Andrew Harley, an English pianist and John Fadial, a violinist, will perform the complete sonatas for violin and piano of Johannes Brahms, Saturday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m., in Martin Chapel.

Celebrated Musicians to Perform at EMU

An accomplished duo will blend their talents and musical instruments in a resonating performance in Eastern Mennonite University’s (EMU) Martin Chapel during the next faculty artist series, Saturday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m.

Andrew Harley, an English pianist and John Fadial, an American violinist, will perform works of Johannes Brahms, one of the premiere German composers of the 19th century. Harley and Fadial’s new CD, “the Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano of Johannes Brahms,” for Centaur, is a celebration marking 10 years of combined musical collaboration of the duo.

“Listeners will have an opportunity to hear every aspect of Brahms’s romantic style, everything from the poignant lyricism of the first Sonata to the dark drama of the last,” said Fadial. “For us, as performers, the traversal of these works is always rewarding and every performance is new.

“This program represents an emotional and spiritual journey, and portrays Brahms the composer as both musical genius and real, feeling human being.”

Admission

Admission to the concert is free; donations are welcomed for the EMU music student scholarship fund.

For more information contact the music department at 540-432-4225 or music@emu.edu.

About the musicians

John Fadial

John Fadial is associate professor of violin at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. He has served as concertmaster of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and as associate concertmaster of the Eastern Music Festival and Colorado Music Festival.

Fadial has performed on four continents as a United States Information Service Artistic Ambassador and has appeared at the Smithsonian Museum, The Philips Collection and the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Fadial’s performances have been praised by the critics: “Sparkling Technique,” from the L’Est Republicain and “Wow! Great Stuff,” from The Washington Post.

A multiple nominee and recipient of the School of Music Outstanding Teaching Award, Andrew Harley serves as director of accompanying and piano chamber music. He has recently completed a recording of the Sonatas for Piano and Violin of Johannes Brahms.

Andrew Harley

As a performing artist, Harley has given solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, Central America, Europe, Scandinavia and the U.S. Harley has performed in Carnegie Hall and was invited to join the Garth Newel Piano Quartet, with whom he performed approximately 50 concerts each year, according to his biography.

Currently, Harley is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, a commercial newspaper in Germany, described Harley as “a soloist who understands how to blend within an ensemble with excellence, yet without subjugating himself. Pearls of gold met with a diamond.”

Learn more about music at EMU