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For the Record, Op. 361: Hina & Fiona; Miró Quartet

November 28, 2025, 5:40 PM · 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.

Dear to Us
Hina & Fiona
Hina Khuong-Huu, violin
Fiona Khuong-Huu, violin
Rohan De Silva, piano

Violinist sisters Hina and Fiona Khuong-Huu present their debut album, a program of works for two violin by Halvorsen, Moszkowski, Ysaÿe, Rózsa, and Anna Clyne. Born in New York to French-Vietnamese and Japanese parents, these sisters have already achieved remarkable milestones individually: Hina won first prize at the 2023 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, while Fiona debuted with the New York Philharmonic at 16. Together, their playing reveals a profound connection shaped by lifelong collaboration, honest artistic dialogue, and complementary interpretations. BELOW: Hina & Fiona perform Miklós Rózsa Sonata for 2 Violins, Op 15a III. Vivo e giocoso.

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Happy Thanksgiving! A Gratitude List....

Laurie Niles

November 27, 2025, 1:22 PM · Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., and I thought it might be fun to make a list of things for which I am thankful!

This online community of violinists and music-lovers!
My family, near and far
Yellow leaves on ginkgo trees
My music teachers who taught me so much
Watching my students grow as musicians and humans
My fiddle and its voice
My friends near and far
Bach
My aunt's welcoming home
Young people with imagination
Warm drinks on cold days
Live music played with heart, by live and imperfect people

Please feel free to do the same in the comments, and wherever you are, have a wonderful day! Keep reading...

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 527: Joshua Bell, Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Karen Gomyo

Laurie Niles

November 25, 2025, 10:39 PM · 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.

Joshua Bell performed Thomas de Hartmann's Violin Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Anna Handler.

The Arts Fuse: "Bell’s line emerged like wafts of smoke; he was more of a sleekly ghostly presence than a heroic one. The violinist’s silvery radiance was offset by shouts from the brass, reminders that all was not well in this memory. Yet, even amidst this infusion of bleakness, Bell generated flickers of warmth."
EarRelevant: "The Concerto is strong, beautiful, fresh, and well redeemed from obscurity. Joshua Bell performed it beautifully, and Maestra Handler and the orchestra collaborated in like vein."
The Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Ever the master craftsman, Bell was elegant as he drew the music from his instrument with intense precision and passion blending with the BSO meticulously....His ability to invoke each note from his instrument with silken dexterity enabled the audience to savor every one of them."

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Review: LACO Explores the Sextet

Laurie Niles

November 25, 2025, 1:23 PM · The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) called its most recent concert series "A Brahmsian Affair," though I might have given it an alternative title: "The Curious Case of the String Sextet."

While countless pieces have been written for string quartet, the string sextet - two violins, two violas and two celli - remains an unusual configuration. And Saturday night's LACO concert at the Colburn School's Zipper Hall (repeated Sunday at The Wallis) featured an entire program devoted to that set-up, with Johannes Brahms' two sextets as well as the world premiere of a sextet "(Please Don't) Look Away" by Los Angeles-based composer Julia Moss (b. 1999).

As I mentioned, the sextet is unusual - Brahms wrote two of them, and he had little precedent for the genre, other than a set of six them that were written in 1776 by Boccherini, one in 1848 by Ludwig Spohr, and a few by lesser-known composers. There are none by Beethoven or Mozart (unless you count an 1808 transcription of Mozart's "Sinfonia Concertante"). There are a few notable sextets that came after those by Brahms, for example, Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir de Florence" and Arnold Schoenberg's "Verklärte Nacht," which is a sextet in its original form, though arguably more popular in its string orchestra arrangement.

There is a certain equal-mindedness about a sextet - which includes two of every instrument, a situation that also allows more opportunity for the viola and cello to hold the musical spotlight, with a partner to hold down the usual duties of playing bass or filling an inner voice. Perhaps it is no coincidence then, that Moss, a composer whose primary instrument is the viola, would be attracted to the sextet. She gave the viola a starring role in "(Please Don't) Look Away" - and she could not have asked for a better viola star than LACO's principal violist Yura Lee to bring it to life.
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