NEW!
We are very pleased to announce that rising-star American conductor John Devlin has joined our distinguished roster. Devlin is an energetic force in the classical music world, winning broad acclaim for inventive performances embraced as “powerhouses of unstoppable momentum … that bring sold-out houses to their feet, cheering.” (Washington Post) Devlin is already known as an innovator of concert design, an ardent champion of American music, and a proponent of cross-genre collaborations. The newly appointed Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Devlin is only the ninth conductor in its 90-year history to hold that title and, at 33, is one of the nation’s youngest music directors to lead a professional symphony orchestra. He has held important positions with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Princeton Symphony, and worked with Christoph Eschenbach, Gianandrea Noseda and Rossen Milanov, among others. Devlin has created such forward-looking concepts as Gourmet Symphony and Go-Go Symphony, and in addition to the National Symphony and Princeton Symphony, has given performances with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and the American Repertory Ballet, among others. Of his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Joshua Bell, Anne Midgette of The Washington Post wrote that Devlin “led the evening with flair… and was visibly in his element.” More…
NEW!
We are very pleased to announce that American pianist Sean Chen, a “thoughtful musician well beyond his years” (The Republic) has joined our distinguished roster. Sean Chen is hailed as a rising star with a “million-volt smile” and a “formidable set of fingers” (Dallas Morning News). An American performer of tremendous depth who is also a composer and arranger, Chen’s powerful triple-play has already earned him three high-profile awards and an impressive following. In 2013 Chen won the American Pianists Association’s DeHaan Classical Fellowship, one of the most lucrative and significant prizes available to an American pianist. As the first American to reach the finals of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition since 1997, he went on to win the Bronze Medal in 2013, and then became the 2015 recipient of the $100,000 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship. Acclaimed for his “penetrating artistic intellect” (Audiophile Audition) and “ravishing tone and cogently contoured lines” (Gramophone), the young American pianist has already appeared as soloist on return engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, made debuts with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra at the Kimmel Center and with the orchestras of Milwaukee, Phoenix, Hartford, Santa Fe, Tucson, North Carolina, San Diego, the New West Symphony and many others in the U.S. and South America (in an extensive concerto repertoire). A collaborative artist, Sean Chen is held in high esteem by such conductors as Gerard Schwarz, who spoke of his Bartok Concerto #2 as “stupendous”. More…
NEW!
We are very pleased to welcome Colin Carr, the internationally acclaimed cellist, to the Jonathan Wentworth Associates roster. The complete artist, Colin Carr is renowned for his concerto appearances with symphonies worldwide, his many distinguished recordings, his landmark performances of the complete Bach Suites and his long-standing commitment to the chamber music repertoire. Acclaimed for performances that are “unfailingly musical, logically thought through and convincingly argued” (New York Times) he has appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the symphonies of Chicago, Los Angeles, Montréal, and more. He is currently on a widely celebrated tour of the Bach cello suites through Asia and North America. “His supreme technique gives him the freedom to hold together long complicated phrases that many more mortal cellists can’t manage without breaking their arcs. And with his bouncy, jig-like ebullience, Carr is better than anybody in the final Gigues”. (Boston Musical Intelligencer) More…
BILLBOARD BRAVO!
AS ONE has debuted at #3 on Billboard Traditional Classical Albums chart. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, Bright Shiny Things has released AS ONE [BSTC-0127], the premiere recording of the highly acclaimed 75-minute chamber opera for mezzo-soprano, baritone, and string quartet. The CD features the original cast that premiered the work at BAM: Sasha Cooke, Kelly Markgraf and the Fry Street Quartet. Commissioned by American Opera Projects from composer Laura Kaminsky and librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed, AS ONE chronicles the experiences of a transgender person as she emerges into harmony with herself and the world around her. Following its BAM premiere in 2014, AS ONE has become the most produced new opera in North America (Opera America). Jonathan Wentworth Associates is proud to tour the new American Opera Projects production of AS ONE. In a comprehensive review Gramophone cites the “radiant performance” of the artists, and the Fry Street Quartet’s “elegance and subtlety” while calling the CD “A remarkable achievement.” More…
“brilliant arrangements, exuberantly performed”
Montreal’s cutting-edge classical string band, collectif9 combines the power of an orchestra with the crispness of a chamber ensemble. collectif9 performs in concert halls, clubs and varied spaces, attracting diverse and new audiences. Known for energized, innovative arrangements of classical repertoire, their performances employ lights, staging, and amplification more commonly seen at rock acts, and the audience enjoys a genre-bending classical performance. collectif9 is on a mission to bring this exciting repertoire to new audiences and revels in the “sheer joy in playing great music with full commitment”. In concert from Vancouver to Los Angeles and San Francisco to Shanghai “Their eagerness to break the mold while upholding the highest performance standards make collectif9 a model for 21st century classical music ensembles. [Oregon Arts Watch] We are proud to collaborate with Latitute 45 Arts to bring collectif9 on tour in the U.S. More…
For Selected Dates:
Stellar pianist Olga Kern joins the Dalí Quartet for selected dates on tour through 2021. The Cliburn Gold Medal-winning pianist and the Dalí — well-known for Classical Roots, Latin Soul — will perform major piano quintets this season on tour from British Columbia to Southern California and on into the Midwest. Next season, selected concert dates are available for programs that include a choice of the towering Shostakovich piano quintet and the beloved Brahms quintet, as well as the Dvorak and Schumann quintet — all paired with a variety of exciting Latin and Classical quartet repertoire. “Together, theirs was an eager, thunderous performance.” KC Studio More…
Acclaimed cellist Amit Peled joins the Fischoff winning Fry Street Quartet for performances of the great Schubert two-cello quintet. Selected 2020/21 season dates are available. Peled, cited by the American Record Guide as having “the flair of the young Rostropovich” will join the Fry Street Quartet, cited for its “technical precision and scorching spontaneity” in The Strad and hailed as “a triumph of ensemble playing” by the New York Times. The program is drawn from Vienna’s rich masterworks: Mozart’s delightful G Major quartet K. 387, followed by the haunting and passionate 3rd quartet of Alban Berg from 1910, straddling the end of romanticism and the beginning of the 20th century. The Cello Quintet in C was written in the last year of Schubert’s short life, and remains one of the most sublime works of art ever created.
Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux embarks on a new project with Billboard’s top-selling violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. These two internationally acclaimed artists join forces on tour to offer exciting programs featuring works of Bach, Paganini, Corigliano, Bartok, Falla, Glass, Ciupinski, Jobím, Duke Ellington and more. Their duo debut at the Green Music Center received two rave reviews, including these comments in Strings Magazine: “By this point, the audience had grown accustomed to Vieaux’s flawless and seemingly effortless technique. That did not, however, make it any less extraordinary. It was also here that Meyers demonstrated her prowess as a “vocal” musician, making use of texture and vibrato to color her playing as a singer would.” Read the full review Following their terrific performance at the Eastern Music Festival (where Jason also gave Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with conductor Jose-Luis Novo) the Classical Voice of North Carolina reports that Meyers “wowed the audience” and that “Vieaux is a complete master of the guitar”. Performing John Corigliano’s ‘Lullaby for Natalie’, which was written for Ms. Meyers, the critic also had this to say: “This is indeed a gorgeous piece and a marvelously intimate arrangement….The gentle performance completely mesmerized the audience.” More about Jason Vieaux
Christopher Taylor celebrates the Beethoven 250th anniversary during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons with performances of the Franz Liszt transcriptions of all the Beethoven 9 Symphonies. Individual works are available, as is the entire set. “What is remarkable is not that it makes the piano sound like an orchestra but that the reduction really sounds like piano music — on a grand scale, but pianistic nevertheless” writes the Boston Musical Intelligencer, which continues: “The way this version of a symphony that everyone knows and loves could best succeed is with dancelike lightness and momentum, and Taylor managed that feature completely, with unfailing and often effortless energy.”
Nordic Voices and the Gryphon Trio join forces for selected dates in a program that includes the newly commissioned work by acclaimed Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan for piano trio and six voices. In this fascinating concert program, audiences will hear the “ringing, clear timbres and impressive blend” of Nordic Voices and the “virtuosity” of the Gryphon Trio [Gramophone] in Ryan’s new work, Scar Tissue, which features the haunting words of Giller Prize winning poet Michael Redhill. Works from the piano trio and from the Voices, including Gesualdo and Victoria, intensify the scene. More…
32 Bright Clouds: Beethoven Conversations Around the World is the creation of pianist Yael Weiss. This global music-commissioning and performing project is born from a need to respond to current social and political environments in the US and worldwide with a personally meaningful and purposeful musical endeavor. Thirty-two newly commissioned short piano works are brought to the stage in performance alongside Beethoven’s cycle of 32 Piano Sonatas. The new works are commissioned from composers in 32 different countries, focusing primarily on countries of conflict and unrest where creative efforts often face insurmountable challenges. More…
Conductor Robert Franz has added the role of Artistic Advisor of Boise Baroque to his busy schedule. The 2019/20 season will include a collaboration with Opera Idaho for a focus on Handel’s Acis and Galatea. Music Director of the Windsor Symphony and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Franz also serves as Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony. He is busy as a guest conductor whose recent and upcoming engagements include The Buffalo Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, the Baltimore, Phoenix and St. Louis Symphonies, and the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina in Italy. A dedicated music educator, advocate for arts education, winner of awards for musical excellence and champion of community partnerships, Franz celebrates his 10th anniversary with the Houston Symphony this year and has been honored as the first member of the Houston Symphony conducting staff with the Raphael Fliegel Award for Visionary Leadership. Press Release. Read more…
The American Opera Projects production of AS ONE is now available on tour. This winning coming-of-age story on a transgender theme is for two singers and quartet by Laura Kaminsky, with librettist Mark Campbell and filmmaker & librettist Kimberly Reed. The mezzo-soprano and baritone depict the experiences of the sole transgender protagonist, Hannah, as she endeavors to resolve the discord between her self and the outside world. Premiered at BAM with the Fry Street Quartet, Sasha Cooke and Kelly Markgraf, the New York Times hails AS ONE for its “winning humor” and “satisfying emotional arc.” And the Los Angeles Times notes: “The real secret of the opera’s success… is that under everything lays a winning coming-of-age story.” The original cast recording of AS ONE was released during the June 2019 Pride events in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Video. More…
Award-winning violinist Eunice Kim spent a week as soloist with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in September. Spanning seven concerts in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Stillwater and beyond, Eunice performed the Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso to cheering audiences and great critical acclaim: “Kim gave it all the flair and flamboyance one could desire, with flashy fast fingerings and blinding bowings. Everyone on stage looked as if they were having a great time, and the crowd seemed to, as well, judging from the immediate standing ovation accorded the performance.” (St. Paul Pioneer Press/TwinCities.com) Full Review. This follow-up to her Beethoven Romance with the SPCO last season showcased again her unique voice and commanding presence. Kim has been proclaimed “just superb” by The New York Times and “a born performer” by Epoch Times. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Astral Award-winning violinist has been featured soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Louisville Symphony, the Seongnam Philharmonic and the Bakersfield Symphony, among others. With the Albany Symphony, she recorded George Tsontakis’s Unforgettable, now released on Naxos Records. More…
Everybody Wants to Rule the World!– the latest from Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux and virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Julien Labro on accordina. This live performance of the epochal new wave hit by Tears for Fears gets a jazzy turn by these two masters of arrangement and improvisation. “We always try to pick repertoire from different genres, things that you might not expect our combination of instruments to play,” says Julien. And for the Piazzolla lovers, the duo’s arrangement of Escualo with Julien on accordion has been personalized a bit, “we’ve come up with a version that touches on Reggae and a little Beyoncé.” More…
Acclaimed violinist Mark Kaplan’s much anticipated 2-CD set of complete solo Bach is released on the Bridge label. Praise for Kaplan’s “extraordinary lyricism” quickly followed. “It is as if every note, every phrase of these monumental works has something to say to Kaplan and, in turn, he has something to say to you about them.” [ArtMusicLounge] Kaplan, who plays a 1685 Stradivarius, is sought after for his Bach performances and lectures at venues as diverse as Indiana University, UCLA, New York’s Bargemusic, Oxford University and the Philharmonie in Cologne. Kaplan enjoys a wide and varied career as a soloist, chamber musician and distinguished educator. He has performed with nearly every major orchestra in the principal cities of Europe, North America, the Far East and Australia. He tours worldwide and records with the Weiss-Kaplan-Stumpf Trio, exploring the masterworks of the piano trio repertoire as well as new works by Lera Auerbach, Fred Lerdahl and others. Kaplan’s previous recordings include violin concerti of Paganini, Wieniawski, Bartok, Dohnanyi, Nono, Lalo, Berg and Stravinsky with such esteemed ensembles as the London Symphony and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Read more.
NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts series features Jason Vieaux & Yolanda Kondonassis, guitar & harp. The duo gives lushly detailed performances of gorgeous new works in a twenty-minute live presentation behind Bob Boylen’s desk. Hear Jason & Yolanda create a compelling unity from their two instruments on NPR Music’s iconic and eclectic Tiny Desk series.
Azica Records has released Together, the new CD from Yolanda Kondonassis & Jason Vieaux. The gorgeous CD is comprised entirely of original works for harp and guitar including two world premieres of works commissioned by Jason and Yolanda: Knock on Wood, by Keith Fitch, and Hypnotized, by Gary Schocker. Hear the interview and samples from WRCJ Detroit.