capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28 (Arr. for String Quintet by Elbert Liu):
• 15 Saint-Saëns: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28 (Arr. for String Quintet by Elbert Liu): Andante malinconico — Allegro ma non troppo — Più allegro 09:18
• Total Runtime 01:20:27

Info zu Aubree Oliverson: Live from the Aspen Music Festival

This is the debut recording of young American violinist Aubree Oliverson, captured live at the acoustically pristine Harris Concert Hall during the Aspen Music Festival and School's 2025 summer season. Aspen is the United States' leading classical summer festival, drawing top musicians and students from around the world each year, and Oliverson is very much a product of that environment—an alumna who studied there for four summers and won its prestigious Dorothy DeLay Fellowship Competition before going on to the Colburn Conservatory under Robert Lipsett. The recording marks the festival's own first venture into digital release, and on this evidence it's an auspicious one: a wonderfully surprising recital disc, ranging across two and a half centuries from Handel to Messiaen and taking in a clutch of familiar favourites along the way, all played impeccably by Oliverson, accompanied for much of the programme by Yanfeng (Tony) Bai.

She opens with the lyrical and rather lovely Handel Violin Sonata in D major — rhythmical and expressive, with delightful accompaniment from Bai. The playing throughout is perfectly balanced and crisply articulated, the dynamics judged with care, each movement elegantly shaped.

Stravinsky's Divertimento, an arrangement of music from his ballet The Fairy's Kiss (itself an homage to Tchaikovsky), receives a graceful, stylish performance, the textures beautifully realised.

The partnership between soloist and accompanist really comes into its own in a delightful account of Carlos Gardel's Tango, where the emotional rapport between the two players is palpable, the soul and spirit of the music shining through.

Unaccompanied, Oliverson gives an assured reading of the Chaconne from Bach's Partita No. 2, the violin showing off its full range as she articulates and colours every line. The Berceuse from Pauline Viardot's Six Morceaux follows—Viardot, an acclaimed singer as well as composer, wrote the set in 1868 as a gift for her eleven-year-old son, Paul, to whom it was dedicated. The romance and tenderness come through in playing of real sublimity.

Fritz Kreisler's Praeludium and Allegro, a favourite often pressed into service as an encore, is deftly handled here, the passagework stylishly and virtuosically articulated. Florence Price's brief, glowing Adoration makes a delightful addition to the programme, suavely performed, before Messiaen's Thème et Variations demonstrates that both players are equally at home across the disc's wide stylistic range.

Oliverson is joined by a small string ensemble for Saint-Saëns's Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, which closes the recital. The arrangement works superbly, bringing the disc to a close with the violin singing in a rich, lyrical, mellow tone.

Aubree Oliverson, violin
Yanfeng (Tony) Bai, piano
Christy Kim, violin
Hannah Jeong, cello
Hope Hyink, viola
Peter Shane Savage, double bass
Yvette Kraft, violin

Aubree Oliverson
Praised for her evocative lyricism and joyful, genuine approach, young American violinist Aubree Oliverson is proving to be one of the most compelling artists of her generation, distinguishing herself with clear, honest, and colourful performances, which have been described as “powerful… brimming with confidence and joy” (Miami New Times).

Acclaimed as a “masterful” soloist (San Diego Story), Aubree’s recent and upcoming solo appearances include debut performances with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra (St. Clair), Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (Parnther), Zagreb Philharmonic (Danzmayr), Chautauqua Symphony (Milanov), Charleston Symphony (St. Clair), and Florida Orchestra (Watanabe), as well as return engagements with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (Milanov), Columbus Symphony (Milanov), and the Pacific Symphony (Shelley). Other recent engagements include season openings of the Chamber Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall (di Vittorio), Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall (Morlot), Ridgefield Symphony with a pairing of the Barber and Esmail violin concertos, and performances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (Teychenné), Columbus Symphony (Miller), Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra (Hoving), North Carolina Symphony (Prieto), Pacific Symphony (St. Clair), Pasadena Symphony (McGegan), San Diego Symphony (Dragon/De Waart), Des Moines Symphony (St. Clair), Greensboro Symphony (Dragon), Wyoming Symphony (Dragon), Amarillo Symphony (Jackson), Moldavian Philharmonic (Macek), Excelentia Madrid (Braunstein), Slovak Sinfonietta (Foron), Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra (Sachedina), New Haven Symphony (So), Puerto Rico Symphony (Valdés), and the Kontrapunktus Baroque Ensemble; in works by Brahms, Dvorak, Barber, Bruch, Korngold, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Weinberg, Haydn, Saint-Saens, Di Vittorio, Esmail, and Bach.

Passionate about and at ease with all periods of classical repertoire, Ms. Oliverson is committed both to performing the beloved standard works for as many people as possible, as well as bringing lesser-known pieces into their rightful spotlight: “I play music that speaks to me regardless of how often it’s already being played, rediscovering lost masterpieces and composers who deserve more attention, paired with my own fresh take on the classics. It’s my hope that if I love a piece, someone in the audience will too.” Among the works she has championed over the years are the Pergolesi Bb Major concerto, Julius Conus concerto (1896), Weinberg concertino (1948), Reena Esmail “The Blue Room” concerto (2007), Salvatore di Vittorio “Voyages of Aeneas” concerto (2022), and more, alongside her favorite standard repertoire.

A dynamic recitalist and sensitive chamber musician, Aubree recently toured Europe with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Clive Greensmith, and Tatjana Masurenko, and she collaborated with Anne Akiko Meyers and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County in duo works of Bach, Philip Glass, and Handel-Halvorsen. Other engagements include festivals such as Tippet Rise, the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival with Gil Shaham, the Rome Chamber Music Festival with Robert McDuffie, Oropa Music Festival, Moab Music Festival, ChamberFest West, and recitals at the Aspen Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival and SOKA Performing Arts Center, among many others. Ms. Oliverson has collaborated with world-renowned artists such as Robert McDuffie in Harris Hall at the Aspen Music Festival, Gil Shaham on tour in Mexico, Renaud Capuçon in France, Joseph Silverstein in Salt Lake City, and Lynn Harrell, Orli Shaham, Robert Chen, and Andrew Marriner in Los Angeles. Aubree’s new album, “Aubree Oliverson: Live from the Aspen Music Festival” recorded with Yanfeng Tony Bai, will be released in June 2026.

Ms. Oliverson has been dedicated to reaching a broader audience and the importance of music education from a young age, and she has travelled to over 100 schools throughout the Western United States and spoken at national education conventions, encouraging thousands of children to work hard and participate in music. Recently, Aubree presented digital master classes for organizations including the Orchestra of the Americas, Music to Save Humanity, and Kontrapunktus Baroque, and she participated in a masterclass and side-by-side performance with the Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra in Mexico.

Aubree was named a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of the highest honours the U.S. Government can bestow on a high school student. She also won the ‘Special Prize of Merit’ for violin at the prestigious Verbier Festival Academy, the Aspen Music Festival Dorothy Delay competition, a National YoungArts Foundation award, and was awarded the 2023 Francis Rosen Prize at the Colburn Conservatory, where she also obtained her Bachelor’s Degree and Artist Diploma. Ms. Oliverson was also one of the youngest-ever recipients of the Utah Governor’s Mansion Artist Award. A former student of Debbie Moench, Eugene Watanabe, Danielle Belen, and Boris Kuschnir at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien, Aubree graduated from the Colburn Music Academy in 2016 and from the Colburn Conservatory in 2023, studying with the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair, Mr. Robert Lipsett, for nine years.

Aubree plays a very fine Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin, thanks to the generosity of the Barthelemy family through the Beare’s International Violin Society and the Château de Larraldia, France, where she promotes the access and love of classical music.

Booklet für Aubree Oliverson: Live from the Aspen Music Festival