The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome Cellist Jonathan Swensen and Pianist Adam Golka on Sunday, April 7 at 2 p.m. at the Weis Center.
They will perform:
- J. S. Bach: Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G minor, BWV 1029
- Witold Lutoslawski: Grave for cello and piano
- Felix Mendelssohn: Sonata for cello and piano No.2 in D Major, Op.58
- Ernest Chausson: Pièce for cello and piano, Op.39
- César Franck: Sonata in A Major for cello and piano
ABOUT JONATHAN SWENSEN, CELLO
Rising star of the cello Jonathan Swensen is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was recently featured as both Musical America’s ‘New Artist of the Month’ and ‘One to Watch’ in Gramophone Magazine. Jonathan first fell in love with the cello upon hearing the Elgar Concerto at the age of six, and ultimately made his concerto debut performing that very piece with Portugal’s Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música.
September 2022 saw the release of Jonathan’s debut recording ‘Fantasia’, on Champs Hill Records, an album of works for solo cello which received rave reviews on its release, including from Gramophone, BBC Music, and The Strad which printed “An exciting young talent emerges. I would gladly buy a ticket to see Swensen on the strength of this appealing calling card.”
Jonathan has performed with orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Symphony, and the Greenville Symphony. He made his critically acclaimed recital debuts at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, with additional performances in Boston’s Jordan Hall, the Morgan Library and Museum, and the Krannert Center’s Foellinger Great Hall.
In addition to his many solo appearances, Jonathan is a frequent performer of chamber music in the U.S. and Europe, appearing at the Tivoli Festival, Copenhagen Summer Festival, Chamberfest Cleveland, Krzyżowa-Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Vancouver Recital Society, San Francisco Performances, and the Usedomer Musikfestival, among others.
Jonathan will join the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 2024.He captured First Prizes at the 2019 Windsor International String Competition, 2018 Khachaturian International Cello Competition, and the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. A graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Jonathan continued his studies with Torleif Thedéen at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory, where he received his Artist Diploma in May 2023.
ABOUT ADAM GOLKA, PIANO
Polish-American pianist Adam Golka first performed all of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas when he was 18 years-old, and he returned to the complete cycle in 2020-2021 for performances in NYC, Orlando, and Houston. He also presented all-Beethoven live streams for presenters in Ventura (CA), El Paso (TX), Sitka (AL), Spokane (WA), and the Library of Congress during the Covid shutdowns. Adam’s performances and presentations were complemented by 32 short films he created, known as ’32@32″ (available on YouTube), featuring not only conversations with musical legends such as Alfred Brendel and Leon Fleisher, but also extra-musical discussions such as those with an astrophysicist, philosopher, magician, painter, and a child, to name only a few.
As a concerto soloist, Adam has appeared as soloist with dozens of orchestras, including the BBC Scottish Symphony, NACO (Ottawa), Warsaw Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, Shanghai Philharmonic, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, as well as the San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, New Jersey, San Diego, Phoenix, and Jacksonville symphonies in the US. In 2014-2015, Adam performed recitals as part of the “Sir András Schiff Selects” project at Klavier-Festival Ruhr (Essen), Tonhalle Zürich, Maison de France (Berlin), and 92Y Subculture (NYC). Adam has also performed solo recitals at Alice Tully Hall (NYC), Concertgebouw Kleine Zall (Amsterdam), Musashino Hall (Tokyo), Nakanoshima Hall (Osaka), Ravinia Festival, Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts, and The Cliburn. Chamber music is also an integral part of Adam Golka’s musical life. He has participated in festivals such as Marlboro and Krzyżowa-Music, and he is a member of the Manhattan Chamber Players. He has been a winner of the Classical Fellowship of the American Pianists Association, the Gilmore Young Artist Award, and also the first prize and audience prize winner of the China Shanghai International Piano Competition.
Adam’s discography includes works of Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms for First Hand Records (UK), which have been regularly included in Apple’s “Piano Essentials” and Spotify’s “Beethoven Piano” playlists. Adam has studied with José Feghali and Leon Fleisher, and has enjoyed mentorship from Alfred Brendel, Richard Goode, András Schiff, Murray Perahia, Mitsuko Uchida, Ferenc Rados, and Evelyne Crochet. Adam resides in New York City and serves as an Artist-Teacher of Piano at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
TICKETS
Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $15 for youth 18 and under, $15 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $15 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).
Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.
Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at lisa.leighton@bucknell.edu.
For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.