Date/Time
Friday, March 13, 2026
6:00 pm PDT – 7:30 pm PDT
Location
UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
2520 Cimarron Street
A program of beloved chamber music standards, plus some improv!
Join groundbreaking and boundary-crossing violin virtuoso Gilles Apap and renowned poetic and passionate pianist and UCLA Head of Piano Inna Faliks for a performance of beloved violin and piano music of Mozart and Brahms.
Star string colleagues—violinist Varty Manouelian, violist Che-Yen (Brian) Chen and cellist Jeffrey Ho—join for the exuberant Piano Quintet in E-flat Major by Robert Schumann.
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91)
Sonata for Piano and Violin in C Major, K. 296
Allegro vivace
Andante sostenuto
Rondo. Allegro
Johannes Brahms (1833-97)
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major No. 2, op. 100
Allegro amabile
Andante tranquillo – Vivace
Allegretto grazioso, quasi Andante
Gilles Apap, violin
Inna Faliks, piano
Robert Schumann (1810-56)
Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44
Allegro brillante
In Modo d’una Marcia. Un poco largamente.
Scherzo. Molto vivace – Trio I – Trio II
Allegro ma non troppo
Gilles Apap, violin
Varty Manouelian, violin
Che-Yen (Brian) Chen, viola
Jeffrey Ho, cello
Inna Faliks, piano
Artist Biographies
Gilles Apap, violin
Gilles Apap is known for his virtuosic, unique approach to music that brings joy to every concert hall. He delivers distinctive performances of the standard classical repertoire combined with genres such as jazz and folk from around the world. Apap was born in Algeria to a French family, and studied in the US before settling in California. Very early, he chose to forge his own career path, soloing with an extensive list of orchestras, touring with his quartet “The Colors of Invention,” collaborating with artists of various international styles, and finding time to devote to education.
Che-Yen (Brian) Chen, viola
Taiwanese-American violist Che-Yen (Brian) Chen has established himself as an active performer and educator. Since winning First Prize in the 2003 Primrose International Viola Competition and the “President Prize” of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, he was described as a musician whose “most impressive aspect of his playing was his ability to find not just the subtle emotion, but the humanity hidden in the music.” As the founding and former member of the Formosa Quartet, he won the first prize in the 2006 London International String Quartet Competition, founded the Formosa Chamber Music Festival in Taiwan, and has released recordings on EMI, Delos, New World, and Bridge Records. Chen was the principal violist of the San Diego Symphony and Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra for eight years and has appeared as guest principal with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony. A former Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two member, Chen frequently performs and teaches at music festivals across North America and Asia. Professor of Viola Performance and Chamber Music at UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Chen has previously served on the faculty of USC Thornton School of Music, UC San Diego, San Diego State University, California State University Fullerton, and McGill University. A native of Taipei, Chen began his viola study with Ben Lin and became a four-time winner of the National Viola Competition in Taiwan. As a fourteen-year-old, he came to the U.S.A. to matriculate at The Curtis Institute of Music under the mentorship of Michael Tree and Joseph de Pasquale and later at The Juilliard School studying viola performance and string quartet under Paul Neubauer and The Juilliard Quartet. Chen joined the renowned Ehnes Quartet in 2023.
https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/che-yen-chen/
Inna Faliks, piano
“Adventurous and passionate” (The New Yorker), Ukrainian-born pianist Inna Faliks has established herself as one of the most communicative and poetic artists of her generation. She has made a name for herself through commanding performances of standard piano repertoire, as well as genre-bending, interdisciplinary projects and inquisitive work with contemporary composers. Her new memoir, Weight in the Fingertips, A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage, was published by Backbeat Books in October 2023.
https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/inna-faliks/
Jeffrey Ho, cello
Jeffrey Ho performs frequently in Southern California venues such as the Broad Stage, Zipper Hall, and Disney Concert Hall. He has recorded several chamber music performances through LACMA Bing and KUSC radio with Antonio Lysy, Movses Pogossian, and Neal Stulberg. He has appeared with USC Thornton Edge, UCLA Flux, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and the Phoenix Orchestra. He was a member of the UCLA Spikes Cello Quartet as part of the Gluck Foundation, which brought music to various parts of Southern California. Jeffrey performs as a duo with his sister pianist/composer, Caroline Ho. Jeffrey received his B.A. from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music under the tutelage of Antonio Lysy and earned his M.M. with Ralph Kirshbaum at the USC Thornton School of Music. Jeffrey currently studies at the New England Conservatory with Lluis Claret. He plays on a composite late 17th-century Milanese cello and has a keen interest in violinmaking. He recently completed his first baroque cello bow.
https://yellowbarn.org/artist/jeffrey-ho
Varty Manouelian, violin
Varty Manouelian made her American Debut in 1993 with the North Carolina Symphony as First Prize winner of the Bryan International Competition. She has also been a prize winner at a number of other competitions in Europe, including the Kotzian International Competition and the Wieniawski International Violin Competition. Manouelian has recorded and appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras in the United States, Bulgaria, Russia, Armenia, Poland, Spain and Italy. Her chamber music performances include Marlboro Music Festival, Apple Hill Festival, Sebago Festival, El Paso Festival, Olympic Music Festival, among others. She has collaborated as a chamber musician with such artists as Joshua Bell, Yuja Wang, Kim Kashkashian, Rohan de Saram, Garrick Ohlsson, Nobuko Imai, Thomas Adès, and members of the Juilliard, Guarner, Tokyo, Brentano, Borromeo, and Mendelssohn string quartets.
https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/varty-manouelian/
