Violinist.com

The Week in Reviews, Op. 561: Gabriela Lara, Himari, Karen Gomyo

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:55:42 GMT

By Laurie Niles: In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.

Violinist Gabriela Lara. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Gabriela Lara performed Samuel Coleridge-Taylor�s Violin Concerto with the Grant Park Orchestra and Kedrick Armstrong.

Chicago Classical Review: "Lara proved a fantastic solo presence in both bombastic passages and less flashy moments of dialogue with the orchestra. "

Himari performed Mozart�s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons at Tanglewood.

Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Her tone shimmered throughout. Arpeggios and scalar figures cascaded over the supple orchestral strings, and the dance rhythms lilted zestfully. Everything felt in ideal balance, yet the young violinist pushed her part right up to the edge."

Karen Gomyo performed Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Cleveland Orchestra and Semyon Bychkov at Blossom Music Center.

EarRelevent: "Karen Gomyo�s performance was extraordinary. Her bow control was impeccable, producing an unusually pure tone free from the incidental noises that often accompany even excellent violin playing. Her sound possessed both power and lyricism, and every technical challenge appeared effortless."

Joshua Bell performed Bruch�s Scottish Fantasy with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons at Tanglewood.

Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Throughout, Bell played with effective and expressive feeling, moderating vibrato to convey a sense of genuine emotion marked by pastoral candor and frugal living."
Colin's Column: "Superbly played by Bell, too, relishing the virtuosity needed and serving the lovely melodies with affection and rich tone from his �Huberman� Strad..."

Leonidas Kavakos performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Paavo J�rvi at the BBC Proms.

The Guardian: "The Greek violinist�s exceptional dexterity and pinpoint intonation at the very top of the range made light of fiendish passagework that has foxed some of the finest."
Thoroughly Good: "Hold my feet to the fire and I�d say it was the soloist who led, directed, and in places commanded. The character was manic, lovable and sometimes beguiling."

Alena Baeva performed Korngold's Violin Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Delyana Lazarova at the BBC Proms.

Bach Track: "The tone for this delivery is set from the very first bars and for Alena Baeva delicacy and refinement were the name of the game."
Broadway World: "Her playing is intuitive, but also profound, with an inherent musicality that is captivating to watch and hear."

Daniel Lozakovich performed Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 with Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Omer Meir Wellber.

Bach Track: "From his solo entry...the Swedish violinist displayed personality aplenty. In the first movement, rubatos and portamentos signalled a mature player happy to respond to the moment and he frequently turned towards the orchestra, participating in the musical dialogue."

Cellist Zatomir Fung performed Tchaikovsky�s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Emmanuel Tjeknavorian at the Hollywood Bowl.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "Zlatomir Fung, the first American in four decades to win First Prize in the cello division of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, clearly knows this work and its style intimately, and gave a light, youthful performance that suited the decorative Rococo spirit."

Sergey Khachatryan performed Bruch�s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia and Eduard Topchjan ib a tour of the cities of Meghri, Kapan, and Goris.

Arka News Agency: "The tour marked an important cultural event for the Syunik Province, giving local audiences the rare opportunity to experience performances by world-class musicians and to enjoy masterpieces of the classical repertoire performed by one of Armenia�s foremost orchestras."

Please support live music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can! You might also like:

V.com weekend vote: What size violin did you start on?

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 05:52:30 GMT

By Laurie Niles: One nice thing about violins is that they come in a lot of sizes. A four-year-old who begins piano lessons will have to wait for years until his or her hand grows large enough to reach intervals such as an octave. But a four-year-old can comfortably navigate a 1/16-size violin.

Smaller violins have been around for hundreds of years, and even Stradivari was thought to have made a few violins that would be considered 3/4-size today. Starting as young as he did, Mozart had a fractional violin - but this was a rarity in the 18th century. Fractional violins became more common -- and more standardized -- in the last century, especially with the advent of the Suzuki method, with its emphasis on early childhood learning. Of course, if you started as an adult, you likely started on a full-size violin. But not necessarily! A petite-size adult might choose a smaller violin. It's been a while since I was a beginner, but I recall starting on a 1/2-size violin, just shy of my ninth birthday. What size violin did you start on? If you started super-young you can't vote for a "Cracker-Jack box" but you can mention it in the comments, as well as your age! You might also like:

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Petition Demands Transparency in RCM Sexual Abuse Investigation

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 01:46:18 GMT

By Laurie Niles: With this week's release by Interlochen Center for the Arts of an exhaustive, 97-page report documenting reported sexual abuse at its educational institution in the past, the issue of transparency is once again in the forefront. Why is it important that the results of such an investigation be made public? Because when an institution keeps sexual misconduct allegations secret, history repeats itself. Implicated sexual predators are released with a clean slate, free to go elsewhere and repeat their behavior. Institutions fail to change policies that led to sexual abuse. And victims are denied both justice and remedy. To that end, violinist Lara St John, along with her brother, violinist and violist Scott St John, and pianists Lusiana Lukman and Jonathan Biss, have started a petition demanding that the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto commit to publishing the results of a third-party investigation into historical sexual abuse at RCM that it initiated in May. If you wish to sign the petition, find it here. Personal experience, coupled with years of advocating for victims of sexual abuse, led to the creation of the petition. St John's recent documentary "Dear Lara" explores sexual abuse and its repercussions in the classical music world, starting with Lara's personal experience as a 14-year-old student at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. And Lukman wrote in the Toronto Star about her own personal experience of sexual abuse at The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) in Toronto when she was 15.

Clockwise: Lara St John, Lusiana Lukman, Jonathan Biss and Scott St John.

In the petition, the four musicians commend RCM for commissioning the investigation, but ask them "to make an unequivocal commitment to publish the findings of the investigation they have commissioned." "When leadership is committed to change, then change happens. Otherwise, the status quo is maintained, and the crimes of staff members past and present continue to be shielded from public scrutiny," the petition says. "Reports that go unpublished serve no purpose other than to allow the leadership to announce that action was taken, even if the action has no impact. On Tuesday, Lara St John weighed in on Facebook about Interlochen's report, saying that "I applaud the administration of Interlochen for commissioning this report....I am glad they made the investigation public, yet that cheer is tempered somewhat by the knowledge that Interlochen is protected by the primordial statute of limitations in Michigan for sexual abuse of a child." The report actually may have drawn attention to the statute of limitations - a Michigan state representative promised Wednesday to reintroduce the "Justice for Survivors" bill package, House Bills 6047-6051, which "would create a one-year 'revival window' allowing survivors whose civil claims have expired to file lawsuits. It also would extend the civil statute of limitations to age 48," according to WDIV Local 4/ClickOnDetroit. "It's a beginning," St John wrote of Interlochen's report, "and I am enheartened to see an institution trying hard to do the right thing." Further reading:

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For the Record, Op. 393: Ning Feng; Anna Larson; Chase Spruill

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:47:16 GMT

By Laurie Niles: Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening! Click on the highlighted links to obtain each album or learn more about the artists.

Violinist Ning Feng. Photo by Tianye Dong.

Mozart Complete Violin Concertos Ning Feng, violin Potsdam Kammerakademie, Suyeon Kang

Tell Me a Story Anna Larson, violin Kaden Larson, piano Consonari ensemble

Philip Glass: Evening Song No. 3 Chase Spruill, violin

Philip Glass: Evening Song No.3 by Philip Glass, Chase Spruill You might also like:

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Report Outlines Decades of Sexual Abuse at Interlochen

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 23:01:06 GMT

By Laurie Niles: An external investigation has detailed dozens of accounts of sexual abuse over decades at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Released on Tuesday, the report suggests a horrifying, systemic atmosphere of abuse and lack of accountability in the past at Interlochen, with 70 firsthand accounts from former students reporting sexual abuse by 47 adults formerly affiliated with Interlochen, starting in the 1950s and going through the 2010s, with most occurring before 2000.

In an extensive online letter addressed to the Interlochen community on Tuesday, President Trey Devey and Board Chair Barrett Rollins stated none of the accused "are currently employed by Interlochen." Interlochen was started in 1928 as a summer camp and then opened as a year-round academy in September 1962. Today's Interlochen Arts Academy includes about 580 high school students, most who live on campus. There is also a summer program that attracts more than 3,000 students, grades 3 through 12, from around the world. Starting in September 2024, the Sanghavi Law Office of Brookline, Mass. was engaged by Interlochen and its Board of Trustees to conduct a "external, neutral, and independent investigation into historical reports of sexual abuse by faculty and staff at Interlochen." The firm conducted some 180 interviews with former Interlochen students and staff. As the report says on its fifth page: "The information gathered during this investigation is, simply, devastating." To read the entire 97-page report, click here. To go Interlochen's support page, which provides a summary as well as numerous resources for victims, click here. Many of those resources also are linked at the end of this post. The investigation documented a range of reported behavior by adults affiliated with Interlochen, including Academy and Camp faculty, residential life staff and camp counselors, visiting artists, and board members. The investigators "did not determine whether the conduct occurred as reported." That behavior ranged "from inappropriate comments and violations of professional boundaries to egregious acts of sexual abuse or violence by adults employed by or affiliated with Interlochen." Most of the sexual misconduct documented occurred before 2000, and more than a third of the 47 alleged perpetrators identified in the report are deceased. When it comes to those who are still living, Interlochen has reported "all individuals accused of misconduct to the Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney�s Office and the Grand Traverse County Sheriff�s Office, which will determine if there is a viable pathway to prosecution." At the same time, the exhaustive nature of the investigation itself, with its report available to the public, also points to a cultural shift for the better at Interlochen, with a considerable commitment by the current institution to uncover the wrongdoing, to listen to and help past victims, and to create a safer environment for current and future students. Interlochen also is taking steps to dis-affiliate from individuals whom they identified by name. The most notorious, of course, is Jeffrey Epstein. who was a donor to Interlochen from 1990 to 2003. Epstein mentioned multiple times in the report, which says that "two (alumni) reported that Epstein engaged in physical conduct of a sexual nature with them." Epstein's donations led to the building of "Epstein Lodge" in 1990. The building was renamed "Green Lake Lodge" in 2009 after Epstein�s criminal conviction. More recently - in June - that building was demolished. Other names include a trustee as well as several faculty and administrators. On the same day that the report was issued - Tuesday - Interlochen also stripped the name off McWhorter Hall, a campus dormitory named after Charles McWhorter, who served as a trustee from 1970 to 1999. McWhorter had "two independent direct reports of sexual misconduct and multiple corroborating accounts by other alumni." Faculty member and administrator Byron Hanson was accused by seven people of misconduct. And faculty member and administrator Jack Hood, who was employed by the school from 1963 through 2004 and even had a scholarship in his name, was accused of misconduct by four people. In 2005, former arts faculty member Thomas Clower was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in relation to actions at Interlochen. The misconduct outlined in the report was often made easier by opportunity - students being alone with a faculty member at lessons, walks in the woods, faculty houses, residence hall rooms. Interlochen has promised a number of actions, including reports to law enforcement, counseling and support services, systems for reporting and investigating abuse, and community education. * * * Many people on this website have attended Interlochen, whether for its summer camp or its year-round academy, so here are some links for you. This investigation is ongoing, and if you have additional allegations of abuse at Interlochen, you can contact Elizabeth Sanghavi at elizabeth@sanghavilawoffice.com or 617-505-3010 before October. After that time, reports should go to investigation@interlochen.org> Interlochen has also set up a great deal of support. Students and alumni needing counseling support can contact Mike Riley at (469) 552-5022 or interlochen@mhradvising.org. Alumni who wish to connect with one another for support around this issue can register here for an online sessions facilitated by a counseling professional.

Interview with Violinist Curtis Stewart: Writing 24 American Caprices

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:38:07 GMT

By Laurie Niles: When violinist Curtis Stewart performed his incredibly imaginative violin caprice version of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" at the Grammys in 2022, he nearly brought the house down. People loved it. It's not an entirely new phenomenon: violinists have been arranging the popular songs of their day and creating versions for the concert stage for hundreds of years. But somehow Stewart's stood out in a special way. His caprice brought so much to the table: rhythm, vibe, melody, harmony -- and an unmistakably "American" feel. A little background: Stewart is a solo violinist, composer and Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra. A lifelong New Yorker, he is also a professor at The Juilliard School, and member of award-winning ensembles including the PUBLIQuartet and The Mighty Third Rail. His recordings have received seven nominations for Grammy Awards.

Violinist Curtis Stewart

"Isn't She Lovely" turned out to be the jumping-off point for a major creative project for Stewart, his 24 American Caprices. He wrote them in the tradition of virtuoso caprices such as those by Paganini, with the twist that they draw on Stewart's modern American experience and lifetime playlist for inspiration. BELOW: Playlist of 24 American Caprices by Curtis Stewart, in order. Scroll to bottom of story for a full list of the caprices and inspirations. The caprices reflect Stewart's wide-ranging musical tastes, drawing on the music of diverse genres and well-known popular artists such as Dolly Parton, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Billy Strayhorn, Nina Simone, Wayne Shorter, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Joni Mitchell, Oscar Peterson and others. Stewart's recording of the caprices was released last month, featuring performances by himself as well as violinists Tai Murray, Deborah Buck, Melissa White, Njioma Grevious and Rub�n Rengel.

Violinists Curtis Stewart and Njioma Grevious.

The recording also includes performances by seven students he has mentored at The Juilliard School, Special Music School and Perlman Music Program. And if you happen to be inspired to play any of these caprices, the sheet music is also available. (See the bottom of this article for sheet music links to each Caprice.) I spoke with Stewart about writing the Caprices - his creative impulse, his compositional process and what kinds of techniques he explores in these virtuosic works. Please enjoy our conversation! Laurie: How long did it take you to write the 24 American Caprices? Curtis: I have been working on these caprices since about 2019 - the first to be written was "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and "Hymn to Freedom," followed by "Isn't She Lovely" in 2020, and "Thalssaki" in 2022. The others I wrote over two years from 2024 through mid-2025 while I was in residence with The Kaufman Center in New York City. BELOW: Stewart's improvisation on "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder, which became his Caprice #6. He also performed a version of this at the 2022 Grammy Awards Laurie: Which was the first Caprice that you wrote, and what inspired you to do it? Curtis: Initially, I was inspired to create improvised versions of the Paganini Caprices, which I explored with electronics on a previous album OF POWER. From OF POWER, Stewart's improvisation on Paganini Caprice No. 11: (the serious experimentation starts around 2:08) Then I thought, why not create Paganini-inspired works based on music I know and love � music that has shaped my American ear. I love the idea of varying forms of virtuosity, from faster/louder/higher to using electronics and video in novel and intricate ways - these caprices were meant to fill out my solo programs with acoustic moments balanced with the amplified bits. Laurie: How did you pick the songs that you used? Have you talked to any of the artists about your take on their song - or have they spoken to you? If so, what did they say? Curtis: Each song feels essential to my own American musical experience - there is no time when I can remember NOT knowing Take the A Train (which inspired Caprice #17), for example. Or in the case of Kendrick Lamar's Complexion (Caprice #11), that album "To Pimp a Butterfly" was on repeat for the entirety of 2015 and beyond. I would love to meet one of the inspirations for these caprices and see what they think! Laurie: Anyone who has played their violin at a wedding (or funeral) has probably been faced with playing a pop tune and perhaps finding it "too easy" or maybe even "lacking in material," just the same chorus over and over. Obviously, you found WAY more than that to create very substantive pieces based on pops tunes. Can you tell me about that? Curtis: I had to leave many songs on the cutting room floor. The songs I used all had rhythmic underpinnings or a technical facet that I could see in multiple permutations and combinations, unfolding into a through composed work for solo violin. I could hear how the violin took up the energetic space of the whole band or track of the original material. If I couldn't find material to bend and break, or if the violin really didn't capture the energy of the original, I let that song go. Many times, I start by transcribing a loose version of the drum track and setting that for the violin, using various violin techniques to bring energy and color, capturing the vibe of the snare, kick and hihat primarily. From there, some of the caprices unfolded much like a Bach prelude: the initial figuration was set and available for realization through a set of new chord changes with rhythmic and melodic diversions interrupting the repetitive figures. Laurie: What was your compositional process? Did you improvise and then write down what you liked? Record it? Write out music by hand? On a computer? Curtis: At first I brainstormed with improvisation on the material, until I found figuration that felt exciting and engaging. From there, I recorded phrase by phrase � most times phraselet by phraselet � into Ableton to create harmonic nuance and textural interruptions. Once I had a first draft, I edited transitions and potentially added an introduction or fly-in material from the end to the beginning for formal clarity, etc. From there, I transcribed what I had written, and added as many markings as I could so a first-time reader of the music could catch the spirit for the music-making pre-notation, which is really just an estimate of the musical impulse that was crystallized through the process. Laurie: You work with students, and a number of them are featured on the album. Caprices have historically been written for pedagogical purposes. Is there a component of teaching or pedagogy to your caprices? Curtis: I tried to attack a different technical aspect in each caprice, like harmonics in #18 "Taps," double-stop grooves in #8 "Shake It Off," or barriolage in #10 "Big Yellow Taxi." BELOW: Caprice #4, inspired by Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind: Laurie: These all sound very virtuosic! If someone wanted to play one (or all!!) of these caprices, which would be the best to start with? What techniques are needed? Is there an order to them, in terms of playability? Curtis: A good start might be #9, inspired by Oscar Peterson's Hymn to Freedom. Modern Love (#1) or Amazing Grace (#19) might be good follow ups, they have a lot of the general rhythmic techniques that set the violinist up for the other more complex caprices. Laurie: What is most stylistically challenging about playing your Caprices? Curtis: I would hope that the stylistic challenge is relying on the player's ear and feeling for the original inspirational material. The player can listen to the studio recording of the violin version, my home draft recording of the initial composition/rough mock-up, and the original inspiration. I hope players look for vocal inflection of the singer, the rhythmic drive and attitude of a drum set player and the flow of a bass player. There is a grit and edginess to the music with tons of moments for singing lines that most likely have a blues influence, so listening to how singers shape a phrase with portamenti and articulation is essential. * * * If you are interested in playing one or more of Curtis Stewart's 24 American Caprices, you purchase the complete set by clicking here. You also can get each one individually for $5. Below are all the caprices, listed with the song that inspired each one. Click on the highlighted name of the Caprice to find the sheet music purchase page. Curtis Stewart's 24 American Caprices, inspired by... 1. David Bowie: Modern Love - A major 2. Dolly Parton: 9 to 5 - F# major 3. John Coltrane: Giant Steps - B Major 4. Bob Dylan: Blowing in the Wind - A major 5. Earth Wind and Fire: September - F# minor 6. Stevie Wonder: Isn�t She Lovely - D major 7. Queen Latifah: U.N.I.T.Y. - A minor 8. Taylor Swift: Shake it Off - G Major 9. Oscar Peterson: Hymn to Freedom - C major 10. Joni Mitchell: Big Yellow Taxi - E Major 11. Kendrick Lamar: Complexion - Bb Major 12. Tito Puente / Celia Cruz: Oye C�mo Va - D major 13. Donny Hathaway: This Christmas - F major 14. James Weldon Johnson: Lift Every Voice and Sing - D major 15. Sister Rosetta Tharpe: This Train - Bb Major 16. Elektra Kurtis / Greek Traditional: Thalassaki Mou - E minor 17. Billy Strayhorn: Take the A Train - C Major 18. Daniel Butterfeild: Taps - G major 19. John Newton: Amazing Grace - A Major 20. Nina Simone: Young Gifted and Black - Eb major 21. Janet Jackson: Doesn't Really Matter - F major 22. Duke Ellington/ Ella Fitzgerald: Mood Indigo - Ab major 23. Wayne Shorter: Infant Eyes - Bb major 24. Aretha Franklin: Rock Steady - Db minor You might also like:

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 560: Augustin Hadelich; Viano String Quartet; Mar�a Due�as

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:34:37 GMT

Violinist Augustin Hadelich. Photo by Suxiao Yang.

Augustin Hadelich performed Mozart�s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons at Tanglewood. Musicians wore red flowers in support of Nelsons.

Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Throughout, Hadelich�s tone in the upper register hung in the air like sunrays, the sound gradually taking on body as the line unfolded."
The Berkshire Eagle: "Winding up his 2025-26 artist-in-residence season with the BSO, Augustin Hadelich � a self-effacing but charming presence � tucked into Mozart�s Violin Concerto No. 5 with relish, even interpolating six (!) of his own cadenzas with contemporary twists and flair that freshened this familiar work"

The Viano String Quartet performed Sir Stephen Hough's "Les Noces Rouges" with pianist Stephen Hough at Music@Menlo.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "Imagine a drunken sleigh ride across the Russian steppes that reaches its grisly climax when a bride and groom are pitched out into the snow and killed by wolves. British Australian composer Sir Stephen Hough came across the wrenching tale in Nebraska writer Willa Cather�s 1918 novel, �My �ntonia.� He was so struck by it that he transmuted the story into a passionate and cunningly constructed piano quintet."

Maria Due�as and pianist Eric Lu performed a recital of sonatas by Schubert, Mozart and Brahms at the Aspen Music Festival.

The Aspen Times: "...violinist Maria Due�as and Eric Lu, two of the hottest young soloists, got through sonatas by Schubert, Mozart and Brahms without incident, but somehow never quite found the music�s essence. Better was the encore, a lovely arrangement of Richard Strauss�s song 'Morgen.'"

Maria Wloszczowska performed and directed Mozart's Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and a strings with pianist Christian Ihle Hadland and the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Bach Track: "This was not only a delight but a serious work of art....Despite Mendelssohn�s enthusiastic orchestration, the focus was necessarily on the two soloists who sounded at times as though they were engaged in a concert of chamber music which had unexpectedly found itself surrounded by an orchestra."

Arnaud Sussman, Bella Hristova, Kristin Lee and Chad Hoopes performed Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" at Music@Menlo.

EarRelevant: "Arnaud Sussman was commanding in his performance of 'Spring'; Bella Hristova gave a muscular rendition of 'Summer'; Kristin Lee�s 'Autumn' was gleeful and playful; and Chad Hoopes dazzled in 'Winter.'"
Classical Voice America: "The playing epitomized the axiom: make old new again."

Please support live music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can! You might also like:

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V.com weekend vote: How much do you feel you can afford to pay for a set of strings?

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 23:20:55 GMT

By Laurie Niles: This week the German-based string company Pirastro announced the release of a string set aimed at affordability, selecting some of its most popular strings for set that maximizes quality while offering a reasonable price point. Global inflation certainly has hit the world of violin, viola, cello and bass strings, affecting the prices of premium string lines in all brands, particularly in strings that contain precious metals such as silver and gold. (And in fact, some super-premium violin strings have spiked as high as nearly $500.)

How does one cope? Many of us will simply shell out more to get the string brands we know, like and trust. Or we might change the strings a little less often. Or, we might look for quality at a lower price point. How are you feeling these days about the prices of violin strings, and particularly, what do you feel willing to pay for a set? Please participate in the vote below (which is in U.S. dollars, here is a converter if you need to figure this out for Euros, Canadian $, etc.). Then let us know your thoughts about the price of strings and how you are coping. You might also like:

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For the Record, Op. 392: Sibbi Bernhardsson & Peter Tak�cs; Peter Wilson & Jennifer Kloetzel

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:34:00 GMT

Violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson and pianist Peter Tak�cs.

Beethoven�s Sonatas for Piano and Violin Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin Peter Tak�cs, piano

The Bach-Wilson Project The BrickHouse Duo Peter Wilson, violin Jennifer Kloetzel, cello

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Love Inspires Peter Wilson's Violin Descants for Bach Cello Preludes

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 16:29:11 GMT

By Laurie Niles: For violinist Peter Wilson, writing descants to all six of the Preludes to Bach's Cello Suites was a labor of love - quite literally! The first one he wrote, "Serenata," was inspired some six years ago by his soon-to-be wife, cellist Jennifer Kloetzel. The two met in high school, went their separate ways, then reconnected decades later. Inspired by hearing her practice the Bach Suites, Peter wrote a descant from Bach's G Major Prelude from Suite No. 1, then he offered it to her as wedding present. She liked it so much that it also served as the soundtrack for their wedding in 2020. And then she asked for more!

Violinist Peter Wilson and cellist Jennifer Kloetzel. Photo by Michelle Lee.

You may remember Peter as the violinist who served for 30 years at the White House under five U.S. Presidents, retiring as String Section Commander for "The President�s Own" U.S. Marine Band in 2020. It's an experience about which he is currently writing a memoir called "First Fiddle" (looking forward to that in a few years!). He also serves as Music Director of the Richmond Philharmonic and Waynesboro Symphony Orchestras in Virginia as well as Artistic Director and Conductor of the American Festival Pops Orchestra in the National Capital Region. (Incidentally, he was also my classmate at Northwestern University!) Today, Peter and Jennifer, known together as The Brickhouse Duo, release The Bach-Wilson Project, a recording which includes their performance of "Serenata" (the descant with Bach's G Major Prelude) as well as Wilson�s descants for all the Preludes. It also includes some other transcriptions by Peter, including a Bach-Beatles mashup of Here Comes the Sun for solo cello, and more. Naturally, I wanted to hear the whole story, so here is my conversation with Peter about Bach, descants, finding later-in-life love and more. And also - Peter generously has offered Violinist.com members a free PDF of the sheet music for his G Major Prelude descant; click here for that. The rest will be available for purchase on his website in the next few weeks, click here. Laurie: What is exactly is a "descant," and what piece made you sit up and notice the descant? For me, I think it was when I was a child, hearing "O� Come, All Ye Faithful" - during the "Sing Choirs of Angels" verse, I'm pretty sure those angels are singing a descant! Peter: A descant is typically an obligato melody that can be paired with a variety of other sources ranging from an arpeggiated chord progression to a full chorale or in the case of liturgical music, an existing melody and harmonies with text. As a violinist, I certainly was aware of the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria," which is a descant set to the famous text honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus, but I also became aware of descants in high school while playing violin in masses at a Catholic Church in a neighboring city to my hometown. You are right �- one of the more famous descants to a hymn is that of "O� Come, All Ye Faithful." Laurie: I noticed that the dedications for all the cello suite descants that you wrote are "for Jennifer" - is it safe to assume that, aside from J.S. Bach, Jennifer has been your inspiration for this project? How did you meet? Does she play a lot of Bach? What is the origin of your name, The BrickHouse Duo? Peter: Jennifer was indeed the inspiration for the majority of this album. When we started dating, I was hearing her playing the Bach Suites quite regularly. She is a champion of both Bach and Beethoven. Jennifer and I met in high school as part of the inaugural National High School Honors Orchestra, which was part of the MENC Convention in Anaheim, California during the spring of our senior year in high school. The orchestra was assembled with young, advanced musicians from every State in the Union, and while Jennifer represented Maryland, I represented West Virginia. We were on our respective section front stands in the orchestra and became fast friends along with a couple of others. We lost touch for well over two decades and were reconnected while Jennifer was on a radio tour to Washington, D.C. with the Cypress String Quartet, for which she served as its founding cellist. I immediately began inviting her to perform concertos with my various orchestras. I proposed to Jennifer in 2018, and we maintained our relationship even as I lived and worked in D.C. at the White House with the Marine Band while she was based in San Francisco. During the shutdown of the 2020 pandemic, the Marine Band leadership began encouraging the Band�s musicians to create video recordings of musical content for social media. I decided to record myself performing both parts to the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria." I first recorded myself playing Bach�s C Major Prelude for Keyboard on my piano, and then, using the "a cappella" app, I recorded myself performing the descant on violin. Laurie: Wait, I always thought the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria" was basically a descant on the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1. I guess I haven't been paying close attention! Is the C Major Prelude for Keyboard the same relative progression as the cello suite? Peter: No, the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria" is an original descant by Gounod overtop Bach�s C Major Prelude for Keyboard - not cello. While Gounod was the original inspiration for my idea, I really didn�t try to mimic Gounod because Bach�s chord progression in the G Major Prelude for Cello is quite different, and it has pauses and a climactic ascending line near the end, while Bach�s C Major Prelude for Keyboard is consistent 16th-note arpeggios without rhythmic variation. I also added double-stops during the final phrase, which Gounod did not include in his "Ave Maria." Soon after making the "Ave Maria" recording, I was thinking about how Jennifer had told me one of her pandemic projects was to play a movement every day from each of the Bach Cello Suites. This reminded me of my first time hearing her play Bach�s famous G Major Prelude from Suite No. 1. I reflected on how similar this Prelude was to Bach�s C Major Keyboard Prelude, I then thought that, in the spirit of Gounod, a descant might work really well with the Cello Prelude. Almost immediately, I realized that someone, somewhere must have done this already. When I checked on the internet and came up empty, I decided to compose my own descant to be paired with this G Major Prelude and that this would be my wedding present to Jennifer. Our name, The BrickHouse Duo, is after the historic brick home we own in Auburn, Nebraska, which was built in 1884. It has become a beautiful artists� retreat for us, and we try to spend as much time there as we can. I actually wrote most of my memoir ("First Fiddle," about my experience as a Marine violinist) there, and we both serve on an Arts Board in the neighboring town �- The Brownville Concert Series. Laurie: What was your compositional process? Did you improvise along with Jennifer? Or sit down with pencil and paper? Or at a computer screen? A combo? Peter: Since Jennifer and I were on opposite sides of the country, and I was grounded as a Marine, we couldn�t be together during most of the pandemic. Also, I really wanted this wedding present for Jennifer to be a bit of a surprise. So, I asked her to record herself playing Bach�s G Major Prelude from Suite No. 1, but I also asked her to repeat the first four measures, in the same way Gounod has the first four measures of Bach�s C Major Keyboard Prelude repeated � as an introduction. I then experimented by whistling or humming various possible medley descants over what she recorded. Using the Finale engraving software program, I entered all the notes of Bach�s Prelude into the computer, then created a staff for a violin part. Gradually, I added more and more notes to my violin descant. I didn�t take my violin out to play through what I wrote until I had an entire descant completed. Once I played through it along with Jennifer�s recording, I made various adjustments until I was satisfied. Then, I used the same "a cappella" app and recorded my descant overtop her Bach Prelude. I decided to name this descant and Prelude "Serenata" (for Jennifer). I then emailed the final recording to Jennifer and told her this was my wedding present to her. She loved it. We were married in a private ceremony in Washington, DC on June 20, 2020, and we even played our original recording as processional music. A year later, we reenacted the ceremony for family and friends in San Francisco, and musician friends performed the "Serenata" live as the processional music. At that time, I also added a dedication to my late nephew Timo Wilson (2000-2018) who tragically took his life at the young age of 17 after a long battle with OCD and severe anxiety. My nickname for Serenata became "Ave Timo." He was a violinist, a brilliant graffiti artist, and an avid skateboarder with many friends. Laurie: I'm so sorry for your family's loss. That is a beautiful dedication. Our creative impulses carry so much meaning, and this piece you wrote for Jennifer has come to mean so much for your family. How did the other descants come about? Peter: When Jennifer called me after hearing "Serenata" for the first time, she said, "This is wonderful; now you have to write duet parts to the other five Preludes!" Wait, what?? As it turned out, I did still have quite a bit of time on my hands, given the pandemic shutdown, so I got to work on companion violin parts to the others, composing over the next several months. Composing a duet to the D minor Prelude from Bach�s Cello Suite No. 2 seemed a bit more challenging than the first, but it was literally a labor of love. This process became quite interesting because each Prelude was very different, requiring a different approach by me. It is worth noting that I wondered at a certain point if it was appropriate for me to be even doing this. After all, Bach�s Cello Suites are masterworks. They certainly don�t need any improving. But then I remembered that Bach did this very thing with his own music, borrowing and overlapping. I rationalized in that moment that I was actually honoring his legacy -� a living violinist in dialogue with a composer three centuries gone. The descant to the Second Prelude evolved into more of a duet, weaving in and out of melody and harmony. After all, this was not an arpeggiated chord progression like that of the First Prelude. I called this second duet "Soliloquy" (for Jennifer). Right out of the gate, the Third Prelude clearly called for an equal duo part from the violin. This became "Toccata." The Fourth Prelude returned to the arpeggiated chord progression, so this inspired another true descant � "Cavatina." The opening movement to the Fifth Suite for Cello is a Prelude and Fugue. My duet part to the Prelude came fairly quickly, but I didn�t feel I could write a companion part to the fugue. Then Jennifer informed me that she booked a recording session for us and that she required that I continue writing a duet to the fugue or she would record it by herself. This was proper motivation for what would become "Lament and Hope." But I decided to skip the fugue for the time being and jump to the final Prelude � the Sixth, and this was great fun to write. It was a call and response from the outset, with a mix of descant and duo throughout, entitled "Capriccio." My deadline approached, and I managed to finally complete my duet for the Fifth Suite fugue, after a great deal of trial and error. Laurie: Have you played these live? I can imagine them working in a number of different settings. Also it will be nice to see them transcribed for the other combinations - I can also imagine sibling students playing them together... Peter: Yes, we have played these on stages and house concerts over the past few years since they were completed. We have done full concerts in which we performed perhaps only two to four of the duets, often out of order and/or spread out among other works for violin and cello. My plan is to transcribe both parts for a variety of combinations such as violin & viola, two cellos, flute & cello, etc. I�ll even try to honor requests for combinations I don�t think of! Yes, I hope siblings and other established duos will be interested in all these duos! Laurie: Do you have anything to add? Peter: Just that all told, these descants and duets total approximately 25 minutes of music, so it was important to us that we find other works by Bach or inspired by Bach to complete the album. We both heard Bach�s Four Duets for Keyboard over the radio while driving in the car together, and I thought they would yield really nice duets for us. I then recalled hearing a recording in college of violin virtuoso Ruggiero Ricci performing a Bach-Brahms work he had transcribed for two violins, recording both parts himself. When I did more research, I discovered that it was actually a keyboard "Etude" Brahms had composed, using Bach�s G minor Presto from his Sonata No. 1 for Solo Violin as the right hand on the piano while writing an original part for left hand, essentially in bass clef. I immediately decided that Brahms� left hand would make a perfect transcribed cello part � perhaps more practical than Ricci�s adaptation. A longtime fan of piano improvisor John Bayless, I thought transcribing something from his "Bach Meets the Beatles" album might be in order � and his "Penny Lane" improvisation (in the style of Bach) ended up fitting the bill perfectly. And finally, the encore to the album is a mashup I arranged for Jennifer � a solo cello work combining Bach�s G Major Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 with George Harrison�s "Here Comes the Sun," famously recorded by The Beatles. I entitled this Bach to The Beatles: Here Comes the Sun. * * * Find Peter and Jennifer's album, The Bach-Wilson Project, here. And if you have a friend in the lower strings and would like to play their duet, click here for the free PDF of the sheet music, generously offered to Violinist.com members by Peter. His musical mashup for solo cello of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" with the G Major Prelude is available here. The other arrangements will be offered in coming weeks on his website, click here. You might also like:

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