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Joint ASTA and SAA Conference Begins Wednesday in San Francisco
String teachers from all over the Americas are gathering this week in San Francisco for a conference of two of the profession's largest associations: the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), which together are presenting their second co-located national conference.
I will be there as well, writing for Violinist.com about the event and various workshops and performances, and representing Los Angeles teachers as President of the LA Section of CalASTA. Please say hello if you see me!
Thousands of educators, exhibitors, performers, and supporters will be participating in the event, which takes place Wednesday through Saturday (Feb. 25-28) at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in San Francisco, Calif. The conference will also include an exhibit hall with nearly 100 exhibitors. Keep reading...
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For the Record, Op. 371: Alena Baeva, Isabelle Faust, Turtle Island Quartet, Alberto Bologni, Anzû 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.
Beethoven Violin Sonatas
Alena Baeva, violin
Vadym Kholodenko, piano
Alena Baeva and Vadym Kholodenko present three of Beethoven's most popular sonatas for violin and piano. Baeva, an international violin soloist, and Kholodenko, a Gold Medalist at the 2013 Van Cliburn Competition, have performed as a duo for the last 10 years. The three sonatas featured on this recording (Op. 24 "Spring," Op. 47 "Kreutzer," and Op. 12, No. 3) were composed between 1797 and 1803, a period that brought Beethoven both his first recognition on the European stage and the first signs of his deafness. Baeva performs on the 1738 "ex-William Kroll" del Gesù violin and the pair used the 2020 Bärenreiter edition to inform their interpretative choices on phrasing, ornamentation and tempi. BELOW: Alena Baeva and Vadym Kholodenko perform Beethoven Violin Sonata No .9 "Kreutzer," Op.47.
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Minnesota Orchestra Appoints Violinist Leonidas Kavakos Principal Guest Conductor
On Thursday the Minnesota Orchestra announced the appointment of Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos as its principal guest conductor, beginning in the fall of 2027.
The three-year appointment will feature Kavakos in three weeks of subscription concerts each season, including conducting the orchestra at least twice a season. He also will appear in additional concerts and artistic projects as soloist or chamber music collaborator.
Originally from Athens, Kavakos, 58, has more than 30 years of history with the Minnesota Orchestra, having debuted with the orchestra in March 1995, playing the Stravinsky Violin Concerto. He returned over the next five years for 16 performances across the season and summer and has been a regular soloist ever since, including appearing with the Orchestra in performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall in May 2009. As a conductor, he first led the Minnesota Orchestra in a May 2023 program featuring Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 1. For his most recent appearance, last October, he led as a soloist for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 and conducted Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15.
"I am thrilled to be joining the Minnesota Orchestra as its principal guest conductor," Kavakos said in a statement. "As a young music student still forming a musical identity, I was deeply inspired by the Minnesota Orchestra’s recordings with the legendary Dimitri Mitropoulos."
"I first conducted the Orchestra in 2023 and the rehearsals and performances were pure joy," he said. "I felt an immediate chemistry with my colleagues, and together we've found the sense of expressive freedom that every musician aims for." Keep reading...
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LA Phil Announces 2026 Hollywood Bowl Summer Season
On Wednesday the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced the 2026 Hollywood Bowl summer season - its 104th at the 17,500 seat amphitheater in the Hollywood Hills.
For fans of the violin, the season is a winner, with five internationally-known violin soloists coming to the Bowl, as well as leading artists in the LA Phil featured:
- July 9: Violinist Randall Goosby will perform Barber's Violin Concerto with the LA Phil and Tito Muñoz in a program called "Classical World Cup" that includes world premiere (LA Phil commission) of Adam Schoenberg’s "Art of the Goal," as well as other American works.
- July 14: Violinist Leonidas Kavakos will perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the LA Phil and Cristian Macelaru in a program that also includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
- August 4: Violinist Marc Bouchkov will perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the LA Phil and Louis Langrée in a program that also includes Mendelssohn's "The Hebrides" (Fingal’s Cave) and Haydn’s "London" symphony.
- August 6: Violinist Augustin Hadelich will perform Brahms' Violin Concerto with the LA Phil and Louis Langrée in a program that also includes Farrenc’s Overture No. 1 and selections from Bizet’s Carmen and L’Arlésienne Suites.
- August. 25: Concertmaster Bing Wang, Principal Cello Robert deMaine and keyboardist Joanne Pearce Martin will perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the LA Phil and Anna Handler in a program that also includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.
- Sept. 1: Violinist Bomsori will perform Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the LA Phil and Anja Bihlmaier in a program that also includes Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8.
The season also features a number of other guest soloists, including cellist Zlatomir Fung as well as pianists Mao Fujita, Conrad Tao, Angela Hewitt, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Jean-Yves Thibaudet
The LA Phil also will mark Gustavo Dudamel's final summer as its Music & Artistic Director by featuring him in series four concert programs over four days, August 20-23. Keep reading...
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