Violin Archives - Page 4 of 5

Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Events, Festivals, Interviews, Other Minds, San Francisco, Violin, Women composers

Let’s Ask Lisa Bielawa

2009 Frederic A. Juilliard/Walter Damrosch Rome Prize winner Lisa Bielawa has returned to her hometown of San Francisco to take part in the 2010 Other Minds festival. Her piece, Kafka Songs, will close the first night of the festival on Thursday, March 4th. Violinist, vocalist and rock star Carla Kihlstedt, for whom Kafka Songs was written, will perform. OM 15 takes place at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, and tickets can be purchased online here. Despite her whirlwind schedule leading up to the festival, Lisa was able to take time out to answer a few of my questions.

March 1, 2010March 1, 2010 by Polly Moller

CDs, Contemporary Classical, Interviews, Violin

Talking with Jennifer Koh

Violinist Jennifer Koh has, since even before this past Spring showed its face, been pretty much living out of a suitcase or two. Crisscrossing this country and a couple other continents, She’s been playing everything from Antonio Vivaldi to John Zorn. Just last week she was beautifully acquitting herself at Miller Theatre, in a performance of Kaija Saariaho’s Graal Theatre. December is about all the break she’s getting, too, before it starts all over again. In the middle of all this came her newest CD on Cedille, Rhapsodic Musings, a collection of solo violin music almost all composed within the

November 28, 2009November 28, 2009 by Steve Layton

Chicago, Flute, Interviews, Podcasts, Violin

My Ears Are Open, ensemble dal niente

I thought it might be nice to close out the month of interviews from Chicago by featuring a couple musicians from dal niente. The ensemble has some great concerts planned for October, but I caught violinist Austin Wulliman and flutist Shanna Gutierrez back in June. Austin’s episode is worth listening to just to hear him say, “I love me some Scelsi”. You don’t hear that very often, but it’s true, oh so true. Shanna talks a little in her episode about interesting experiences with composers, but the real value is in the seemingly endless list of resources she mentions if

September 30, 2009September 30, 2009 by James Holt

Interviews, Podcasts, Violin

My Ears Are Open, ETHEL. Part I.

I am excited to say that this month on the podcast I am featuring all four members ETHEL. I was able to spend some time with the band before their performance at the Bang on a Can Marathon and would like to thank them for being so generous with their time. It was difficult to decide who should go first, so I’ve decided to go alphabetical by last name (brilliant, right?!), which means that we’ll begin with violinist, Cornelius Dufallo. If you want to keep up with this series, I’d recommend subscribing in iTunes or through your blog-reader. Or, you

July 11, 2009 by James Holt

Composers, Contemporary Classical, Hilary Hahn, Interviews, New Amsterdam, Violin

Hilary Hahn’s enquiring mind wants to know

Hilary Hahn doesn’t need much introduction; as one of the leading violinists today, many of you have any number of her recordings or have been lucky enough to catch her in concert. Usually we put our stars up on some pedestal, always with that remove of the stage between us. But Hilary herself has a different idea of what a star should be up to in between wowing folks at those concerts. She happens to love to talk to people, especially other musicians, and is genuinely interested in what makes them tick. And she loves to share what she hears

July 2, 2009July 2, 2009 by Steve Layton

Bass, Cello, Concerts, Experimental Music, Improv, jazz, Percussion, San Francisco, Violin

Rova Saxophone Quartet and friends channel Buckminster Fuller

San Francisco is famous for its innovations, its open minds, and its spirit of protest. In 2005, according to Rova Saxophone Quartet member Larry Ochs, “our government was committing all sorts of crimes against humanity in all of our names. I wanted to create some art that flew in the face of those acts – but not overtly political because that’s not what we do.” Rova dreamed up an international collaborative work in honor of the visionary genius of Buckminster Fuller and his “Spaceship Earth” global perspective. “Good works by people brought together from different countries – if only to

May 18, 2009May 18, 2009 by Polly Moller

CDs, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Music Instruments, Violin

Mutter Modern (An Interview with Anne-Sophie)

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is continually creating something new – from concerti by Krzysztof Penderecki and Andre Previn to works by Sebastian Currier and Henri Dutilleux. Mutter’s latest project is a recording of Sofia Gubaidulina’s In Tempus Praesens, written in 2006-07 and premiered with the Berlin Philharmonic in August 2007. Selke Harten-Strehk has more background here on Mutter’s website. I spoke with Mutter about the new concerto recording and about working with composers, and even if she composed herself. Listen to our conversation here. That morning it was very difficult to get an international connection, and then about 10 minutes into

October 1, 2008October 4, 2008 by John Clare

CDs, Classical Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Orchestral, Piano, Violin

Anders Koppel: Festivity back in the concert hall

How does it sound – a double concerto written by a musician weaned on Beethoven, salsa, Stravinsky and Bulgarian folk music? In short – like nothing else! The Danish composer Anders Koppel (b. 1947) is himself. “My music consists of the life I have lived,” is as close as he gets to a definition of his style. Anders Koppel grew up with music all day long. His father, Herman D. Koppel, was one of Denmark’s leading composers and pianists, and worked in the living room at home. Anders and his siblings were eye-witnesses to all aspects of the musical creative

September 10, 2008September 10, 2008 by Jens Cornelius

CDs, Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, Orchestral, Violin

Marvin Does Hovhaness

Marvin Rosen’s Classical Discoveries program is a special one this week involving, as it does, several members of the S21 community. Marvin’s doing the first radio broadcast of OgreOgress’s world premiere recording of Alan Hovhaness’s Janabar, a 37-minute Sinfonia Concertante for Piano, Trumpet, Violin & Strings. The recording features Christina Fong on violin, Paul Hersey on piano, and Michael Bowman on trumpet, with the Slovak Philharmonic, conducted by Rastislav Stur. The piece is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18th during the 10am EST hour. The program, from Princeton, NJ, can be heard locally on 103.3 FM or online. Lots of details about the new recording here. Also scheduled is the one hour Symphony

July 15, 2007 by Jerry Bowles

Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, Festivals, Violin

Social Media and the Contemporary Composer

For your dining and dancing pleasure–through the miracle of YouTube–Club Sequenza21 is delighted to present the talented violinist/composer Piotr Szewczyk performing short solo violin pieces by regulars Lawrence Dillon and Jeff Harrington, live and in color, as part of his Violin Futura program at Spoleto. Roll ’em, Pete. [youtube]xJGdeOUNokM [/youtube] [youtube]z5yBrIFZIcs [/youtube]

July 5, 2007July 5, 2007 by Jerry Bowles