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Chee-Yun Kim: Hello, everyone. I'm Chee-Yun Kim. Tonight, we're featuring pianist and soprano Chelsea Guo on the Young Artists Showcase.

[music]

Chee-Yun Kim: Since 1978, the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation has generously underwritten the Young Artists Showcase. Tonight's program continues the tradition of featuring an incredible array of wonderful young artists. And we are thrilled to welcome back pianist and soprano Chelsea Guo, who first appeared on the showcase when she was only eight years old. I had the pleasure of meeting Chelsea when we performed for the Young Concert Artists Chamber Music Concert at Carnegie Zankel Hall in May 2023. I was immediately taken with her gorgeous singing voice, and I was doubly impressed when I learned that she was an accomplished pianist. Chelsea won the 2022 Young Concert Artist International Auditions as both pianist and vocalist, a very first double award in YCA history. Welcome, Chelsea.

Chelsea Guo: Hi, Chee-Yun. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Chee-Yun Kim: So glad to have you. You're looking gorgeous as ever.

Chelsea Guo: Thank you.

Chee-Yun Kim: [laughs]

Chelsea Guo: So are you. [laughs]

Chee-Yun Kim: Our listeners, I'm so sorry that you won't be able to see her in person, but-

Chelsea Guo: [laughs]

Chee-Yun Kim: -Chelsea is, uh, exquisitely beautiful, as well as an amazing pianist and a beautiful singer. So-

[laughter]

Chelsea Guo: I'm so excited. Thank you.

Chee-Yun Kim: But first, we get to enjoy Chelsea's brilliance on the piano, starting with a Poulenc, Toccata.

[MUSIC - Poulenc: Toccata FP 48, No. 3]

Chee-Yun Kim: That was the Toccata FP 48, No. 3 by Poulenc, performed exquisitely by Chelsea Guo. The rest of tonight's program was performed and recorded live in our very studio. So, Chelsea, please tell us about the next piece.

Chelsea Guo: I'm really excited about the next piece on the program. It has been such a joy to work on. This is Brahms, Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 1.

Chee-Yun Kim: Wow.

Chelsea Guo: And this piece, I think, is not as well known as many of his others variations. Um, many of us know the Paganini and the Handel-

Chee-Yun Kim: Sure.

Chelsea Guo: -variations-

Chee-Yun Kim: Yes.

Chelsea Guo: -but very few of us really know this pre-pretty early work. He wasn't even 20 when he composed it.

Chee-Yun Kim: Amazing.

Chelsea Guo: But it is filled, I think, with tenderness, love-

Chee-Yun Kim: Mm.

Chelsea Guo: -and it is really poetic and quite virtuosic at moments.

Chee-Yun Kim: Mm.

Chelsea Guo: Um, but it ends with a really-- I almost see it as a prayer.

Chee-Yun Kim: Wow.

Chelsea Guo: Um, the last variation. And it's so beautiful. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Chee-Yun Kim: Let's hear it. This is Brahms, Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 1.

[MUSIC - Brahms: Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 1]

Chee-Yun Kim: That was the Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21, No. 1 by Brahms, played magnificently by Chelsea Guo. Chelsea, I remember when I first met you, um, I remember Chelsea was sharing some of her makeup tips-

[laughter]

Chee-Yun Kim: -she learned from her grandmother in our dressing room. I didn't know, first of all, that, you know, your mother-- your grandmother was a former dancer and actress, and in fact, your mother was a self-taught pianist. I mean, Chelsea, it seems like you come from a generation of artistic women.

Chelsea Guo: [laughs]

Chee-Yun Kim: Were you inspired by mother and grandmother or either one or both to become an artist yourself?

Chelsea Guo: Definitely. Um, I grew up with my mom playing for church ev-every single day in our small apartment in Hoboken. And-and I would sit next to her on the upright or um, sit on her lap and try to poke out familiar melodies on the keys. And I-- definitely, I was the one who begged her. I said, "I really wanna learn the piano. I really, really wanna learn the piano." She bought me a ukulele to begin my musical studies on because I was only 2 or 3 at the time.

Chee-Yun Kim: Oh, my goodness.

Chelsea Guo: She said, "Just hold onto this ukulele until you're old enough to learn piano." Um, which was not that far after. I think I bothered her enough-

Chee-Yun Kim: Yes.

Chelsea Guo: -that she gave into my request to learn the piano. And, um, she sang as well. And so I really owe it a lot to my family.

Chee-Yun Kim: It's time for a short break now. Then, we will return with more performances by Chelsea Guo that were recorded live from our studio here on the McGraw Family's Young Artists Showcase.

Welcome back. It's the Young Artists Showcase on WQXR. I am Chee-Yun here tonight with pianist and soprano Chelsea Guo. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Chelsea Guo will perform his Elegie Op. 3, No. 1, and the 1940 version of Melodie Op. 3. No. 3 for solo piano here in WQXR Studio.

[MUSIC - Rachmaninoff: Elegie Op. 3, No. 1 & Melodie Op. 3, No. 3]

Chee-Yun Kim: That was Chelsea Guo performing the hauntingly beautiful and passionate Rachmaninoff's Elegie Op. 3, No. 1 and the 1940 version of Melodie Op. 3, No 3. The next piece that Chelsea will perform on the piano is none other than Schumann's Widmung arranged by Liszt for solo piano as a special treat. Chelsea will also sing as she places the notoriously difficult arrangement that Liszt wrote for Widmung. It is one of the most popular encore pieces in piano recitals because of its dazzling virtuosity and the emotional depth.

[MUSIC - Schumann-Liszt: Widmung]

Chee-Yun Kim: That was an unbelievable, I mean, it was so-so beautiful. I would-- I don't even wanna say unbelievable. It-- 'cause it is believable. 'Cause I'm here to witness it.

Chelsea Guo: [laughs]

Chee-Yun Kim: Um, that beautiful Schumann and the list arrangement. I mean, it is hard enough to play, you know, without singing the part, but-- And then you chose to pick the most difficult arrangement.

Chelsea Guo: [laughs]

Chee-Yun Kim: This arrangement of Widmung-- and sing. I mean, that's incredible, Chelsea.

Chelsea Guo: Than you.

Chee-Yun Kim: I mean, I am just-- I-- Yeah. I just wanna bow down to you.

Chelsea Guo: No. Please don't.

Chee-Yun Kim: But I think.

Chelsea Guo: I was going to say I love it because I feel that the list transcription brings out an orchestral quality-

Chee-Yun Kim: Yes.

Chelsea Guo: -rather than the original, which is, you know, of course piano and voice. I think this adds a whole dimension of a different sound world, which is why I really enjoy doing it.

Chee-Yun Kim: Wow. I mean, but to practice it, it must have taken hours and hours of practicing just the piano and then put it together and-- Really admirable. Maybe not for you, but I-I don't know. It's just incredible.

Chelsea Guo: [chuckles] Thank you.

Chee-Yun Kim: That was amazing. Now we will get to enjoy Chelsea as an opera singer. When I say that, that means Chelsea will not be playing the piano anymore. She has a break from it. And she has brought a friend of hers, uh, who's an also wonderful pianist, Eden Chen. And he'll be accompanying her. And, um, Chelsea, so tell us which arias and songs you're enchanting us with tonight.

[laughter]

Chelsea Guo: The first aria I'll be singing is from La Bohème. It is Mimi's first aria, Si, mi chiamano Mimì. where she introduces herself after having, um, "accidentally," um, come into Rodolfo's apartment. And she-- He asks her, "Tell me a little bit about yourself?"

Chee-Yun Kim: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea Guo: And so she says, "You know, they call me Mimi. My real name is not Mimi. It's Lucia."

Chee-Yun Kim: Yeah.

Chelsea Guo: "And, um, this is what I do. I embroider flowers." And she's very sick. So the climax of this aria is when she sings. But when the first, um, the first sunshine comes over the rooftops, it belongs to me.

Chee-Yun Kim: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea Guo: The first kiss of April is mine. And in a way it's a beautiful image, um, of hope because she survives through another winter in her sickness. And, um, so we hear that vulnerability right from the very beginning of the opera.

Chee-Yun Kim: Mm-hmm. .

Chelsea Guo: And the second aria is a very fun aria.

Chee-Yun Kim: Mm-hmm.

Chelsea Guo: Um, this is, uh, from Giuditta by Lehar, Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß. And this is very, very fun. A little bit dancey and it translates to, my lips they kiss so hot.

[laughter]

Chelsea Guo: So perfect way to end out our night together.

Chee-Yun Kim: That's fabulous. You know, it's-- This program runs at nighttime, so I think we're-

Chelsea Guo: [laughs]

Chee-Yun Kim: -absolutely okay to say that, and for you to sing an aria about it. So this is Chelsea Guo and Eden Chen with a Puccini aria, Mimi's first aria in La Bohème, followed by Lehár's operetta Giuditta.

[MUSIC - Puccini: Sì, mi chiamano Mimì]

[MUSIC - Lehár: Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß]

Chee-Yun Kim: Mimi's first aria from Puccini's La Bohème and a song from Giuditta by Franz Lehár performed brilliantly by Chelsea Guo and pianist Eden Chen. I just learned that Eden learned this piece in a day.

Chelsea Guo: Really 30 minutes. [laughs]

Chee-Yun Kim: It's incredible. That's a very difficult and virtuosic piano part, especially the Lehár.

Chelsea Guo: It's fun, isn't it?

Chee-Yun Kim: Wow. Well, fun for us to listen to, but to learn it in 30 minutes, that's incredible. Thank you. And Bravo to Eden, but my goodness, Chelsea, you are just incredible. Um, I just have one last question.

Chelsea Guo: Sure.

Chee-Yun Kim: Do you have any upcoming performances in the area that you would like to share?

Chelsea Guo: Sure. Um, I will be performing, um, a few things on the East Coast in December. Um, the first being my-- I'll be performing Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto at Jordan Hall-

Chee-Yun Kim: Very good. Oh, my God.

Chelsea Guo: -in-

Chee-Yun Kim: In Boston.

Chelsea Guo: With the-- along with Symphony.

Chee-Yun Kim: Mm-Hmm.

Chelsea Guo: And I'm really excited about that.

Chee-Yun Kim: Wow.

Chelsea Guo: Um, that's on December 2nd. And I will also have my graduation recital from Julliard finally. I've been there a long time. I love it. I've been-- I'm thankful to it and I'm ready to depart. And-

Chee-Yun Kim: Well, you say long time because you've been there since pre-college.

Chelsea Guo: I've been there since pre-college-

Chee-Yun Kim: Yes, you're only-

Chelsea Guo: -so it's been almost 10 years.

Chee-Yun Kim: She's only 22, everybody.

[laughter]

Chelsea Guo: And I-I will be really happy to kind of part ways with the school with that recital. It'll be a very special program.

Chee-Yun Kim: Wow.

Chelsea Guo: So--

Chee-Yun Kim: Amazing.

Chelsea Guo: That's on December 8th.

Chee-Yun Kim: Wow. Thank you so much for being with us tonight, Chelsea.

Chelsea Guo: Thank you for having me.

Chee-Yun Kim: Well, that completes this week's edition of the McGraw Family's Young Artists Showcase, which is generously underwritten by the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. Here's Terry McGraw with more.

Terry McGraw: Good evening, everyone. It's great to be with you and it's always great being with the Young Artists Showcase and to hear these really wonderful and inspiring musicians as they continue to share their incredible gifts with us every week. I can't wait to hear the fabulous talent coming up on the showcase. And I am so pleased to be able to support this series all through its well over four decades on WQXR. And there's so much more to come.

Chee-Yun Kim: Thank you, Terry. Many thanks to WQXR program producers, Laura Boyman and Max Fine. Our session engineer is George Wellington, and our generous program underwriter is the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. I'm Chee-Yun. Thank you for joining us and have a great night.

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