Juilliard String Quartet gets new first violin

The Strad

The Juilliard String Quartet has today announced that its first violinist since 2011, Joseph Lin, will step down in September 2018 and the Greek-born Juilliard graduate Areta Zhulla will be taking over.

Zhulla will join existing members Ronald Copes (second violin), Roger Tapping (viola) and Astrid Schween (cello), and will also be taking a full-time position on the Juilliard faculty.

Zhulla has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Asia. She was a member of Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center, artistic director of the Perlman-Genesis Violin Project at the Israel Conservatory, and has been on the chamber music faculties of Juilliard’s Pre-College Division and the Perlman Music Program, as well as being a teaching assistant to Itzhak Perlman in Juilliard’s College and Pre-College divisions. 

Read the full article here.

International Piano: One to Watch - Yekwon Sunwoo

International Piano
Stephen Wigler

First prize-winner at last year's Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, South Korean pianist Yekwon Sunwoo has a wise head on him for one so young, building a busy international career with care and consideration. Stephen Wigler talks to a pianist who is devotes to learning even as he excels as a master of his instrument.

Read the full article in the March/April 2018 issue, available here.

The New York Times: Watch Ping-Pong Make Its New York Philharmonic Debut with Maestro Long Yu

The New York Times
Joshua Barone

Michael Landers and Ariel Hsing, table tennis champions in their early 20s, are featured as the Ping-Pong-playing soloists in Andy Akiho’s energetic concerto “Ricochet,” which will have its American premiere on Tuesday as part of the Philharmonic’s Lunar New Year gala. And yes, this is the first time a Ping-Pong table has been onstage at David Geffen Hall.

The concept attracted early fans, including the Chinese conductor Long Yu, who led the piece’s premiere in Shanghai in 2015 and will conduct the Philharmonic concert on Tuesday.

“I’m interested in any crazy, creative idea beyond normal imagination,” he said. “Classical music needs more like this.”

Read more here.

CNN Money Switzerland: Chinese Star Maestro Long Yu - A Life for Classical Music

CNN Money Switzerland

He grew up during China‘s Cultural Revolution, when Western classical music was banned. Today, Long Yu is the artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and one of China‘s most successful and celebrated conductors. The New York Times even called him "the most powerful figure in China’s classical music scene". He's also a cultural ambassador promoting cooperation between East and West, and was the first who ever conducted a Chinese orchestra at the Vatican. Yu talks to Martina Fuchs about his life, the growing audiences of classical music in a rapidly changing China, and his role as a cultural diplomat.

Watch the interview here.

Dominican Violinist Aisha Syed Makes NYC Debut at Carnegie Hall

Young Dominican violinist, Aisha Syed, debuts in New York City at Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, on February 27th at 8pm. The performance marks one of the first on her “Golden Land World Tour” which takes her to 14 countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia - including her homeland of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Heritage and Culture Society, based in New York, presents the concert to commemorate the 174th Anniversary of Dominican Independence.

“The board and I are honored to present Aisha Syed at Carnegie Hall. Aisha is a beautiful and monumental representation of the Dominican Republic, and this concert is the perfect way to highlight the excellence of the country in New York,” says Fresia Olivero Momani, Founder and President of The Dominican Heritage and Culture Society.

Aisha has been praised as “full of passion and virtuoso devotion” by Frankfurter Neue Presse and hailed as the “future of classical music in the Dominican Republic” by Maestro Carlos Piantini. The first-class violinist will perform a wide variety of works by Ravel, Bach, Franck, and Paganini, including those with Spanish roots – de Falla’s Danse espagnole and Spanish composer Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy.

Aisha will perform on a Stradivarius violin generously provided by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins and will be accompanied by pianist Martin Labazevitch.

Tickets, $150, in support of the Dominican Heritage and Culture Society, are available at carnegiehall.org or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

About Aisha Syed

Designated by President Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic as her country’s Honorary Goodwill Cultural Ambassador, Aisha Syed has performed all over the world in venues such as the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, in addition to performing on BBC Radio 3. 2018-2019 season highlights include her debut at Carnegie Hall, National Performing Arts Center in India, the Arsht Center in Florida, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico, Kirchner Center Symphonic Hall in Argentina, and others.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Aisha quickly established herself as a child prodigy, making her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at 11 years old. At 13, she moved to England to become the first Latina to attend the Yehudi Menuhin School where she received a scholarship from the British Government through the Music and Dance Scheme. She also studied at the Royal College of Music receiving the prestigious Soirée d’Or full scholarship. Aisha was also offered a full scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where renowned cellist Jacqueline Du Pré studied.

In 2010, Aisha co-founded the Music for Life Foundation in her home country, which seeks to bring classical music to the less fortunate. She is a devout Christian and dedicates all her performances to God.

For more information about Aisha Syed, please visit www.aishasyedcastro.com.

About The Dominican Heritage and Culture Society

The Dominican Heritage and Culture Society is a cultural foundation established in the United States with a mission to cultivate and maintain the roots that nurture the culture, history, and traditions of the Dominican people in the United States and across the globe.

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The San Diego Union-Tribune: Meyers triumphs in Schoenberg concerto

San Diego Union-Tribune
Marcus Overton

Commissioned by and written in honor of San Diego native Anne Akiko Meyers, this meditation on age and memory (its title is “Orchard in Fog”) stands a good chance of entering the standard repertory, for it combines evocative tone painting with complex technical demands (like playing on the violin’s highest strings, where faulty intonation is ruthlessly exposed). Its two outer movements, wistful, silvery-gray like a Whistler painting, frame a devilishly syncopated dance movement that almost seems improvised.

Meyers’ playing is what it always has been: a national treasure. Her unshowy approach to her work has saved her from becoming a celebrity, and she has left a trail of unsurpassed achievement behind her in recordings, chamber music and orchestra solo appearances around the globe, as well as authorial collaborations and, best of all, active championing of living composers.

Above all, she is a musical wizard, with astonishing access to every kind of expressive color. Whether within a phrase or on just a single note, she can change tone color in a micro-second from smooth grain to rough, from dark to radiant, from thoughtful to assertive. And she can, like magic, bring new work to vibrant life.

Read the full article here.

South China Morning Post: Yo-Yo Ma China Music Camp - Youth Music Culture Guangdong

South China Morning Post
Bernice Chan

Nine days of classes in Guangzhou take students out of their comfort zone – and Ma, the event’s musical director, is always on hand to encourage, advise and inspire them to experiment and try the unknown.

Yo-Yo Ma and Australian-Chinese cellist Rachel Siu high-five. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

They all wear sweatshirts bearing the letters YMCG, which stand for “Youth Music Culture Guangdong”. Amid the sea of black shirts it is difficult to spot the music camp’s artistic director, renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, until he stands up on the conductor’s podium.

The aim of the music camp is “deep learning”, Ma says, in which the students make connections with the people they meet, but also discovering what links classical music composers such as Beethoven and the improvisational Silk Road Ensemble that Ma founded in 1998.

It is the second such annual musical camp hosted by Ma in the southern Chinese metropolis. Participation is free for those who pass video auditions, as is food and accommodation. Students’ only expense is the cost of their travel to Guangzhou.

Read the full article and watch a video about Youth Music Culture Guangdong here.

Pizzicato: Shanghai Isaac Stern Competition Announces Record Number of Applicants

Pizzicato

Organizers for the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (SISIVC) announced that a total of 174 applicants have been submitted for this year’s edition, an increase of more than 22% from the inaugural competition in 2016 (142 applicants).

Applicants hail from 33 countries and regions, an increase of 27% from 2016 (26 countries and regions). The greatest area of growth, by a significant margin, was in non-Chinese applicants (65% growth vs. 2016). Applicant countries/regions this year include: Australia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Canada, China, Czech, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Libya, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (China), Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

More than 90% of the applicants for the 2018 SISIVC have won prizes in national and international competitions and most are graduates or are currently attending premier music schools and institutions.

For the full article, click here.

Broadway World: Anne Akiko Meyers And San Diego Symphony To Stream World Premiere Of Adam Schoenberg's Violin Concerto

Broadway World

Superstar violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and the San Diego Symphony will present the world premiere of Adam Schoenberg's Concerto "Orchard in Fog" for Violin and Orchestra. 2018 Grammy-nominated composer, Adam Schoenberg, wrote this work for violinist Anne Akiko Meyers who will perform with Sameer Patel conducting the San Diego Symphony Orchestra in performances Saturday, February 10, 2018, at 8pm and Sunday, February 11 at 2pm.

The Sunday performance can be viewed at www.facebook.com/theviolinchannel/ at the following local times: 2:00 pm PST, 5:00 pm EST, 10:00 pm London (GMT), 7:00 am Tokyo (GMT+9).

Anne Akiko Meyers is one of the most popular violinists in the world, regularly appearing as guest soloist with the world's top orchestras, presenting groundbreaking recitals and receiving universal acclaim as a best-selling recording artist with 36 albums releases. She has closely collaborated and commissioned composers including Mason Bates, John Corigliano, Wynton Marsalis, Arvo Pärt and Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Composer Adam Schoenberg was recently named one of the top 10 most performed living classical composers by orchestras in the United States. He also received two 2018 Grammy nominations for his self-titled album.

WQXR: Yeethoven - Great Minds Think Alike: Kanye West vs. Beethoven

WQXR
James Bennett, II

Kanye West and Beethoven

After the success of 2016’s Yeethoven composer and arranger Johan and conductor Yuga Cohler have returned for Yeethoven II, a concert focused on the similarities between the artistry of Kanye West and Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides just having a great name — who wouldn’t want to explore the limits of that wondrous portmanteau — the creators of the project see it as a way to explore the ways in which artists at the top of their game can have a deep impact on the culture beyond their musical influence.

With Kanye’s release of 2013’s Yeezus, the Yeethoven creators were taken by his abandonment of verse-chorus-verse conventions of most popular music and his embrace of a freer, more adventurous sound. Johan and Cohler worked backwards to find Beethoven, but believe their connections fit. For example: the dynamic shifts in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony share a similar quality with Kanye’s “Blood On the Leaves.”

Some may bristle at the mere mention of these two names in the same breath, but if you look hard enough, it isn’t difficult to find parallels between the two — or of many great artists, for that matter.

For the full story by WQXR, click here.