Browsing: Violin

Violinist Tiffany Yeung spent the 2023 summer touring with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, as the soloist for Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D major. This opportunity was a part of her win of the Michael Measures Prize, a recorded competition that recognizes a promising young musician participating in the NYO summer program. Named one of “CBC music’s 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30” in 2023, Yeung has established herself as an emerging artist to watch this year. Of the three pieces she recorded for the competition, Yeung was especially familiar with the Sarasate Carmen Fantasy, which she first…

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Violinist Guillaume Villeneuve does not see his instrument as a tool with which to produce sound, but rather emotion. Aiming to connect with his audience at any opportunity, Villeneuve seeks to tell the stories behind the music he plays. “Music is about taking risks,” he said. Thus far, these risks have paid off for the up-and-coming artist. Winning Discovery of the Year category at this year’s Opus Prize ceremony was well deserved after his immense success in the 2022-23 season. Villeneuve said the prize has been “very important” for his career development, and is especially poignant considering “many, many musicians”…

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Dominated by brass, reeds and drum kits, string instruments have never figured prominently in the world of jazz music. With the exception of the double bass, other bowed instruments are not heard that much in more conventional forms of jazz, free improvised music being somewhat more accommodating to them. If cellists and violists are seen or heard rarely, violinists have had the most exposure in jazz  settings. Pioneering figures like Eddie South and Joe Venuti held their ground in the era of classic jazz, as did Europeans Stéphane Grappelli and Svend Asmussen and, more recently, consummate fiddlers such as Jean-Luc…

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How do you top a musical program of a world premiere paired with two classical warhorses? You add a star soloist from violin royalty. This week’s program is true to music director Gustavo Gimeno’s vision for the TSO’s centennial to introduce new commissions along with the familiar. The TSO commission and world premiere entitled “Hwa (Flowering)” is a new work from its own Affiliate Composer, the young Alison Yun-Fei Jiang. Jiang wrote this piece as a tribute to her grandmother and all the women who shaped her life. She describes the piece as a musical painting, an orchestral canvas on…

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Montreal, May 5, 2023 – Violinist Dmytro Udovychenko from Ukraine has been awarded the Grand Prize of the Violin 2023 edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM). Demonstrating a remarkable mastery of technique and brilliant musicality, violinist Dmytro Udovychenko distinguished himself in the Final, and throughout the 2023 Violin Edition. The Grand Prize winner of Violin 2023 was also recognized by special prizes. The Final took place on the evenings of May 3 and 4 at the Maison symphonique, as six finalists performed a concerto of their choice with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), the official orchestra…

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Montreal, April 30, 2023 – Following a closely contested Semifinal, the names of the six finalists of  the Violin edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) were announced this  evening in Bourgie Hall. Emotions were palpable as the jury, chaired by Richard Rodzinski, revealed  the results. The 12 semifinalists of Violin 2023 gave us an extremely high-level competition featuring  a succession of memorable performances. Since April 25, 24 violin virtuosos from 11 different countries have been vying to rise through the ranks of this prestigious Montreal competition. Chaired by Richard Rodzinski, the international jury is comprised of: Koichiro…

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Twenty-four young violinists dazzled us with their talent, their virtuosity, and their musical artistry, over the course of the First Round of the 2023 Violin Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM), which took place on April 25, 26, and 27. Following the conclusion of this first stage of the competition, the jury has selected twelve Semifinalists. Here are the 12 violinists selected for the Semifinal, in order of appearance: Saturday, April 29, 2023, 2 pm 1. Dmytro UDOVYCHENKO (Ukraine) | pianist: Francis Perron 2. Nathan MELTZER (United States) | pianist: Umi Garrett 3. Michael SHAHAM (Israel) | pianist: Jinhee Park Saturday, April 29, 2023,…

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Fauré: Après un rêve / Lalo: Espérance María Dueñas, violin; Itamar Golan, piano Deutsche Grammophon (2022-23) No stranger to Canada, María Dueñas made her mark in Montreal at the age of 16, as a contestant in the 2019 CMIM Violin edition. Not long thereafter, she performed a prize-winning interpretation of Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole at the Menuhin Competition and landed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. She continues to receive invitations to play with leading orchestras, including the TSO. To the sheer delight of audiences in Toronto, Ottawa, New York and Chicago, her fiery performances of the Symphonie Espagnole this…

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