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Arts writing by Thomas May

October 4, 2026 • 4:04 am 0

Prizewinners Announced at 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis

Gold Medalist Karisa Chiu, Leonard Slatkin and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; photo (c) Denis Ryan Kelly Jr.

A late-night dispatch from Indianapolis: the prizewinners at the 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis have been announced – more on The Strad website:

US violinist Karisa Chiu, 27, has won the Gold Medal at the 12th International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

Elli Choi, 25, also from the US, received the Silver Medal, while Aozhe Zhang, 18, from China, took Bronze. Xunyue Zhang, 22, from China, placed fourth; Yesong Sophie Lee, 22, from the US, fifth; and Lina Nakano, 21, from Japan, sixth.

Each finalist appeared twice…

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Filed under: competitions, music news, The Strad, violinists

September 19, 2026 • 11:48 am 0

‘A new chapter unfolding’: Poiesis Quartet on its evolving identity

Poiesis Quartet in their Lucerne Festival debut: Sarah Ying Ma, Coco Mi, Drew Dansby and Jasper de Boor; photo © Manuela Jans / Lucerne Festival

It was such a pleasure meeting and hearing the Banff-winning, innovative Poiesis Quartet at Lucerne Festival, where they played in the prestigious Debut series. Here’s my interview with violinist Sarah Ying Ma and cellist Drew Dansby for The Strad:

On the eve of their Lucerne Festival debut, Sarah Ying Ma and Drew Dansby of the Banff-winning American Poiesis Quartet talk about a changing line-up, an expanding repertoire and the ideas shaping the ensemble’s next chapter….

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Filed under: Lucerne Festival, string quartet, The Strad

July 22, 2026 • 8:50 am Comments Off on ‘A cellist who is essentially a one-man band’: Jessie Montgomery on writing for Abel Selaocoe

‘A cellist who is essentially a one-man band’: Jessie Montgomery on writing for Abel Selaocoe

Jessie Montgomery and Abel Selaocoe at the North American premiere with the Toronto Symphony; photo: Allan Cabral, courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

I had a chance to do a Strad interview Jessie Montgomery about her new cello concerto These Righteous Paths – a work shaped by Abel Selaocoe’s multifaceted artistry and rooted in the poetry of her late mother, Robbie McCauley.

American composer Jessie Montgomery’s These Righteous Paths enters the world with the momentum of a major international concerto. Written for the South African cellist Abel Selaocoe and created in close collaboration with him, the work has had an unusually broad launch…
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Filed under: cellists, Jessie Montgomery, The Strad

July 5, 2026 • 11:21 pm Comments Off on “Classical music needs a new why…”: Vijay Gupta on His New Memoir, “Restrung”

“Classical music needs a new why…”: Vijay Gupta on His New Memoir, “Restrung”

Vijay Gupta; photo: Kat Bawden

The extraordinary violinist Vijay Gupta has built a career around asking where classical music can matter – and to whom – from the LA Phil to Street Symphony’s work in shelters, clinics, and prisons.

I had the privilege of interviewing Gupta for The Strad about his inspiring new memoir, Restrung, and why, as he puts it, “classical music needs a new why.”

Vijay Gupta had played Carnegie Hall as a child, studied at Juilliard and Yale, and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic when he was only 19, making him one of the youngest violinists to enter the ranks of a major American orchestra. At an early age, he seemed already to have reached the destination so many young string players are trained to imagine as success…

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Filed under: music news, social justice, The Strad, violinists

June 22, 2026 • 12:25 pm Comments Off on ‘I Was Terrified of the Blank Page’: Andrew Yee

‘I Was Terrified of the Blank Page’: Andrew Yee

Caroline Shaw and Andrew Yee; photo: Photo: Anja Schüts

I had the pleasure of speaking with cellist and composer Andrew Yee at the recent Ojai Music Festival for The Strad. We talked about her new album with Caroline Shaw, or, The Whale:

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Filed under: Caroline Shaw, cellists, The Strad

May 20, 2026 • 9:20 am Comments Off on Paul Wiancko and Spoleto Festival USA

Paul Wiancko and Spoleto Festival USA

Always a pleasure to speak with cellist and composer Paul Wiancko. Looking ahead to his third season leading the chamber music series at Spoleto Festival USA, he shared some thoughts on the series and what’s in store for the 2026 edition, which opens on May 22:

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Filed under: chamber music, Spoleto Festival USA, The Strad

May 10, 2026 • 9:41 am Comments Off on ‘Hold on, do what you can!’: Peter Sheppard Skærved on Michael Hersch’s ‘Zwischen Leben und Tod’

‘Hold on, do what you can!’: Peter Sheppard Skærved on Michael Hersch’s ‘Zwischen Leben und Tod’

Zwischen Leben und Tod – excerpt from Movement III, manuscript

Peter Sheppard Skaerved speaks to The Strad about his new recording of Michael Hersch’s epic Zwischen Leben und Tod cycle:

British violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved, known for his wide-ranging repertoire and interdisciplinary work, discusses the challenges and rewards of recording Hersch’s monumental cycle engaging with the paintings and drawings of Peter Weiss…
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Filed under: American music, new music, The Strad, violinists

May 2, 2026 • 10:52 am Comments Off on Australian Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall

Australian Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall

Australian Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; photo (c) Jorge Gustavo Elias

Another remarkable concert during my recent New York trip: on its current 50th-anniversary tour, the Australian Chamber Orchestra stopped at Carnegie Hall with a substantial program including the world premiere of John Luther Adams’s complete Horizon for string orchestra. Here’s my review for The Strad:

For its 50th-anniversary tour stop at Carnegie Hall, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) made a notably bold move. Rather than rely on safely familiar repertoire spiced with a token contemporary addition, the ensemble devoted half the programme to the world premiere of Horizon by John Luther Adams, a two-part composition that spans some 40 minutes, in which change registers in minute, often barely perceptible shifts….

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Filed under: Australian Chamber Orchestra, John Luther Adams, review, Schubert, The Strad

April 15, 2026 • 7:30 am Comments Off on ‘A Rendez-Vous with Silence’: Cellist Camille Thomas on Making Her New Album at Tippet Rise Art Center

‘A Rendez-Vous with Silence’: Cellist Camille Thomas on Making Her New Album at Tippet Rise Art Center

I interviewed Franco-Belgian cellist Camille Thomas for The Strad about the creation of her new album Rendez-vous, a project that she and pianist Julien Brocal conceived during a recent residency at Tippet Rise Art Center.

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Filed under: cellists, The Strad, Tippet Rise

April 6, 2026 • 12:11 pm Comments Off on Session Report: Midori on Recording Works by Robert and Clara Schumann

Session Report: Midori on Recording Works by Robert and Clara Schumann

Photo: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

For the April 2026 edition of The Strad, I spoke with Midori about her album of music by the Schumanns, with Festival Strings Lucerne and Daniel Dodds as well as pianist Özgür Aydin:

For many violinists of Midori’s generation, Robert Schumann’s Violin Concerto in D minor occupies an ambiguous position on the edge of the core repertoire. ‘As a young violinist making my way through the repertoire for my instrument, I encountered a healthy portion of Romantic concertos – Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Bruch, Dvořák, Brahms and others,’ she notes. ‘But the Schumann Violin Concerto? It is missing from the list without that being overly noticed.’ It was only later, she reflects, that the concerto gradually took its place alongside those more familiar works….

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Filed under: Clara Schumann, Schumann, The Strad, violinists

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