Three Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin [Canceled]

Please note: This event is canceled to help limit the potential exposure of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). For updated information on SF State’s response to COVID-19, visit the novel coronavirus information page.

Professor Jassen Todorov and Sarkis Baltaian perform violin and piano sonatas in honor of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth. Free.

Program

• Beethoven (1770 – 1827): Sonata in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3
• Beethoven: Sonata for G Major, Op. 96
• Beethoven: Sonata for A Major, Op. 47

Jassen Todorov

Jassen Todorov has distinguished himself as one of the most prominent violinists of his generation. Dubbed “an outstanding violinist … a player to watch” by British music journal The Strad, Todorov has given numerous performances throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. A top prize winner of several national and international competitions, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the Harid Conservatory and his master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Todorov is also an accomplished photographer and the grand prize winner of the 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest. His images have been published by numerous magazines and newspapers, and have been exhibited at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Somerset House in London and Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. An active pilot, he holds a commercial pilot’s license and flight instructor certificate.

Sarkis Baltaian

Sarkis Baltaian has gained an international reputation as a concert pianist, chamber musician, recording artist and pedagogue. He has been praised by critics for his “beautiful tone and ability to project even the most delicate pianissimos” and compared to George Gershwin and Oscar Levant for his performance of Gershwin’s Concerto in F. Baltaian made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1999 and has performed extensively both as recitalist and concerto soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Baltaian has been a top prize winner of several national and international competitions and has appeared as guest artist in numerous festivals. He has been featured on NBC, National Public Radio, KUSC (Los Angeles), K-Mozart (Los Angeles), WMFT (Chicago), Bulgarian National Radio and Television and Classic FM (Bulgaria), among others.

Baltaian has held full-time professorships at the Colburn Conservatory and University of Alabama, Huntsville. He is director of instrumental music at the Orange County School of the Arts and serves on the piano faculty at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.