On May 22, our talented Fulbright-HHW Scholar, Natalie Darst Xia , will present a special recital titled “Kisses ,” as part of the 5th Floor Scholar Series .
During her residency in Paris, Natalie focused on promoting Franco-American cultural exchange through her violin performances and project coordination, while continuing her studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris-Alfred Cortot.
This concert is the fourth in the 5th Floor Scholar Series , highlighting this year's scholarship artists living on the Foundation's 5th floor.
Concert Details
Date : May 22, 2025
Time : 7:00 p.m.
Address : 15 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris
Natalie Darst Xia – Violin (Fulbright-HHW Scholar)
About Natalie Darst Xia:
Natalie Darst Xia, a 2024-2025 Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar, is pursuing her violin studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris-Alfred Cortot. A four-time Screen Actors Guild Foundation Scholar, she has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Passionate about French-American cultural exchange, she also works in arts administration, serving on the board of the Associations de Fontainebleau and as Associate Program Director of the American Conservatory of the Fontainebleau Schools. She has held scholarships at prestigious festivals and served as concertmaster of several renowned orchestras. Natalie is a graduate of the Mannes School of Music and Boston University, having studied with distinguished professors such as Sally Thomas and Todd Phillips.
*Natalie Darst Xia plays a Gagliano violin, loaned by Mr. Bouvet, at the initiative of the TALENTS & VIOLON'CELLES endowment fund.
About the performance:
A word from the artist:
As a professional violinist, I focus on programming works by living and underrepresented composers, particularly those who wrote in French or American styles, alongside the classical repertoire. I enjoy curating programs that showcase the violin's sonic and expressive range, inspired by significant moments in history, literature, and art.
My Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley Project, Kisses, is a recital of six 19th- and 20th-century French and American works. The program begins with Florence Price's Fantasie No. 1 in G minor, a hybrid of American neo-Romanticism and African-American spirituals, and Hélène de Montgeroult's Violin Sonata, Op. 2, No. 3, a work that balances French classicism and early Romanticism. The second duet consists of Gabriel Fauré's Berceuse, Op. 16 in D major, a charming French salon lullaby, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's (Austrian-American) suite for violin and piano, Much Ado about Nothing, Op. 11 (1920), which captures the capriciousness and cinematic expression of American incidental music. I conclude the recital with two French works: Jules Massenet's "Meditation" from his opera Thaïs (1893), a tribute to my love of opera, and Maurice Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G major (1927). As the cornerstone of the program, Ravel's sonata is a work that combines lyricism, jazz, and virtuosity, and each of the six selected pieces is inspired by the compositional elements of this artistic pillar of the French violin repertoire.
The performance is a collaboration between former and current Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley Scholars, and this program was chosen to reflect my studies in Paris of the French performance style tradition with my wonderful teacher, Régis Pasquier.
Program
Kisses: French and American Violin Works from the 19th and 20th Centuries
Florence PRICE (1887-1953)
Fantasy No. I for violin and piano in G minor (1933)
Natalie DARST XIA, violin
Khalid MCGHEE, piano
Hélène de MONTGEROULT (1764-1836)
Sonata in A minor for violin and piano Op. 2, No. 3 (1800)
I. Agitato
II. Adagio
III. Vivace con espressione
Natalie DARST XIA, violin
Gabriel NEWSHAM, piano
Gabriel FAURÉ (1845-1924)
Berceuse, Op. 16 in D major (1878)
Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957)
Music for Much Ado about Nothing
Suite for violin and piano, Op. 11 (1920)
I. The Maiden in the Bridal Chamber
II. Dogberry and Verges: March of the Watch
III. Scene in the Garden
IV. Masquerade: Hornpipe
Natalie DARST XIA, violin
Jonathan BASS, piano
Jules MASSENET (1842-1912)
“Meditation” by Thaïs (1893)
Natalie DARST XIA, violin
Ariela BOHROD, piano
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in G major (1927)
I. Allegretto
II. Blues
III. Perpetuum mobile
Natalie DARST XIA, violin
Jonathan BASS, piano
About the artists:
Artists and Fellows in Residence on the 5th Floor: Natalie Darst Xia , Ariela Bohrod , Jonathan Bass , Gabriel Newsham and Khalid McGhee