"Lyrical freshness and infectious vitality" (Julian Haylock, The Strad) Maytan and Lee "tap into this newness and creates a wonderful aura about this piece (Grieg sonata), bringing it freshness and clarity... they balance the light and dark of the three movements with aplomb (Maier sonata)... The Allegro molto vivace (Maier sonata) in particular is executed with heart-racing excitement and verve." (Heather Scott, Strings Magazine) "His playing is really transcendent and this album is a real treasure. These are all very beautiful pieces that few people are familiar with outside of Scandinavia." (Daniel Morganstern, principal cellist with the Lyric Opera of Chicago) This CD is both a revelation and a trio of performances of great artistry...the caliber of the performance of Maytan and Lee on this recording is as polished as any listener could desire. (Martha A. Fawbush, Classical Voice of North Carolina http://www.cvnc.org/reviews/cd_dvd_book/cd/Maytan.html) Gregory Maytan recorded his first CD Scandinavia at Valparaiso University to bring greater attention to the music of the region's classical composers. "As a young violin student I studied Scandinavian music in Sweden but found, upon moving to the United States, that most of this music is virtually unknown to the rest of the world. It is my hope that this music will give people a glimpse of the musical treasures of my native Scandinavia." Grieg's sonata is influenced by the folk music of his native Norway, while Aulin's "Four Watercolors" are distinctively Swedish and draw upon elements of Swedish life and culture. Maier's sonata is more reminiscent of the music of German composers Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, rather than being distinctly influenced by her native Sweden. GREGORY MAYTAN won the 2004 International Chamber Music Festival competition in Austria and in 2006 took third prize in the Royal Swedish Academy of Music's competition for young Swedish violinists. He has performed Tchaikovsky's violin concerto with the Stockholm Royal University Orchestra and was soloist for the world premiere of Gary Robert Buchanan's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. He earned his doctorate in violin performance from the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, where he studied with the renowned violinist Miriam Fried. He has performed and toured with numerous orchestras, and his concerts have been broadcast on radio and television in the U.S. and Europe. He has participated in master classes with Zakhar Bron, Leonidas Kavakos and Michela Martin. Presently, he is a violin professor at Valparaiso University, USA. NICOLE LEE earned – still in her teens - both A.R.C.T. Performer’s and A.R.C.T. Teacher’s diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto as well as Licentiate and Fellowship diplomas from the Trinity College of London. She was named First Runner-Up in the International Stravinsky Awards Competition. Ms. Lee later studied piano performance with John Perry at the University of Southern California. During her college years, she was awarded First Prize in the Pasadena Fine Arts Club Competition and was a semi-finalist in the Royal Over-Seas League Competition in London. She also performed as soloist at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, at the Sarasota Opera House, for a radio program in Ottawa, Canada, and with several symphony orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestra, and the New Westminster Orchestra.