This preview has been provided by the St. Stephen’s Concert Series.

On Sunday, January 6, at 4p.m. Nicholas Kitchen, violinist, and Andrew Tyson, pianist, will present the second of three concerts devoted to the ten sonatas written by Beethoven for violin and piano. The concert will take place at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Durham, and is part of the current season of the St. Stephen’s Concert Series. The concert will consist of Sonatas 4, 6, and 9, which are related by keys. The 9th sonata is the famous “Kreutzer” sonata, which is in the key of A major. The key of the 6th sonata is the same, while the 4th sonata is in the key of A minor.

The first installment of this sonata cycle took place a year ago when the duo performed Sonatas 1, 5 (“Spring”), and 7. The concert garnered a rave review from CVNC reviewer William Walker. “The overwhelming first impression of Kitchen’s and Tyson’s performance was one of the extraordinary clarity of their playing. Both players produced full, warm tone and precise intonation. The unity and the confident give-and-take of their ensemble were delightful.” Their playing of the 7th Sonata drew special praise from Mr. Walker for the “breath-taking beauty” of it slow movement and their “fiery playing” elsewhere in the sonata. “Listeners needed ‘seat belts’ to hang in with the duo as they soared through the fast movements.”

Kitchen and Tyson have delighted local audiences for quite some time, separately and now as a duo. Both are Curtis graduates, both are winners of Young Concert Artists auditions, and both grew up in Durham. In fact, both grew up at St. Stephen’s, where Kitchen’s father is organist.

Kitchen’s musicianship has been hailed by the New York Times as “thrilling, vibrant, and captivating.” Kitchen and his wife, ‘cellist Yeesun Kim, are founding members of the world renowned Borromeo String Quartet, which performs about 100 concerts per year. On March 17,  2013 the quartet will perform at St. Stephen’s.

Andrew Tyson is presently in the Artist Diploma program at The Julliard School. First Prize winner of the 2011 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, he will make his New York debut at Merkin Hall (Jan. 22) and his Washington D.C. debut at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater (April 30). At the 2012 Leeds International Piano Competition he was hailed by the BBC3 for his “incredibly moving” and “daring and creative” performances. In addition to receiving a substantial cash prize in the Leeds competition, he was awarded the Halle Orchestra Prize by the Orchestra’s musicians and its Musical Director, Sir Mark Elder. As a result of the orchestra prize, Tyson performed Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with the Halle Orchestra three times in November.

Preceding the concert on January 6 there will be a half-hour discussion with the artists at 3p.m. For ticket information contact St. Stephen’s church (919-493-5451) or Marian Tyson (919-489-7030).