Press Releases
Summary: Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, a historic home and cultural center in south Orange County, presents a night of chamber music featuring critically-acclaimed Japanese-American viola and cello duo Ayane & Paul.
San Clemente, CA – Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, a nonprofit southern California cultural center, presents an evening of chamber music this April. New York City-based viola and cello duo Ayane & Paul have performed across the U.S. and Japan. This performance marks the return of renowned cellist and composer Paul Wiancko to his hometown of San Clemente, and it is the duo’s first performance at Casa Romantica together. Inside Casa Romantica’s Main Salon, Ayane & Paul will perform works from the Baroque era (Bach, Clarke) to the present (Greenstein, Shaw, Lutoslawski) including original compositions from Wiancko.
NPR recently wrote of Wiancko, “If Haydn were alive to write a string quartet today, it may sound something like Paul Wiancko’s LIFT”, a 25-minute work featured on the Aizuri Quartet’s GRAMMY-nominated album Blueprinting. He has performed alongside Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode, Chick Corea, Mitsuko Uchida, Nico Muhly, Max Richter, and members of the Guarneri, Takács, JACK, Parker, Kronos, Orion, and Juilliard quartets. His partner, Ayane Kosaza, is a founding member of the Aizuri Quartet and winner of the Primrose International Viola Competition hailed for her “magnetic, wide-ranging tone” and “rock-solid technique” (Philly Inquirer).
Ayane & Paul formed in 2014 after they worked together on the creation of American Haiku, a richly textured work for violin and cello that incorporates Appalachian fiddling, percussive patterns, and Japanese folk-inspired melodies. They have collaborated with musicians from a wide variety of genres for album projects including the GRAMMY-nominated album Blueprinting (2018) by Aizuri Quartet, on Norah Jones’ album Pick Me Up Off the Floor (2020), and for Postcards to the Met, an audio/visual collaboration between Matthew Evan Taylor and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Tickets are available now for Ayane & Paul at CasaRomantica.org/Calendar or call (949) 498-2139 for reservations.
About Ayane & Paul
Ayane Kosaza is a founding member of the Aizuri Quartet and winner of the Primrose International Viola Competition. Hailed for her “magnetic, wide-ranging tone” and her “rock solid technique” (Philadelphia Inquirer), Ms. Kozasa loves performing chamber music and is renowned for her detailed artistic approach and radiant performances. The Aizuri Quartet gained international acclaim when they captured first prize at the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan. Soon after, they became the Quartet-in-Residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and won the grand prize at the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition.
Much of Ayane’s current work involves mentoring aspiring young musicians through programs like the Green Lake Chamber Music Camp, Olympic Music Festival and Musikiwest Summer Festival. She is currently on the viola faculty at Adelphi University in Long Island, and has served as guest faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Paul Wiancko has led an exceptionally multifaceted musical life as a composer and cellist. An avid chamber musician, Paul has performed alongside Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode, Chick Corea, Mitsuko Uchida, Nico Muhly, Max Richter, and members of the Guarneri, Takács, JACK, Parker, Kronos, Orion, and Juilliard quartets. His performances with Musicians From Marlboro have been described as “utterly transparent” and “so full of earthy vitality and sheer sensual pleasure that it made you happy to be alive” (Washington Post).
Chosen as one of Kronos Quartet’s “50 for the Future”, Paul’s own music has been described as “dazzling”, “compelling” (Star Tribune), and “vital pieces that avoid the predictable” (Allan Kozinn). NPR recently wrote, “If Haydn were alive to write a string quartet today, it may sound something like Paul Wiancko’s LIFT”, a 25-minute work featured on the Aizuri Quartet’s GRAMMY-nominated album “Blueprinting”. Paul is a recipient of the S&R Foundation’s Washington Award for Composition and has been composer-in-residence at Music From Angel Fire, Spoleto Festival USA, Portland Chamber Music Festival, and the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival.
