Blogcritics Exclusive Interview: Violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft on New Album Incantation

Blogcritics
Jon Sobel

With his sophomore album Incantation just out, French violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft was set to bring his “beautiful, front-loaded, and siren-like tone” and “impressive virtuosity” to Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall on April 28. The concert will be rescheduled because of the COVID-19 crisis, but in the meantime, here is our enlightening interview with this exciting musician.

Boutellis-Taft recorded the album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The program for the concerts includes The Soloists of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and includes most of the music from the album: Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei”; Vitali’s Chaconne in G Minor; Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre” (in a new arrangement by Paul Bateman); Tchaikovsky’s “Sérénade Mélancolique”; Bloch’s “Nigun” (from Baal Shem); Chausson’s Poème for Violin and Piano; and Piazzola’s “Oblivion.”

We had a chance to speak with Boutellis-Taft as he was gearing up for a season that was planned to feature concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Salle Gaveau, the Musée d’Orsay, and Cadogan Hall in London as well as Carnegie in New York.

Read the interview here.