The word “accompanist” can be a loaded one in the world of classical music. A pianist who usually appears on stage along with another musician is typically called an accompanist–a term that, for some pianists, suggests they are simply there…
By Inge Kjemtrup Kyung Wha Chung is routinely described as a “force of nature,” an expression that, along with “living legend,” is so overused as to have become pretty much meaningless. But I can sympathize with those who end up…
By Inge Kjemtrup That mountain road, again. Like all music festivals based in hard-to-reach locations, Switzerland’s Verbier Festival can make everyone who manages to overcome multiple travel challenges feel that they deserve a huge round of applause for simply arriving…
The Rhythm Future Quartet, comprised of violinist Jason Anick, guitarists Olli Soikkeli and Max O’Rourke and bassist Greg Loughman, stopped by the Strings studio to offer up some gypsy-jazz tunes. Watch the quartet perform “Sleepless,” a composition Anick co-wrote with his…
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By Cristina Schreil Canadian violinist James Ehnes has once again assembled a pleasing collection of beautiful violin sonatas. Delivering sensitive performances with pianist Andrew Armstrong, Ehnes taps into the evocative emotional power of four works from the early 1900s—here, Debussy’s…
For his latest release, Joshua Bell joins with longtime musical partners Steven Isserlis and Jeremy Denk to rediscover Brahms and unearth a Schumann rarity Text by Thomas May Images by Shervin Lainez “Humanity . . . must in the long…
From the Fall 2016 issue of Stage & Studio | BY ADAM PERLMUTTER To err is human, and no musician is a stranger to making mistakes. Any player who’s put in a good amount of time onstage will most likely…
By Martin Steinberg Mozart is turning 50 this summer. No, not Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus (Amadeus), but the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York’s Lincoln Center. When it began in the summer of 1966, it was called Midsummer Serenades: A…
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In February, the Manhattan-based Calidore String Quartet (violinists Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry, and cellist Estelle Choi) joined eight soloists and ensembles on the roster of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust (BBT) Award and Fellowship winners for 2016. This…
By Thomas May Violinist Augustin Hadelich’s Grammy win highlights the work of French composer Henri Dutilleux on the 100th anniversary of his birth Augustin Hadelich just missed being in Los Angeles to receive his first-ever Grammy Award. He had even…
By Pat Moran Like the ancient network of trade routes which give Yo Yo Ma’s all-star collective its name, the Silk Road Ensemble is all over the map on their seventh studio album, Sing Me Home. This collection centers on…
When David Harrington, violinist and founding member of the highly acclaimed Kronos Quartet, was about 12 years old, he discovered the Columbia Record Club. The year was 1961 and for about a penny, Harrington was able to select five or…
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By Karen Peterson Encouraging diversity—one step, one concert, one community at a time More than a generation ago, the number of black and Hispanic performers in American orchestras barely broke 2 percent of the total. Today that figure is 4.3…
By Luke Fleming Classical musicians are often considered lucky by people in other professions because we spend all our time doing what we love and loving what we do. I am inclined to agree with this viewpoint—but not without some…
By Zuill Bailey The transformative power of music and the role of a festival’s artistic director Sitka, Alaska, sits in the shadow of a dormant volcano, Mt. Edgecumbe: It is a dramatic backdrop to a city already rich in natural splendor.…
The Musicians’ Union, a UK-based organization comprised of more than 30,000 musicians, has responded to “Brexit,” Britain’s referendum in which a majority voted in favor of leaving the European Union. In a June 27 statement on the organization’s website, John…
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In the June issue of Strings Magazine, Martin Steinberg gives a terrific account of Luis Leguia’s amazing life from a childhood of poverty to becoming the inventor of the Luis and Clark stringed instruments. Luis was born in the height…
By Benjamin Kreith [Editor’s Note: American composer Ben Johnston, 90, was a student of Harry Partch, Darius Milhaud, and John Cage. He composes in an eclectic, microtonal style. Strings recently interviewed violinist Benjamin Kreith of the Del Sol String Quartet…
Violinist Colin Jacobsen on the latest release from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and the group’s journey to the silver screen By David Templeton Transformation. It’s a theme that Colin Jacobsen, of Brooklyn, New York, touches on often while discussing his…
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