Catherina Lee, violin and Miles Walter, piano

An exploration of French Romantic music for the violin with Eugène Ysaÿe at its heart. As well as a composer, Ysaÿe was a gifted virtuoso violinist. Chausson wrote Poème was for his violinist friend in 1896, revealing Chausson as a wonderful lyricist. Ysaÿe’s marriage went on to inspire César Franck to write his only violin sonata, a development of cyclical themes and a true marriage of violin and piano.

Programme:
Chausson Poème
Ysaÿe Sonata for solo violin No 5 in G major, Op 27 No 5
Franck Sonata in A major for violin and piano

Performers:
Catherina Lee violin
Miles Walter piano

Catherina Lee has been described as possessing exceptional musicianship with a unique charm,poignancy, and sensitivity that place her in a league of her own. Leading conductor Marin Alsop recently commented, “I am hugely impressed. Catherina is a beautiful violinist and musician.”Upcoming and recent highlights include performances as soloist playing Janacek’s “The Wandering of a Little Soul” in Vienna, and Bruch Violin Concerto with Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Queensland, and Orquestra Vigo 430. Upcoming chamber music performances include performances in Stockholm Konserthuset, Salzkammergut Festwochen Gmunden, Litchfield Chamber Music Festival, Australian Chamber Music Festival, Vigo Chamber Music Festival, Oxford Coffee Concerts, Miesbach Kammermusik Festival, Concerts at Cratfield and IMS Open Chamber Music Festival. A dedicated chamber musician, Catherina has collaborated with Steven Isserlis, Kim Kashkashian, Shai Wonsner, Colin Carr, Lars Anders Toter, Philippe Graffin, Christoph Richter, Wilfried Strehle, David Waterman, Garfield Jackson and Alasdair Beatson. As a soloist, she has performed with numerous orchestras throughout Europe and Australia, including Göttinger Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Vienna Ensemble, Wiener Akademische Philharmoniker, Junge Philharmonie Wien, and Camerata Orphica Festival Orchestra, and in Australia, Queensland Symphony, Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. Her solo debut at the Konzerthaus in Vienna was described as an outstanding success.

Catherina plays on a GB Guadagnini, Turin c1771, generously on loan by a private sponsor American composer-pianist Miles Walter’s music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Rai Radio 3 and performed on four continents by orchestras, ensembles, and soloists including the London Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Symphony, Orpheus Sinfonia, New York VirtuosoSingers, Linos Trio, Yale Percussion Group, members of the Hallé, and Bertrand Chamayou, who premiered Miles’ 30-minute Fantasy for piano solo at the 2024 Venice Biennale to international notice. Past and upcoming fellowships and residencies include Classeek (’24/’25 Composer), Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Aspen, Lucerne, and Tongyeong Festivals, Britten Pears, and Prussia Cove.

Equally capable as a pianist, Miles appears regularly as recitalist and chamber musician in the US and Europe, performing in venues including the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Carnegie Hall, and King’s Place. A dedicated new-musician, he has premiered over fifty new works by his peers, students, and mentors alike. From fall 2026 he is a Fellow Commoner in the Creative Arts at Trinity College Cambridge.