Entendre duoW

• 1 I. Allegro serioso, non troppo 08:16
• 2 II. Adagio 07:56
• 3 III. Maestoso e largamente - IV. Presto 08:44
• 4 Passacaglia in G minor 07:04
• 5 Grand Duo de Concert No. 1 sur des airs Nationaux Anglais 13:24
• 6 I. Allegro 04:51
• 7 II. Tres vif 03:26
• 8 III. Lent 06:16
• 9 IV. Vif, avec entrain 05:57
• 10 Stars and Stripes Forever 04:06
• Total Runtime 01:10:00

Info for Entendre

In an extraordinary example of Sono Luminus’ committment to unearthing neotoric and intriguing talent, we present the blockbuster team that is duoW in their debut album, Entendre. duoW presents five highly virtuosic works that challenge and redefine the limits and capabilities of the violin and cello partnership, and transport the listener through time, allowing them a glimpse into each composer’s world. The ingenuity of these composers evidences itself in the avant-garde techniques contained throughout these compositions, and by their brilliant and often humorous allusions to the vernacular and popular culture of their respective eras. The listener will hear tunes such as “Yankee Doodle,” “God Save the Queen,” “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” Handel’s ever-present G minor Passacaglia, and will recognize borrowed elements from the folk and jazz idioms.

duoW reflects the vision of these composers, redefining the concept of a duo ensemble with their dazzling technique, dynamic musicianship, and commitment to the future of classical music, which can be seen with this astonishing and inspiring debut album.

Violinist Arianna Warsaw-Fan and cellist Meta Weiss—duoW—burst onto the international music scene when their cutting edge music video, Ghosts and Flowers, went viral on the internet in the fall of 2011. Strongly committed to bringing classical music to new audiences, these two ambitious Juilliard grads launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a dazzling music video which features their performance of the beautiful and highly virtuosic Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia.

Meta and Arianna have been performing together since they first met ten years ago at the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Both recent graduates of the Masters program at Juilliard, Meta and Arianna have both been recognized internationally for their astonishing musicianship and brilliant technique, garnering multiple awards and honors, and receiving recognition in major competitions around the world.

Arianna Warsaw-Fan, violin
Meta Weiss, cello

Recorded at Sono Luminus, Boyce, Virginia - December 10-12, 2012
Produced by Dan Merceruio
Engineered by Daniel Shores
Editing Engineer: Dan Merceruio, Daniel Shores
Mixing Engineer: Daniel Shores
Mastering Engineer: Daniel Shores

Arianna Warsaw-Fan
Violinist Arianna Warsaw-Fan has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Juilliard Orchestra, the McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre Symphonique de Laval. She has performed at the Ravinia, Verbier, La Jolla Summerfest, Music@Menlo, and Aspen Music Festivals, and in New York's Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls, Montreal's Salle Bourgie and Maison Symphonique and Tokyo's Suntory Hall. She frequently collaborates with jazz trumpet legend Chris Botti, appearing around the world in such venues as Washington DC's Kennedy Center, Manila's Newport Theater, Calgary's Jack Singer Concert Hall, and New York City's famous Blue Note jazz club. She has also performed with the Chamber Players of Canada, the Societe de Musique de Chambre de Montreal, and has performed with such contemporary music ensembles as ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) and FIRE (Future in Reverse). An advocate for innovation in the classical music world, she has received media attention for her music video "Ghosts and Flowers: The Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia," in which she appears with cellist Meta Weiss and actor Michael Chernus.

First-place winner of the Juilliard concerto competition and the American Opera Society String competition, and prizewinner in the Corpus Christi International String Competition and NTDTV's International Violin Competitions, among other competitions, Arianna was also an ARTS winner with the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

As one of the concertmasters of the Juilliard Symphony and the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, she has worked with such conductors as John Adams, James Conlon, Tan Dun, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, and Xian Zhang. Arianna received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School. Her teachers include Masao Kawasaki, Cho-Liang Lin, Lynn Chang, Magdalena Richter, and Almita Vamos.

Meta Weiss
San Francisco native Meta Weiss (pronounced MAY-ta) made her international debut at the age of seven in Utrecht, Holland at the International String Convention. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, and artist, she performs music spanning all periods from classical to jazz. Her performances have taken her to venues throughout the US and internationally, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall, and Teatro Britanico (Peru).

Top prize-winner in numerous competitions, including the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, Washington International Competition, Seattle Ladies Musical Club Award Tour Competition, Carmel Music Society Competition, National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition, Schadt Cello Competition, and the TexASTA Solo Competition, Meta has also been featured on National Public Radio on many occasions, including as guest artist on the shows A Prairie Home Companion, Northwest Focus Live, and From the Top. As part of duoW, her violin-cello duo with violinist Arianna Warsaw-Fan, she recently signed a multi-disc contract with the Grammy award-winning label Sono Luminus.

Meta began the cello at age four and has studied with Irene Sharp, Joan Jeanrenaud, and Michael Reynolds. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Rice University studying with Norman Fischer, where she graduated magna cum laude. In May 2011 Meta received her Master's of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she is now pursuing the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Darrett Adkins as a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow and a SYLFF Fellow.

Meta performs on the 1719 "Duke of Marlborough" Stradivarius, generously on loan to her by the Juilliard Rare Instrument Collection.

Booklet for Entendre