Julian Smiles and Ying Ho
Artists
JULIAN SMILES cello
YING HO piano
The Romantic Soul
Masterworks for cello and piano, by Brahms and Strauss
A cello and piano recital built around sonatas by two powerhouse German romantic composers, Johannes Brahms and Richard Strauss. Both in F Major, both written in the 1880s, towards the end of Brahms's compositional life and the very beginning of Strauss's. Brahms’s Sonata reflects the depth, structural mastery, and introspective lyricism of a composer nearing the end of his creative life. In contrast, Strauss’s early Sonata reveals the bold sweep and emotional expansiveness of a young composer on the brink of reshaping late Romantic music.
We pair these works by Brahms, the traditionalist, and Strauss, the innovator, with arrangements of two of their most beautiful Lieder: Lerchengesang and Morgen. These songs highlight both composers’ gift for melody and intimate expression, offering moments of luminous stillness alongside the grandeur of the sonatas.
PROGRAM
BRAHMS Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 (1886)
BRAHMS Lerchengesang (Lark’s Song), Op. 70, No. 2 (1877)
STRAUSS Morgen! (Morning!), Op. 27, No. 4 (1894)
STRAUSS Sonata for Cello and Piano in F Major, Op. 6 (1883)
Concert duration: 70 mins, can be performed with or without interval
About the Artists
Julian Smiles has occupied many of the most prestigious positions in the Australian classical music scene. He was for several years principal cellist with the ACO and has performed frequently as guest principal cello with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. In 1991 he joined the Australia Ensemble, and in 1995 formed the highly successful Goldner String Quartet. These two groups continue to be regarded as representing the pinnacle of chamber music in the country, and the Goldner Quartet in particular has established an international reputation. Julian is frequently heard as a soloist and has performed concertos with the Melbourne and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and several community orchestras in Sydney. He has premiered solo works by many Australian composers. Julian is Senior Lecturer in Cello and Discipline Leader for Strings at the Sydney Conservatorium.
Ying Ho has performed as soloist and chamber musician across Australia, UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and America. A recipient of the prestigious Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music International Scholarship, she studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Universität der Künste in Berlin, and the Sydney Conservatorium. Ying has won many prizes and scholarships including the Else Cross (Brahms) Prize, the Maud Hornby Memorial Prize, and the Sydney Conservatorium Concerto Competition. She has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Youth Orchestra, the Western Australian Youth Orchestra, and the Willoughby Symphony. An active chamber musician, she has performed in many festivals including the Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar, and the Duo Sonata Program at the Lausanne Academie de Musique in Switzerland. Ying is currently Head of Keyboard at MLC School and is also on the faculty of the Collaborative Piano department at the Sydney Conservatorium.