[music]

Simone Dinnerstein: Hello, I'm Simone Dinnerstein, and tonight we have two wonderful young artists performing for us here in WQXR's studio. We will be hearing pianist Jonathan Mamora and soprano Hannah Cho, both separately and together, all on The Young Artists Showcase. Since 1978, The Young Artists Showcase has been generously underwritten by The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. The showcase has long featured incredibly skilled young pianists, and we continue that tradition today with Jonathan Mamora.

I first started hearing about Jonathan from some of my students at the Mannes School of Music, who met him at various piano competitions. He has a very impressive record of success in this area, but I was particularly struck when reading Jonathan's bio by several aspects of it. It starts by saying, "Pianist and educator Jonathan Mamora strives to uplift and positively influence others using music as a means for service."

An Indonesian-American and a native of Southern California, Jonathan has served as a church pianist and organist, the result of having been enrolled in piano lessons by his parents for the purpose of becoming a church musician. He currently serves as the music director and organist of St. John's Episcopal Church in Clifton Springs, New York. And he also holds a graduate assistantship in accompanying at the Eastman School of Music. And he is performing as a percussionist, vocalist, historical keyboardist, and conductor. That's quite a bio, [laughs] and uh--

Jonathan Mamora: I know that was a lot.

Simone Dinnerstein: Um, with that, I'm gonna have to just say, welcome, Jonathan.

Jonathan Mamora: Hi. Thanks for having me.

Simone Dinnerstein: So, I'm wondering, first of all, how do you have time [chuckles] to do all of this?

Jonathan Mamora: Well, it-it is a busy-busy schedule.

Simone Dinnerstein: Busy life.

Jonathan Mamora: Of course, busy life. But I think having started playing in the church, maybe there's something rooted in me that music holds, well, even if without the element of church, I-I think music is-is powerful. Right? It touches people, and people. That's why people go-

Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-Hmm.

Jonathan Mamora: - to the concert hall. To the opera house.

Simone Dinnerstein: Or sometimes go to church.

Jonathan Mamora: Or sometimes go to church, exactly.

Simone Dinnerstein: To hear the music. Yeah.

Jonathan Mamora: Exactly. And so I think as the messengers and communicators of, you know, said music, inevitably it becomes a certain responsibility that we have to care for this music and present it in such a way that we might, you know, evoke something in our audience. And I take it upon myself to challenge myself to do that, um, to make music mean something. Um-

Simone Dinnerstein: And to be of service-

Jonathan Mamora: Yes.

Simone Dinnerstein: -as opposed to just being entertaining.

Jonathan Mamora: That's right.

Simone Dinnerstein: Jonathan, tell us about the first piece that you will play for us.

Jonathan Mamora: Sure. This is from a suite. The, uh, the Years of Pilgrimage. He wrote three of them.

Simone Dinnerstein: By Franz Liszt.

Jonathan Mamora: By Franz Liszt.

Simone Dinnerstein: Yes.

Jonathan Mamora: Yes. What I find is-is a very spiritual nature in this. And, you know, his life was, uh, very interesting, right, towards the end of his life. And, uh, and so he turned to religion, he turned to God. And I think this is a very deep expression of all the things that he went through in his life.

Simone Dinnerstein: Yes.

Jonathan Mamora: And so I-I find it-it is one of my favorite pieces, and it's a very special piece.

Simone Dinnerstein: Well, I'm looking forward to hearing it.

Jonathan Mamora: Thank you.

[MUSIC - Franz Liszt: Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este (Années de pèlerinage - Troisième année) - Jonathan Mamora, piano]

Simone Dinnerstein: That was our guest pianist, Jonathan Mamora, playing Franz Liszt's Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este” from Années de pèlerinage -Troisième année. Thank you so much, Jonathan.

Jonathan Mamora: Thank you.

Simone Dinnerstein: So the next piece that we're gonna-- that you're gonna move on to play is Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No.1, First Movement, which, um, has a sort of different sound for sure.

Jonathan Mamora: Yes.

Simone Dinnerstein: Um, tell us what you really love about this.

Jonathan Mamora: So Rachmaninoff, he wrote two piano sonatas. Uh, most people know the second one, it is more, um, popular with-with pianists.

Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Mamora: And I think one of the reasons being this first one, it's- it's sprawling. It has this energy, but it- it's a bit unsettling and it's very motivic. It doesn't have necessarily that clear melodic line that, you know, Rachmaninoff is known for. It still has that rich harmony. But, and I think that's why it's maybe a bit more difficult for pianists to-to grasp onto and-and to be willing to-to try it because it-it-it-it's difficult to-to get a hold of. Um, to get a hold of its structure, to get a hold of its spectrum and-and, you know, and to make sense of it.

Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Mamora: Um, but I think that's one of the things that makes it really cool and special. So. Yeah.

Simone Dinnerstein: Well, let's- let's move on and listen to you play this wonderful sonata.

[MUSIC - Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 28, I. Allegro moderato - Jonathan Mamora, piano]

Simone Dinnerstein: That was Jonathan Mamora playing live in WQXR's studio, Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, First Movement: Allegro moderato. It's time for a quick break now. Then I'll be back with more performances by these inspiring young artists here on the McGraw Family's Young Artists Showcase.

Welcome back. I first heard soprano Hannah Cho last year at a concert from Mannes Sounds. I was so touched by her poetic and unusual interpretation of Schubert's Gretchen am Spinnrade. And I subsequently heard her give a heartbreakingly beautiful performance as Pamina in Mannes's production of The Magic Flute. Her artistry has been recognized with numerous accolades at different opera competitions, including first prizes at the Beijing International and Daejeon competitions, as well as the German Lieder Association Competition.

Hannah, welcome to WQXR.

Hannah Cho: Hello. Thank you so much for having me.

Simone Dinnerstein: You have a really interesting selection of songs to share with us today, and you're starting with three songs in three different languages.

Hannah Cho: Yes.

Simone Dinnerstein: Um, Berg's Nacht, Debussy's Pantomime, and Roger Quilter's Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal. And these are all settings of poems by Carl Hauptmann, Paul Verlaine, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, respectively.

Hannah Cho: Yes.

Simone Dinnerstein: And you're going to be singing with the pianist Youngmo Na playing with you.

Hannah Cho: Yes.

Simone Dinnerstein: Is Youngmo your main partner in-in crime?

Hannah Cho: Yes.

[laughter]

We went to the Das Lied competition together as a duo-

Simone Dinnerstein: Uh-huh.

Hannah Cho: -and we have been working for now. It has been like three years together.

Simone Dinnerstein: Excellent. Well, I'm looking forward to hearing these three songs.

[MUSIC - Berg: Nacht from Sieben Frühe Lieder - Hannah Cho, soprano; Youngmo Na, piano]

[MUSIC - Debussy: Pantomime - Hannah Cho, soprano; Youngmo Na, piano]

[MUSIC - Roger Quilter: Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal - Hannah Cho, soprano; Youngmo Na, piano]

Simone Dinnerstein: That was our guest, soprano Hannah Cho, with Youngmo Na on piano, playing three beautiful songs: Berg's Nacht, Debussy's Pantomime, and Roger Quilter's Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal.

The next two songs that we're going to hear are beautiful songs by both Fauré and Grieg, Fauré's Au bord de l'eau and Grieg's Ein Traum.

[MUSIC - Gabriel Fauré: Au bord de l'eau - Hannah Cho, soprano; Youngmo Na, piano]

[MUSIC - Edvard Grieg: Ein Traum - Hannah Cho, soprano; Youngmo Na, piano]

Simone Dinnerstein: That was Fauré's Au bord de l'eau and Grieg's Ein Traum, with soprano Hannah Cho and pianist Youngmo Na.

I'm welcoming back Jonathan because, uh, it turns out that Hannah and Jonathan are friends, and, um, Hannah, tell-tell me how you first met Jonathan.

Hannah Cho: Jonathan is-is the fiancé of one of my best friend, uh, wonderful mezzo-soprano Stephanie Perez.

Simone Dinnerstein: Oh.

Hannah Cho: And I was having a very hard time finding a-a good recital pianist-

Simone Dinnerstein: Uh-huh.

Hannah Cho: -who can play for my recital.

Simone Dinnerstein: Yeah.

Hannah Cho: And then it turned out Stephanie told me like, "Oh, my boyfriend can play some of piano." And then I was like, "Oh, okay." I didn't like take it seriously, but after we had a lunch, just like very casual lunch together. And then I would see, um, how the-- all the repertoire it feels if I run it like from-- in a row.

Simone Dinnerstein: Yes.

Hannah Cho: And then he was kindly enough to play for me.

Simone Dinnerstein: Uh-huh.

Hannah Cho: Also, it was like first sight that you saw the music, right?

Simone Dinnerstein: You were sight reading.

Hannah Cho: Yeah, sight-reading all the music.

Jonathan Mamora: Yeah. We were-we were doing that for fun. We were just saying-

Hannah Cho: Yeah.

Jonathan Mamora: "Oh, let's try out your recital repertoire."

Hannah Cho: But the-- his music-- musicality and like artistry even still pops up.

Simone Dinnerstein: Oh, that's so wonderful.

Hannah Cho: So I--

Simone Dinnerstein: And Jonathan, you must have been pretty taken with Hannah's singing.

Jonathan Mamora: Oh, I-- Her singing and I think her approach to music too. It-it really was, you know, we-we did end up doing her recital together and, um, we didn't have very much rehearsal, uh, but we met before and went through the music, and it was very meticulous. It was very intentional. And I guess that approach I-I really resonate with. So it was actually a wonderful experience, uh, getting to, you know, collaborate with Hannah and, you know, on top of that, she's a great singer too, so-

Simone Dinnerstein: Oh-

[laughter]

Jonathan Mamora: -so-so it was-it was-

Simone Dinnerstein: Wonderful.

Jonathan Mamora: -wonderful. Yeah.

Simone Dinnerstein: Well, I'm looking forward to hearing this next song, the two of you're gonna do together. Schubert's Im Frühling.

[MUSIC - Franz Schubert: Im Frühling, D.882 - Hannah Cho, soprano; Jonathan Mamora, piano]

Simone Dinnerstein: That was Schubert's Im Frühling, with Hannah Cho, soprano, and Jonathan Mamora, piano.

For the last two songs, we're going to welcome back Youngmo Na to the piano to join Hannah Cho for two songs. The first one is a song by the Korean composer Han Moi Kang, and it's about the bird called a Snipe, and the second song is Puccini's Tu che di gel sei cinta from Turandot.

[MUSIC - Han Moi Kang: Snipe - Hannah Cho, soprano; Youngmo Na, piano]

[MUSIC - Puccini: Tu che di gel sei cinta from Turandot - Hannah Cho, soprano; Youngmo Na, piano]

Simone Dinnerstein: That was Han Moi Kang's Snipe and Puccini's Tu che di gel sei cinta from Turandot, sung by our guest, Hannah Cho, soprano, with pianist Youngmo Na.

Thank you to soprano Hannah Cho and pianist Jonathan Mamora, and to pianist Youngmo Na for coming to WQXR today to share their music with us. That completes this week's edition of the McGraw Family's Young Artists Showcase, which is generously underwritten on WQXR by The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. Here's Terry McGraw with more.

Terry McGraw: Good evening, everyone. It's great to be with you, and it's always great being with the Young Artists Showcase and to hear these really wonderful and inspiring musicians as they continue to share their incredible gifts with us every week. I can't wait to hear the fabulous talent coming up on the showcase, and I am so pleased to be able to support this series all through its well over four decades on WQXR, and there's so much more to come.

Simone Dinnerstein: Thank you, Terry. Special thanks to our WQXR program producers Laura Boyman and Max Fine. Our session engineer is Irene Trudell, and our generous program underwriter is The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. I'm Simone Dinnerstein. Goodnight.

[music]

Copyright © 2024 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.