For the Record, Op. 357: Delirium Musicum, ARC Ensemble, Dudok Quartet, Mivos Quartet
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.
Cabinet of Curiosities
Etienne Gara, violin
Delirium Musicum
This new album from Etienne Gara’s self-conducted chamber orchestra, Delirium Musicum, features pieces that explore the macabre, the unusual, and the unique. The program ranges from well-known classics – Schubert’s "Erlkönig," Saint-Saëns’s "Danse macabre," and Bernard Herrmann’s music for Psycho – together with newer discoveries, including Jisoo Lee’s arrangement of the Korean folksong "Jindo Arirang" and Gabriella Smith’s "Cactus Yucca Scrub." BELOW: "Misirlou" (Theme from "Pulp Fiction") - Etienne Gara & Delirium Musicum.
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20 Competitors Announced in 2026 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition
On Thursday the Elevar Foundation announced 20 violinists who were selected to participate in the Preliminary Round of the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC), which will take place January 4 through January 18, 2026, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.
The 20 Preliminary Round participants were selected from more than 70 applicants representing 20 countries. They were chosen in a Qualifying Round held via online submission from May through September, adjudicated by violinists Jennifer Frautschi, Lucia Lin, and Arnaud Sussmann. The participants range in age from 18 to 30 and represent 11 countries: Austria, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States.
Founded by and named after the American violinist Elmar Oliveira in 2016, the Elevar Foundation holds the EOIVC every three years at Lynn Conservatory of Music, where Oliveira was a Distinguished Artist-in-Residence until his retirement in 2023. Past winners of the EOIVC include Hina Khuong-Huu (2023), Julian Rhee (2020) and Sirena Huang (2017). Keep reading...
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New Double Bass Strings from Pirastro: Perpetual 'Stark'
This week Pirastro announced its newest strings for double bass: Perpetual 'Stark.'
"The new Double Bass Perpetual 'Stark' strings are a wholly unique development that in comparison to Perpetual 'Mittel' have a fuller and warmer sound with an especially high gauge," said Pirastro. "They are the thickest strings in our steel string range, and yet their string tensions remain close to those of the Perpetual 'Mittel' strings."
The Perpetual 'Stark' Double Bass Strings are chrome steel, wound on a uniquely designed and extremely flexible high-tensile steel rope core.
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The Week in Reviews, Op. 523: Sergey Khachatryan, Midori, Hans Christian Aavik, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider
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.
Sergey Khachatryan performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and David Afkham.
- San Francisco Chronicle: "Khachatryan’s performance was neither cool nor dispassionately calculated. Whether he was firing off a volley of double-stops, making every note count in the concerto’s furious passagework or lofting harmonics in a tender, almost ethereal way, the soloist was in sensitive control of the work’s shifting terrain."
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