‘Sense and Sensibility’ pairs twin talents in Grand Piano Series concert

Tension between practicality (sense) and passion (sensibility) crackles throughout Jane Austen’s novel “Sense and Sensibility.”

The same duality of reason and emotion drives cellist Sterling Elliott and pianist Janice Carissa’s Grand Piano Series concert of the same name, scheduled for Dec. 4 at Artis—Naples.

Their joint recital moves from a solo piano sonata, described by composer Alexander Scriabin as “States of the Soul,” through Leoš Janácek’s fairy tale duet shimmering with dreamlike magic, to a concluding Brahms chamber sonata grounded in a Romantic-era balance of heart and brain.

“The Brahms reaches down to the earth with its tonal center,” said Elliott. “It is quite romantic but in a more human manner than the Janácek, which reaches more of a spiritual plane.”

Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Elliott grew up in Newport News, Va., where he first soloed at the age of 3 on a cello as big as he was. He soon became the littlest musician, with the biggest instrument, in the well-known Elliott Family String Quartet, playing bluegrass, gospel, R&B and funk beside his mother and two violinist siblings.

His future was set before he was born, he says, from the moment when his pregnant mother picked out the cello that would be waiting for him to complete the quartet.

Now pursuing an artist diploma at The Juilliard School, Elliott is acclaimed for his joyous stage presence and musicianship and has already appeared with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Gilmore Young Artist and winner of Salon de Virtuosi, Carissa first learned piano from her mother and, today, can’t imagine a life without it.

Her gifted fingers will deliver the recital’s first piece, the four-movement sonata that she sees as “a great tragedy about seeking to escape the hand of Fate.”

She’ll continue with the fantastical storytelling of Janácek’s Pohádka (literally, “Fairy Tale”), where cello and piano trade places as if completing each other’s sentences.

Who better to interpret such pieces than an Indonesian artist who’s been praised for radiating “the multicolor highlights of a mature pianist” and having a “fleet-fingered touch” that “conveys a vivid story”?

“I was born in East Java, where the bell-like sound of gamelan music influenced my ear to hear things as melting from one state to another,” Carissa said.

That she feels so at home with chamber music should come as no surprise. She started in preschool, where she played in a six- to eight-child gamelan group.

“Chamber work keeps me open, spontaneous and attuned to the temperature of the room,” she said, “whether to the person I’m playing with or to the audience.”

Though known mostly as a virtuoso soloist, Elliott agreed: “I love to collaborate with great musicians. The audience is captivated by the intimacy and communication that happen in a small ensemble, whether through body language, eye contact or joking.”

Elliott has received the 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor of the Sphinx Organization. It is awarded to artists who, early in their career, demonstrate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination and an ongoing commitment to leadership and their communities.

Influenced by his mother’s life as a music educator, he said, “It brings me great joy to ensure that those who might not otherwise put themselves on a musical path are introduced to what the life of a professional musician can be.”

Both he and Carissa will do exactly that while visiting Lee and Collier County Title I partner schools as part of the Grand Piano Series community outreach program. ¦

Sense and Sensibility: Sterling Elliott & Janice Carissa

· When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4

· Where: Daniels Pavilion, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Naples

· Tickets are $59 and can be purchased at Artis—Naples box office or at grandpianoseries. org. For assistance, call 239.597.1900.

Those attending should keep in mind there are limits on bag sizes at Artis—Naples of 14x14x4 inches.