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Top 19 for '19

8VA’s Top 19 for ‘19

January 7, 2019 –
Mahan Esfahani and Anne Akiko Meyers named WQXR's "19 for 19" Artists to Watch.

January 16, 2019 –

The Telegraph highlights Grand Teton Music Festival as a "best opera and music holiday" destination for 2019.

January 28, 2019 –

Olga Kern, Anne Akiko Meyers, and Patricia Price featured in J. Jill's "Inspired Women" campaign.

February 7, 2019 –

The Washington Post raves about the Juilliard Quartet's Kennedy Center recital, "Decisive and uncompromising... Juilliard’s confidently thoughtful approach, rhythmic acuity and ensemble precision were on full display."

February 10, 2019 –

Honens winner Nicolas Namoradze wows at sold-out Carnegie Hall debut. "It was playing very much in the mold of that Hungarian master [Sir András Schiff] (read: the best currently possible), though by no means was it a copy." (ConcertoNet)

April 2019 –

Gramophone cover with Long Yu and an in-depth look at the growing classical music in China including Youth Music Culture Guangdong and Shanghai Orchestra Academy.

April 29, 2019 –

Anderson & Roe featured in the #1 mixology magazine, Chilled, with their Amadeus Affair.

May 2019 –

Shanghai Quartet featured on the cover of The Strad in celebration of their accomplishments through 35 years together.

July 2019 –

Gerard Schwarz's exploration of America's Forgotten Symphonies featured as Gramophone's cover story.

July 5, 2019 –

Haochen Zhang's debut concerto album with Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Dima Slobodeniouk is released receiving universal acclaim. "Zhang tames a beast and pours new wine into old bottles." (Limelight Magazine)

July 8, 2019 –

Shanghai Orchestra Academy celebrates 5th Anniversary.

August 14 & 16, 2019 –

The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Long Yu bring 140-year tradition to the United States at Wolf Trap (The Washington Post review) and Ravinia (Chicago Tribune preview) with cellist Alisa Weilerstein.

August 28, 2019 –

The New York Times spotlights Lara Downes in Clara Schumann mega-feature.

September 3, 2019 –

The Strad shares insights from editor Charlotte Smith's visit to Bravo! Vail.

October 16, 2019 –

Strings Magazine focuses on Qigang Chen's violin concerto, La joie de la souffrance.

October 22, 2019 –

Marc-Andre Hamelin dazzles in Carnegie Hall recital. "Mr. Hamelin played both works with technical dazzle and wondrous subtleties." (The New York Times)

November 1, 2019 –

Classical Voice North America reports from the "prestigious" Beijing Music Festival.

November 7, 2019 –

Azrieli Foundation awards three prizes to Keiko Devaux, Yotam Haber, and Yitzhak Yedid as part of their biennial Azrieli Music Prizes.

December 15, 2019 –

Julian Schwarz plays at WQXR Holiday concert.

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The Violin Channel: Interview with David Stern

The Violin Channel

The Violin Channel recently caught up with 2020 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition Co-Chairman, Mr. David Stern.

Applications for the 2020 competition are to be received by the 20th of January, 2020.

Hi David. Why was it important to the Stern family to be involved with this competition?

“Isaac Stern devoted his life to performance but also to helping young talent. He firmly believed in the hope of youth and the power of music to make a greater future for all civilizations.”

To read the full interview with David Stern, click here.

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WQXR: Haochen Zhang in Best Recordings of 2019

WQXR
Zev Kane

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 | Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2

A decade after winning the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Zhang continues to electrify. He infuses this pair of well-worn concert hall staples with sorely needed vitality and wit.

To see WQXR’s complete list, click here.

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Strings Magazine: Juilliard Quartet Reclaims Its Old Verve

Strings Magazine
Brian Wise

As it nears its 75-year anniversary, the Juilliard String Quartet could easily become the classical equivalent of an oldies rock act, trading on a faded name and reveling in past glories. Yet after several reshuffles to its lineup, the quartet appears to be finding its collective groove again, and a performance at Alice Tully Hall on December 12 drew a sizable and even boisterous audience. To read the full review, click here.

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I Care If You Listen: Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra of Beijing

I Care If You Listen
Sam Reising

Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra of Beijing

This performance is the Carnegie Hall debut of the Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra of Beijing. Central Conservatory President Feng Yu, also in his Carnegie Hall debut, will conduct works for modern symphony orchestra and traditional Chinese instruments by eight Chinese composers. For more information, click here.

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The New York Times: Juilliard String Quartet Featured in Concerts to See

The New York Times
David Allen

In a big week for the late Beethoven quartets, the storied Juilliard String Quartet plays the Op. 131, as well as the Op. 18, No. 1, and Kurtag’s “6 Moments Musicaux,” at Alice Tully Hall (Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m.).

To see the complete list of concerts featured in The New York Times “7 Classical Music Concerts to See in N.Y.C. This Weekend,” click here.

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Chicago Tribune: Mahan Esfahani Featured in Best Classical Albums of 2019

Chicago Tribune
Howard Reich

Bach’s Toccatas carry a measure of mystery, in that definitive scores for this music are impossible to come by, leaving performers ample latitude in ornamentation and other details. Harpsichordist Esfahani applies meticulous scholarship to this process yet has produced a vivid recording built on animated performances appropriate to the toccata form.

To see the Chicago Tribune’s complete list of “Best Classical Albums of 2019,” click here.

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Chamber Music America Magazine: Bridge Builders

Chamber Music America Magazine
Claire Sykes

It was the last thing they ever expected. When the foursome first teamed up more than 35 years ago, they didn’t think their string quartet would continue for long, let alone become one of the most successful in the world.

The 35-year-old Shanghai Quartet travels as seamlessly between hemispheres as it does between traditional and new music. To read more of the quartet’s feature in Chamber Music America Magazine, click here.

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The Canadian Jewish News: Azrieli Prize Winners Explore Diversity of Jewish Music

Yotam Haber, a Dutch-born composer who’s based in New Orleans, is the recipient of the 2020 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, the organization announced on Nov. 7. The winner of the 2020 AMP for the best new major work of Jewish music is Yitzhak Yedid, an Israeli-born Australian. For the first time, a third AMP winner was selected this year for the new Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music (not with a Jewish theme). It goes to Keiko Devaux, a composer of music for ensembles, dance and film, who’s currently completing a doctorate in composition at UdeM.

The Canadian Jewish News
Janice Arnold

The distinct musical tradition of the Jews of Rome, who trace their lineage back to their dispersal after the Second Temple’s destruction, will be revived in a new composition that’s being written by the latest winner of a $50,000 commission from the Azrieli Foundation.

Yotam Haber, a Dutch-born composer who’s based in New Orleans, is the recipient of the 2020 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, the organization announced on Nov. 7.

His work-in-progress will receive its premiere at the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) concert on Oct. 22, 2020, at Salle Pierre Mercure in Montreal, performed by the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, a chamber orchestra in residence at the Université de Montréal (UdeM).

The winner of the 2020 AMP for the best new major work of Jewish music is Yitzhak Yedid, an Israeli-born Australian. The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music also carries a $50,000 cash award.

His “Kiddushim Ve’ Killulim” (“Blessings and Curses”) for voice and ensemble had its debut in 2017. The AMP jury hailed the piece for its unconventional synthesis of ancient religious musical sources with contemporary Western music.

For the first time, a third AMP winner was selected this year for the new Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music (not with a Jewish theme). It goes to Keiko Devaux, a composer of music for ensembles, dance and film, who’s currently completing a doctorate in composition at UdeM.

To read more about the 2020 winners and their works, click here.

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Classical Voice North America: Beijing Music Festival is Innovative

“Golden Week” is the name for the national holiday period held in the People’s Republic of China at the beginning of October. This year, it also signaled an earlier-than-usual start to the annual Beijing Music Festival (BMF) — the country’s largest and most extensive festival devoted to classical music.

Classical Voice North America
Thomas May

BMF, which unfolds over the course of the month, is also spread out spatially. This year, in its 22^nd edition, BMF took place in venues dispersed across this vast, sprawling, restlessly energetic city: from the Poly Theatre and the Forbidden City Concert Hall to an exhibition space in the lively nightlife district of Sanlitun and the enormous, egg-shaped National Centre for the Performing Arts (where the grand opening was held on October 9 for the first time in BMF history). It even extended to the Great Wall north of Beijing (specifically, the Wall’s Shuiguan section).

To read more, click here.