Indian-American composer Reena Esmail brings to life a colorful folksong and lullaby passed down through her family’s generations. Prokofiev’s Five Melodies, originally composed as songs without words for soprano, sing hauntingly on the violin, and Fauré’s effervescent sonata exudes lyricism and brilliance.
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Chiarina dedicates this concert to the remembrance of our long-time friend and supporter John Franzén.
Program
Reena EsmailJhula Jhule
Sergei ProkofievFive Melodies, Op. 35
Gabriel FauréSonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano in A major, Op. 13
Artists
Efi Hackmey
Piano
Nurit Bar-Josef
Violin
Season Pass
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to ALL seven concerts in 26-27 for the price of five.
Efi Hackmey
Piano
Praised for his highly personal interpretations and “feather-light pianism” (Washington Classical Review), Efi Hackmey is recognized for his lyricism and beauty of tone. As Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Chiarina Chamber Players he performs regularly on Chiarina’s concert series, which has won critical acclaim for its artistry and innovative programming, called “some of the most compelling chamber programs in town” by the Washington Post.
Efi has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio, the Kennedy Center and Bargemusic, and in the Friends of Mozart series in NYC. In his native Israel he performed as soloist with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Jerusalem Music Center. Efi is often featured on WETA Classical’s Front Row Washington.
A passionate chamber musician, Efi has collaborated with the Attacca Quartet, Imani Winds, clarinetists Ricardo Morales and Charles Neidich, baritone Randall Scarlata, cellist Marcy Rosen and violinists Catherine Cho, Todd Phillips and Nurit Bar-Josef, among others.
Efi’s recordings include the 2025 release of The Best Cuisine: Music of Carlos Simon on the Azica label, and the 2013 album Polish Violin Music on the Naxos label, among others.
Efi has served on the piano faculty at DePauw University, and he also taught at the Indiana University system. He holds a Doctor of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and degrees in piano and conducting from Tel Aviv University. He studied with Menahem Pressler, Pnina Salzman and Dina Turgeman, and has had additional coaching with Lazar Berman, Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Janos Starker and Jaime Laredo.
Nurit Bar-Josef
Violin
Nurit Bar-Josef was appointed Concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2001 (then the youngest such appointee to a major U.S. orchestra) by Maestro Leonard Slatkin. She was previously Assistant Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops from 1998-2001 and Assistant Principal Second Violin of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 1997-1998. She studied with Aaron Rosand at The Curtis Institute of Music and continued her studies at the Juilliard School with Robert Mann.
Ms. Bar-Josef’s solo appearances have included the National Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, St. Louis Symphony, National Philharmonic, and Britt Festival Orchestras, among others. An active chamber musician, she has performed at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Bay Chamber Festival (ME) and Aspen Music Festival, and festivals in Tanglewood, Portland (ME), Kingston (RI), Steamboat Springs, Garth Newel, and Caramoor, where she performed piano quartets with Andre Previn at his Rising Stars Festival. She was a founding member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players for nine years, and is a founding member of the Dryden Quartet.
Nurit has performed as guest concertmaster with the Seattle and Houston Symphonies.
Ms. Bar-Josef has been a featured guest on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition and has had the honor of performing at the White House with Maestro Christoph Eschenbach. She is currently playing on a G.B. Guadagnini, 1773 Turin, the "ex-Grumiaux" "ex-Silverstein".
Nurit resides in the Washington, DC, area and enjoys long bike rides and hiking with her husband and dog in her free time.
