Here’s a lovely taste of Augustin Hadelich’s new upcoming release, Bohemian Tales.
My recent feature on this extraordinary violinist for Strings magazine appears here.
Filed under: Antonín Dvořák, violinists
April 17, 2020 • 1:04 pm Comments Off on Augustin Hadelich Tells Bohemian Tales
Augustin Hadelich Tells Bohemian Tales
January 20, 2020 • 8:37 am Comments Off on Patricia Kopatchinskaja Comes to Town
Patricia Kopatchinskaja Comes to Town
Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja returns to Seattle next week for concerts on Jan. 29-30 and Feb. 1. (Marco Borggreve)
My story about the matchless Patricia Kopatchinskaja, who comes to Seattle for a recital and concerts with the Seattle Symphony and Thomas Dausgaard:
Her Seattle Symphony debut drew blood. In April 2016, when Patricia Kopatchinskaja reached the final movement of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto, her violin’s shoulder rest came loose. The screw that should have held it in place dug into her neck, breaking the skin. But the music wasn’t over yet.
Filed under: Kurtág, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, preview, Shostakovich, violinists
December 1, 2019 • 11:26 am Comments Off on Musical America’s New Artist of the Month: Hao Zhou
Musical America’s New Artist of the Month: Hao Zhou
Congratulations to Hao Zhou, who is featured by Musical America as New Artist of the Month. Here’s my profile of this extraordinary violinist.
More on Hao Zhou here.
Video of Hao Zhou with Viano String Quartet.
Filed under: Musical America, violinists
June 21, 2019 • 10:01 pm Comments Off on Artistry and Humanity at the 2019 Concours Musical International de Montréal: Violin Edition
Artistry and Humanity at the 2019 Concours Musical International de Montréal: Violin Edition
My report on the 2019 Concours Musical International de Montréal:
The 2019 edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM), devoted this year to the violin, started off with added pressure – for the organisers, that is. Because of the convergence of several of the most high-profile violin tournaments elsewhere this spring – from Auckland to Augsburg, from Sendai to Brussels – the recently completed CMIM also had to compete with the competitions.
Filed under: competitions, music news, violinists
June 5, 2019 • 9:26 pm Comments Off on 1st Prize Winner in Montréal: Hao Zhou
1st Prize Winner in Montréal: Hao Zhou
Hao Zhou for the first time playing the brand-new violin and bow handmade by the Maker’s Forum — gifted to him as first prize winner
Heartiest congratulations to U.S. violinist Hao Zhou, who won first prize at the 2019 Concours musical international de Montréal, as well as the Radio-Canada People’s Prize. And to second prize winner Johanna Pichlmair, who played the Brahms concerto, and Fumika Mohri, who took third prize for her account of the Sibelius concerto.
Mr. Zhou’s prize includes $30,000 from the City of Montreal, the Joseph-Rouleau career development grant of $50,000 from the Azrieli Foundation, a violin and bow handmade by the Maker’s Forum (valued at $20,000), an artist residency at Canada’s Banff Centre for the Arts, and a concert engagement at the New Generation Festival.
The distinguished jury was presided over by Zarin Mehta and included Pierre Amoyal (France), Kim Kashkashian U.S.), Boris Kuschnir (Austria), Cho-Liang Lin (U.S.), Mihaela Martin (Romania), Barry Shiffman (Canada), Dmitry Sitkovetsky (UK/U.S.), and Pavel Vernikov (Israel/Switzerland).
Here is Hao Zhou in his prize-winning performance last night of the First Violin Concerto by Dmitri Shostakovich (with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Alexander Shelley):
Here is Johanna Pichlmair’s soulful Brahms Concerto:
And the remarkable Fumika Mohri plays the Sibelius here:
Filed under: competitions, music news, violinists
May 2, 2018 • 8:17 am Comments Off on Patricia Kopatchinskaja Comes to California
Patricia Kopatchinskaja Comes to California
Patricia Kopatchinskaja is an ideal choice to be this year’s music director of the Ojai Festival. In advance of the festival’s northern edition, Ojai at Berkeley, here’s my profile of this incomparable artist for Cal Performances:
Matters of technical proficiency are well accounted for in the arsenal of words that critics have at their disposal to describe what sets a musician apart. What is sorely lacking is …
Filed under: Cal Performances, Ojai Festival, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, profile, violinists
January 5, 2018 • 12:37 pm Comments Off on Stefan Jackiw Portrait
Stefan Jackiw Portrait
Stefan Jackiw. Photo by Sophie Zhai
A sense of modesty may seem incompatible with the drive required to remain successful in the highly competitive realm of classical performance. Yet violinist Stefan Jackiw has made it central to his artistic credo..
Filed under: profile, Strings, violinists
February 9, 2017 • 7:23 pm Comments Off on Kavakos and Wang on Tour
Kavakos and Wang on Tour
On Friday Leonidas Kavakos and Yuja Wang come to Seattle as part of their current tour. My interview with the Greek violinist for The Seattle Times:
Forget about art for art’s sake.
The virtuoso violinist Leonidas Kavakos staunchly believes that artistic creativity is vital for a fully human life — and even for our survival.
Filed under: pianists, Seattle Times, violinists
December 30, 2016 • 12:08 am Comments Off on The Healing Bach
The Healing Bach
A link to my feature story, in this month’s Strings magazine, on the inexhaustible appeal of the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin:
Bach’s works for solo violin and cello are the Shakespearean monologues of the string world: The indefinable balance of technical mastery and interpretive insight they require is the touchstone of a great artist.
Filed under: Bach, violinists
MEMETERIA by Thomas May 