Rachel Barton Pine Featured on the Cincinnati Business Courier

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine makes her debut in a “Silk Road” program with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra on Aug. 2, performing the world premiere live performance of a new violin concerto by the Syrian American composer Malek Jandali, which she released on Cedille.

Rachel recently spoke to the Cincinnati Business Courier. “What's interesting about Middle Eastern music is there's such a strong tradition of violin playing in so many of those countries,” she said.

Pine is a busy violinist who dazzles, whether she’s playing classics such as Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto or a new concerto by jazz artist Billy Childs written specifically for her. She had just returned from performing in Finland when we spoke by phone, and she explained the story of how Jandali wrote this concerto.

Besides championing contemporary music, Pine is dedicated to researching historical works and the best practices on how they should be performed. On Aug. 3, she’ll perform a Vivaldi Violin Concerto on her viola d’amore. The instrument emerged in the 1600s, and is played on the shoulder like a violin, but it has no frets and features three Islamic sound holes, she explained. Its resonating strings are also a Middle Eastern device, so one theory is that it was the viola of the Moors, she added.

Read the full piece here.

Find out more about the concerts here.

Sandbox Percussion & Andy Akiho on Chamber Music America

This month, the Sandbox Percussion Summer Seminar, at The New School, celebrated its 10th anniversary. Sandbox Percussion is the College of Performing Arts’ GRAMMY-nominated ensemble-in-residence.

The closing event, on July 22, was a full performance of Andy Akiho’s large-scale Seven Pillars and Portal, with players from the seminar joining Sandbox and Akiho. Seven Pillars is a tremendous 11-part, 80-minute piece for percussion quartet. The New York Times described it as a "brooding, thrilling, Mahler-length taxonomy of noise."

Before the seminar concluded, Orchid McRae, from Chamber Music America, caught up with Sandbox Percussion’s Ian Rosenbaum and composer Andy Akiho to discuss collaboration, education, and developing new repertoire. “This year is particularly special, because the participants are performing the entire Seven Pillars—on their own,” Ian tells her. He goes on:

Our Sandbox Percussion Seminar has been an annual highlight of our schedule. It is one of the busiest weeks we have, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. When we started this group, there weren’t too many people out in the world trying to do this sort of thing—but that’s changing rapidly. It invigorates and inspires us to see so many young people playing chamber music at such a high level. It’s also really, really fun for us to spend time playing music with participants from all over the world. We learn things about this repertoire every year.

Read the full piece here.

The Strad: ‘A dream finally realised’: Rachel Barton Pine on recording French chamber works with old friends

Rachel Barton Pine with Orion Weiss and the Pacifica Quartet (photo courtesy of the artists)

This month, Rachel Barton Pine and Cedille Records released a new album, her 25th on the label, of French music with the Pacifica Quartet and pianist Orion Weiss. French Impressions: Chamber Music by Chausson & Tailleferre consists of chamber works of various configurations by these two composers from turn-of-the-century and early mid-20th-century France. With French Impressions, Pine realizes a long-held dream. She tells correspondent Thomas May:

I love solo performances, whether concertos or recitals, because it’s a chance to explore and share my personal voice. On the other hand, playing chamber music helps me continue to grow as an artist by learning about colleagues’ ideas and trying them out. Being one part of a greater whole is musically rewarding in a different way. Blending in with one of my favourite ensembles, the Pacifica Quartet, was just as rewarding as I had always imagined.

For people who haven’t heard Tailleferre’s music, or maybe haven’t even heard of her at all, I hope that this taste of her output inspires people to seek out more of her works. I hope that everyone who hears our performances enjoys our interpretations.

Read the full piece here.

Listen to the new album here.

Debut Album by Violinist Nancy Zhou Reviewed on BBC Music Magazine

The August 2025 issue of BBC Music Magazine includes a review of violinist Nancy Zhou’s debut solo album Stories (re)Traced.

“The checklist is daunting: dances and meters need to be defined and characterized, part-writing clearly voiced, the harmonic narrative cogently drawn... and it all must sound natural. Nancy Zhou achieves almost all these criteria,” writes Jo Talbot.

Stories (re)Traced is an exploration of musical form, concentricity, and vocality in instrumental performance and music-making. "These are notions and ideas that have inspired me as a violinist in the last few years," says Zhou, a passionate soloist based in San Francisco who is also motivated by her interest in cultural heritage and the humanities.

Released on Orchid Classics, Stories (re)Traced presents four seminal and distinctly unique works from the solo violin repertoire. It is a tribute to the versatility of the violin as an art medium. The selections are:

• Eugène Ysaÿe: Sonata no. 4

• Béla Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, Sz. 117 (BB 124)

• J.S. Bach: Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002

• Fritz Kreisler: Recitativo and Scherzo, Op. 6

Check out the full review here!
Listen to the album here.

Seattle Chamber Music Society Announces 2025-26 Signature Series

Series of Six Exceptional Chamber Music Concerts Featuring Top Artists Returns for a Second Season, Running September 2025–May 2026

James Ehnes with Seattle Chamber Music Society (credit: Jenna Poppe)

Seattle, July 14, 2025 — The Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) today announced programming for its 2025-26 Signature series, running from September 21, 2025, through May 10, 2026. Across six concert programs, leading classical musicians will perform extraordinary chamber music by Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Clarke, Chausson, Fauré, Hindemith, Sinding, and Shostakovich. Early-bird season subscriptions are on sale starting today, and single-program tickets will be available on August 18 at seattlechambermusic.org/signature-series-2026.

“The Signature Series features music that continues to thrill artists and audiences. It’s one of the most profound of shared experiences: witnessing exceptional musicians perform some of the most beautiful music ever composed,” said James Ehnes, who curates the six concerts in his role as the Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Artistic Director of SCMS. 

Performers joining Ehnes on the series are Andrew Armstrong, Efe Baltacıgil, Inon Barnatan, Raphael Bell, Jeremy Denk, Noah Geller, Richard O’Neill, Jonathan Vinocour, and Orion Weiss, along with members of the Ehnes Quartet: Amy Schwartz Moretti, Che-Yen Chen, and Edward Arron. SCMS’s first-ever String Quartet in Residence, the Balourdet Quartet — Angela Bae, Justin DeFilippis, Benjamin Zannoni, and Russell Houston — will play on two Signature Series concerts. During its nine-month residency, the quartet will also connect with audiences in non-traditional spaces throughout King County.

“The Signature Series has proved to be a fantastic addition to Seattle Chamber Music Society’s season. The concerts build on our Summer and Winter Festivals and further our ultimate goal of deepening appreciation for this art form,” said John Holloway, Executive Director at SCMS. “As our organization has expanded to present performances year-round, we have seen chamber music increasingly recognized as a vibrant, central force in Seattle’s cultural life,” he adds.

Balourdet Quartet (credit: Stephen Barton)

The Signature Series opens September 21 with Ernest Chausson’s Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet in D Major, Op. 21, performed by Ehnes, Weiss, and the Balourdet Quartet. Composed in the manner of a concerto grosso, the piece casts the violin and piano as the soloists, with support from the string quartet. The concert will also feature Beethoven’s final String Quartet, No.16 in F Major, Op. 135 and Paul Novak’s impossible inventions, premiered last year by the Balourdet Quartet. 

On October 12, Barnatan, Bell, Ehnes, and Vinocour will perform Fauré’s Piano Quartets No. 1 and 2. These, his most well-known chamber pieces are “among his most inventive and passionate works” (BBC Music Magazine). The bright, expressive Piano Quartet No. 1 is considered one of the most important French chamber music works of the 19th century; his Piano Quartet No. 2 “bristles with energy” (Kai Christiansen).

November 23 brings together famed pianist Jeremy Denk and Richard O’Neill, violist of the Takács Quartet. On the program is Hindemith’s Viola Sonata Op. 11, No. 4. The concert also includes Beethoven’s last Piano Sonata, Op. 111, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G minor, BWV 1029, as well as British composer Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata, considered one of the most important works in the viola repertoire.

On March 8, the Balourdet Quartet joins Noah Geller and Efe Baltacıgil to perform Brahms’s Sextet No. 1, a piece that has remained one of the composer’s most popular early chamber works since its initial performances. The program also features Brahms’s cheerful String Quartet No. 3, and Bartók’s String Quartet No. 3, inspired by the folk music of the composer’s native Hungary.

On March 22, Weiss and the Ehnes Quartet collaborate on the Brahms Piano Quintet, one of the crown jewels of the chamber music repertoire, alongside the enduring Shostakovich Piano Quintet, premiered in 1940 by the Beethoven Quartet with the composer himself at the piano. 

The series concludes on May 10 at Town Hall, when James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong present a joyful program celebrating Ehnes’s 50th birthday, with some surprises in store. The concert features Christian Sinding’s virtuosic Suite in the Old Style, Op. 10, Brahms’s Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, the Rhapsody No. 1 by Bartók, and virtuoso works to be announced from the stage.

Seattle Chamber Music Society — 2025-26 Signature Series

Concert I

Sunday, September 21, 2025, 2 pm

James Ehnes, Orion Weiss, and Balourdet Quartet

• Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet in D Major, Op. 21

• Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135

• Paul Novak: impossible inventions

Nordstrom Recital Hall

Concert II 

Sunday, October 12, 2025, 2 pm

Inon Barnatan, James Ehnes, Jonathan Vinocour, and Raphael Bell

• Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1

• Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 2

Nordstrom Recital Hall

Concert III

Sunday, November 23, 2025, 2 pm

Jeremy Denk and Richard O’Neill

• Bach: Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G minor, BWV 1029

• Hindemith’s Viola Sonata Op. 11, No. 4

• Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111

• Clarke: Viola Sonata

Nordstrom Recital Hall

Concert IV

Sunday, March 8, 2026, 2 pm

Balourdet Quartet, Noah Geller, and Efe Baltacıgil

• Brahms: String Quartet No. 3

• Bartók: String Quartet No. 3

• Brahms: Sextet No. 1

Nordstrom Recital Hall

Concert V
Sunday, March 22, 2026, 2 pm

Ehnes Quartet and Orion Weiss

• Shostakovich: Piano Quintet

• Brahms: Piano Quintet

Nordstrom Recital Hall

Concert VI
Sunday, May 10, 2026, 2 pm

James Ehnes and Andy Armstrong

• Sinding: Suite in the Old Style, Op. 10

• Brahms: Sonata No. 3

• Bartók: Rhapsody No. 1

• Virtuoso works to be announced from the stage

Town Hall

About Seattle Chamber Music Society

The mission of the Seattle Chamber Music Society is to cultivate a deep appreciation for chamber music by presenting exceptional performances in welcoming and accessible formats. Through education, community engagement, and a commitment to excellence, SCMS seeks to position chamber music as a central cultural force, both locally and globally, while ensuring its enduring relevance and sustainability. 

Each year, SCMS presents a Winter Festival in January and a Summer Festival in July at the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, bringing the world’s finest classical musicians to the stage. These intimate chamber music performances captivate both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers alike. In addition to its renowned festivals, SCMS offers an expanded year-round lineup, including the new Signature Series, Crescendo Concerts in Seattle’s most stunning homes, and Concerts at the Center for Chamber Music, providing unparalleled access to extraordinary musical experiences. 

SCMS also enriches the community through dynamic engagement programs designed for audiences of all ages. From inspiring young learners in elementary schools to enriching lives in retirement communities, and from performances in hospitals and parks to concerts on wheels, SCMS remains steadfast in its mission to bring world-class chamber music to every corner of our community.

###

Media contact:
Matt Herman, Managing Director
8VA Music Consultancy
matt@8vamusicconsultancy.com 

Conductor Michael Repper Featured on Cape Town's CapeTalk

The GRAMMY®-winning American conductor Michael Repper returns to the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival this weekend, after his successful South Africa debut last summer. Michael will lead the orchestra and lead conducting masterclasses alongside conductor Antony Hermus.

Before heading to Cape Town, Michael talked with Sara-Jayne Makwala King from CapeTalk.

Listen to the segment here.

One of America’s most dynamic talents, Michael Repper is the youngest North American conductor to win a GRAMMY® Award for "Best Orchestral Performance," and the only conductor to have ever led a youth orchestra to win a GRAMMY®. His album with the New York Youth Symphony, featuring debut recordings of works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, and Valerie Coleman, reached #1 on the Billboard chart. He has performed twice on CNN.

His latest album, available August 1, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and features world-premiere studio recordings of the composer’s tone poem Toussaint L’Ouverture and Ballade Op. 4 for Violin and Orchestra. The soloist is the GRAMMY®-nominated violinist Curtis Stewart, with the Washington D.C.-based National Philharmonic.

Photo Credit: Chris Lee Photography

Rave Review of New Yulianna Avdeeva Album on Gramophone

Yulianna Avdeeva’s latest album, a full recording of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, came our recently on PENTATONE, marking the 50th anniversary of the great composer’s death. The monumental cycle of Op. 87 harks back to Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and is considered one of the most demanding works for piano ever written. Avdeeva joins an elite group of pianists who have undertaken the challenge of performing the complete opus, which is rarely heard in its entirety. "Certainly she plays as though each piece means the world to her," writes David Fanning in his review for the July 2025 issue of Gramophone magazine. He continues:

Most impressive of all, to me, in Avdeeva's interpretations, are the more reserved pieces, of which there are many, where character may not be immediately obvious, because self-knowledge is all. Here she displays a quiet concentration that protects the music from any suspicion of routine. Her care for voicing and shading stands as symbolic for care for the most precious human values: a kind of exercise in self-preservation that is hardly less relevant in 2025 than it was in 1950.

Unlike the Well-Tempered Clavier, Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues are arranged in the order of the circle of fifths — a visualization of all the major and minor keys, showing how they relate to each other. "To me, the music encapsulates the very essence of Shostakovich’s soul and personality — no fewer than 48 distinct characters are brought to life within the cycle," writes Avdeeva in her notes. "As a whole, it is an intimate, deeply honest expression of the composer’s most profound emotions."

Avdeeva returns to PENTATONE for the album after her acclaimed label debut with Resilience (2023) — which includes Shostakovich's Piano Sonata No. 1 — and Chopin: Voyage (2024). Both albums received outstanding reviews for their exceptional artistry and interpretation.

• Read the full review HERE.

• Listen to the new album HERE.

Anne Akiko Meyers is on a Roll: With 3 New Albums and 3 High-profile Features, the Violinist Continues to Celebrate Contemporary Music

“Working with living composers deeply inspires me and I am so grateful to them for creating new sound worlds and repertoire for the violin literature. Audiences really connect to music written by living composers and appreciate authentic storytelling in the works I have commissioned and premiered.” — Anne Akiko Meyers

Meyers on the cover of the July 2025 issue of Gramophone.

Violinist extraordinaire Anne Akiko Meyers released three new albums this spring, including an album devoted to Philip Glass, with the iconic composer’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and the world premiere recoding of his New Chaconne, composed for Meyers. She gave the world premiere in 2024 at the Laguna Beach Music Festival in southern California, where she was serving as artistic director. She was joined by Emmanuel Ceysson, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s principal harp, who also performs with Meyers on the new recording. “When it was sent to me, I just couldn't believe it," Meyers told NPR this month. “This is for the canon of violin literature, and it will live on forever.”

In May, Beloved was released (both albums on the Platoon label); it is a collection of choral and orchestral works centered on In the Arms of the Beloved, a requiem by the jazz pianist and composer Billy Childs written in memory of his mother. Meyers recorded it with the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Grant Gershon. The album also features music by Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjeilo, expanding Meyers’s ongoing exploration of repertoire that bridges spiritual reflection and expressive clarity.

Finally, Blue Electra appeared in April on Naxos, with the world premiere recording of Michael Daugherty’s violin concerto of that name, inspired by the life of aviator Amelia Earhart. Another Meyers commission.

“Meyers remains unflaggingly committed to commissioning and learning new works for her instrument – a dedication reflected not only in her extensive discography, but also in the vitality she brings to her concerts, ensuring that the pieces she commissions continue to be heard well beyond their premieres,” writes Tom May for the cover story of the July 2025 issue of Gramophone.

Meyers stopped by NPR's studios in Culver City, Calif., for an interview with Morning Edition's A Martínez (credit: Melissa Kuypers)

And there’s more to come. The violinist plans to release a fourth new album later this year or early next: a recording of Orchard in Fog, a 2017 concerto for violin that she commissioned from the American composer Adam Schoenberg and premiered in 2018 with the San Diego Symphony and conductor Sameer Patel. The piece is a musical response to a photograph by Adam Laipson of an apple orchard in winter, explains May in his feature-length piece.

“Anne is really the only superstar soloist I know who believes in expanding the repertoire and consistently does that,” Schoenberg told May. “Besides touring the world and releasing so many albums, I think that’s going to be the greatest part of her legacy.”

“There’s always an element of risk in creative work, and I think that’s part of what keeps it exciting and meaningful,” Meyers told The Strad. “For me, the trust involved in these collaborations is deeply personal and essential.”

In Meyers’s own words: “Working with living composers deeply inspires me and I am so grateful to them for creating new sound worlds and repertoire for the violin literature,” she told The Strad. “Audiences really connect to music written by living composers and appreciate authentic storytelling in the works I have commissioned and premiered.”

• Read the Gramophone piece here.

• Read the NPR piece here.

• Read the Strad piece here.

Vancouver Arts and Music Festival, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA Featured on BBC Music Magazine

Charlotte Smith, editor of BBC Music Magazine, visited the 2024, Vancouver Arts and Music Festival, the brainchild of Anne McEnerny-Ogle, the mayor of Vancouver, Washington; and Igor Shakhman, the executive director and principal clarinetist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA. The festival is a "combination of small-town charm, community enrichment and ambitions for the future," writes Smith for her "Musical Destinations" feature of the July 2025 issue of the magazine.

At the heart of the celebrations is the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, which during my visit performs three open-air concerts for the community... a delightful local band with a strong commitment to community engagement and education.

Read the full piece here.

The 2025 Vancouver Arts and Music Festival, featuring the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA and guest artist that include Renée Fleming, Mark and Maggie O’Connor, Sharon Isbin, and Gerard Schwarz, takes place July 31-August 3. Visit vancouverartsandmusicfestival.com.

Bravo! Vail Featured on the Denver Post

Bravo! Vail Music Festival, which this year runs June 19–July 31, was featured this week on the Denver Post. Ray Mark Rinaldi writes:

The Bravo! Vail Music Festival is pushing a season of “first” this year, and it looks promising. In the mix will be short residencies by five orchestras from three different continents, along with a long list of well-known guest conductors featured on the podium.

To read the full piece, click here.