"Divertimenti", the latest CD from the Miller-Porfiris Duo, features two nationalistic composers that ended up in exile due to war (Martinu and Toch), and a third composer (Fuchs), the majority of whose students ended up in exile due to the same war. Fuchs takes you on a journey through a Vienna of coffeehouses and Sachertorte with foreshadowing of Mahler and even the political upheaval of World War I in some very avant-garde harmonies and melodic directions. Toch continues that journey with a different form of expressionism that barrels past the new Viennese school of Mahler, Schoenberg and Berg and smacks into Hindemith and World War II. Meanwhile, in Bohemia, Martinu was exploring his own version of the new harmonies and that led him eventually after the war to the piece we hear now. An interesting theme links the three composers: Fuchs had at one time taught Toch along with Mahler and Zemlinsky; most of Fuchs's students, Toch included, ended up emigrating to America because of the circumstances of World War II. Martinu also experienced Nazi persecution for his political views and left his beloved homeland for the United States. The Miller-Porfiris Duo Praised by the press for their "haunting and picturesque" musical interpretations, the Miller-Porfiris Duo (Anton Miller, violin, Rita Porfiris, viola) has delighted audiences in the United States, Great Britain, and Central America since 2005. Equally at home with both established and contemporary repertoire, the Miller-Porfiris Duo is committed to expanding the repertoire for violin and viola. Their second CD, titled "Eight Pieces" includes a version of Eight Pieces Op. 83 by Max Bruch for violin and viola and a new arrangement by Ms. Porfiris of Reinhold Gliere's Eight Pieces Op. 39 for violin and viola. "..wonderfully smooth ensemble work in the Bruch....The work has a different sound profile here, a bit less mellow, with more surface sheen, thanks to the timbre of the violin. As for the delightful Gliere, it's not widely available in any form, so this well-engineered recording of Rita Porfiris' skillful arrangement is very welcome." (Audiophile Audition, 2014) The duo's 2010 debut album, "Five Postcards", with guest pianist Jeannie Yu, features the world premiere recording of two works for violin and viola commissioned by the duo: Belize-born British composer Errollyn Wallen's Five Postcards and Argentinean composer Mario Diaz Gavier's Tres Epigramas for violin, viola, and piano, as well as American composer Libby Larsen's Larsen's Black Birds, Red Hills, transcribed for violin, viola and piano. Violinist Anton Miller has appeared throughout the United States and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, and pedagogue. He was a founder and the Artistic Director of the Three Bridges International Chamber Music Festival in Minnesota, and was the co-Artistic Director of the Silver Bay Festival. As a chamber musician he can be heard in concert with the Miller-Porfiris Duo, Con Brio Ensemble, and the Hartt Quartet. Currently Associate Professor of Violin at The Hartt School and on the violin and chamber music faculty at New York University, Mr. Miller completed his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School studying with renowned violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay and chamber music with Felix Galimir and members of the Juilliard Quartet. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Indiana University as a student of Franco Gulli and was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate. Mr. Miller's complete discography can be found on the Dorian, Jericho, Full House, Hugo, Naxos and Klavier labels. His world premiere performance of Xiogang Ye's "Last Paradise" for violin and orchestra in Beijing, China was recorded for broadcast throughout Asia and released on CD. Violist Rita Porfiris served as a member of the Houston Symphony for 15 years before forming the Miller-Porfiris Duo. As a founding member of the Plymouth Quartet, she was in-residence at the Ojai Festival, Mainly Mozart, Point Counterpoint, and the Internationale Quartettakademie Prag-Wien-Budapest. As a soloist, she has appeared with numerous orchestras, including Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, the New World Symphony, and as a featured soloist in the Houston Symphony Baroque Festival. As a chamber musician, she can be heard in concert with the Miller-Porfiris Duo and the Hartt String Quartet. Currently Associate Professor of Viola and Chair of Chamber Music at The Hartt School, Ms. Porfiris received both her BM and MM in Viola Performance from The Juilliard School, studying with William Lincer. Other teachers and mentors have been Paul Doktor, Norbert Brainin, and Harvey Shapiro. Among her honors are Austria's prestigious Prix Mercure, Second Prize in the Fischoff International Chamber Competition, and Second Prize in the 1997 Primrose International Viola Competition.