The Sau-Wing Lam Collection in Action: A Four-Concert Series Featuring Rare Italian Stringed Instruments

Daniel Hope, Karen Gomyo, and Sean Carpenter Play Bach on Guarneri, Stradivari, and Amati Violins with the Salomé Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, December 22, 2012


Exhibition Opens on the 275th Anniversary of the Death of Antonio Stradivari

In four concerts (December 22, 2012; and February 2, April 12, and May 4, 2013) New York’s dynamic Salomé Chamber Orchestra will present programs featuring its members, and guest artists including violinists Daniel Hope, Karen Gomyo, Philippe Quint, and Chee Yun, performing on instruments from The Sau-Wing Lam Collection of Rare Italian Stringed Instruments, a selection of which are on view in the Metropolitan Museum’s André Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments through June 30, 2013.

This is the first time that the renowned collection of musical instruments assembled by Sau-Wing Lam (1923-1988) will be on public display in the United States. The instruments on view—nine violins and one viola—will include such masterpieces as the Baltic violin by Giuseppe Guarneri “del Gesù” (1698-1744) and the Scotland University and Bavarian violins by Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737). The opening date of the installation, December 18, coincides with the 275th anniversary of the death of Antonio Stradivari.

Saturday, December 22, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
The Sau-Wing Lam Collection In Action: Daniel Hope & Karen Gomyo Play Bach
In this program, guest violinists Daniel Hope and Karen Gomyo, along with Salomé founding member Sean Avram Carpenter, are the featured soloists in a program of Bach concertos. Two violins from the Lam Collection will be featured: Daniel Hope will play the 1731 Baltic violin by Giuseppe Guarneri “del Gesù,” the maker whose fame rivals that of Antonio Stradivari, and Sean Carpenter will play the ex Collin violin by Nicolò Amati, the most famous member of the Amati family, and the presumed teacher of Antonio Stradivari. Karen Gomyo will play a violin from the Museum’s own collection, the Antonius violin by Antonio Stradivari, dated 1711, that was made during that master’s “golden period” (1700–1720).

Daniel Hope is the featured soloist in Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041. He, Karen Gomyo, and Sean Carpenter will perform Bach’s Triple Concerto in D Major, BWV 1064, and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, with the Salomé Chamber Orchestra.

Saturday, February 2, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
The Sau-Wing Lam Collection In Action: The Eight Seasons
Violinist and Salomé co-founder Sean Avram Carpenter and violist David Aaron Carpenter are the soloists in Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Friday, April 12, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
The Sau-Wing Lam Collection In Action: The Dark Arts of the Viola
Violinist Philippe Quint joins Salomé co-founders Sean Avram Carpenter and violist David Aaron Carpenter in performances of works featuring viola: Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, and String Orchestra, K. 364; Lera Auerbach’s Dialogues on Stabat Mater for Violin, Viola, and String Orchestra (after Pergolesi); and the New York premiere of Richard Dubugnon’s arrangement of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite for String Orchestra.

Saturday, May 4, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
The Sau-Wing Lam Collection In Action: The Virtuosic Violin
Works by Paganini, Saint-Saëns, Kreisler, and Sarasate, and Heifetz transcriptions will be performed by guest violinists Philippe Quint and Chee-Yun, with David Aaron Carpenter, viola.

These concerts are generously supported by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.

The Salomé Chamber Orchestra, New York City’s electrifying new conductor-less string ensemble, was formed in September 2009. Founded by the Carpenter siblings (violinists Sean and Lauren and violist David), Salomé is dedicated to advancing the works of both underappreciated and well-recognized chamber composers, and to performing a broad range of repertoire from Baroque to contemporary. Salomé’s intelligent, artistic, and interdisciplinary approach to music-making produces refreshing and vibrant performances that attest to the wealth of talent that can be found in this great city and in this generation of musicians. www.salomechamber.org

About Sau-Wing Lam and His Collection
The Sau-Wing Lam collection of violin family instruments is one of the most important private collections of bowed Italian stringed instruments ever to be assembled by a private individual. Sau-Wing Lam was born in Shanghai, China, where he graduated with a degree in economics from St. John’s University. In 1948, he moved to New York City and eventually became president of the Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation, Inc., an import-export business that would found some of the most successful automobile dealerships in the country. An amateur violinist and violist, Lam bought his first important violin in the 1960s and over the next two-and-a-half decades assembled his impressive collection of stringed instruments and bows.

The Sau-Wing Lam Collection of Rare Italian Stringed Instruments is organized by Jayson Kerr Dobney, Associate Curator in the Department of Musical Instruments at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibition is sponsored by The Amati: Friends of the Department of Musical Instruments.

Single tickets for each concert are priced at $35.

* For tickets, visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets or call 212-570-3949.
* Tickets are also available at the Great Hall Box Office, which is open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4:30 and Sunday noon-4:30.
* Tickets include admission to the Museum on day of performance.
* 30 & Under Rush: $15 tickets for ticket buyers 30 years and younger, with proof of age, the day of the event (subject to availability). For more information, visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets, call 212-570-3949, or visit the box office.
* Bring the Kids!: $1 tickets for children (ages 7-16) when accompanied by an adult with a full-price ticket (subject to availability). For more information, visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets, call 212-570-3949, or visit the box office.