Violin Community News 2010, Op. 6

February 17, 2010 at 7:44 PM

About 850 string teachers America and beyond are gathering in Santa Clara, Calif., today for the annual American String Teachers of American (ASTA) convention this week. The event includes a long list of speakers, student performances and educational workshops, held today through Saturday.

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It's the time of year when orchestras announce their 2010-2011 seasons, and here's the news from two of the Big Boys:

The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced its season online, with a video interview between conductor Gustavo Dudamel and board president Deborah Borda. Let's cut to the quick and talk about violinists: in the 2010-2011 season, the LA Phil season will feature violinists Hilary Hahn, Robert McDuffie, Martin Chalifour, Natalie MacMaster (fiddle), Sarah Chang, Nikolaj Znaider and Leonidas Kavakos, with recitals by Midori, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and Itzhak Perlman. Here is the full season schedule.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Gustavo Dudamel. Image courtesy LA Phil

The New York Philharmonic also announced its 2010-2011 season, with plans to feature violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter as its artist in residence, as well as performances during the season by violinists Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Pinchas Zukerman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gil Shaham, Lisa Batiashvili, “and more." Here is New York Philharmonic's full 2010-2011 season. The NY Phil also plans a three-week festival led by conductor/composer Esa-Pekka Salonen (who recently turned over the LA Phil baton to Dudamel) and two European tours. The orchestra’s board also has turned its attention to Avery Fisher Hall, considering possible restructuring needed in both the short and long term, according to the New York Times.

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The auction house Tarisio announced this week that it will sell the contents of the recently closed William Moennig and Son shop in Philadelphia. The sale is planned for June, though the date is yet to be announced.

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Haitian Violinist Romel Joseph, still recovering in Miami from the severe injuries he suffered the earthquake, received a gift from Stevie Wonder: two keyboards. "I'm honored that I will be playing on the keyboard that you have played," Joseph told Wonder in a CNN interview from Jackson Memorial Hospital. Here is the story (with video) in the Miami Herald.

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Soviet-trained violinist and longtime Indiana University professor of violin Nelli Shkolnikova died earlier this month in Melbourne, according to The Strad, after a battle with cancer, according to Wikipedia. Born in the Ukraine in 1928, Schkolnikova studied at the Moscow Conservatory Yuri Yankelevich and won first prize at the Long-Thibaud Competition in 1953. In 1970, Soviet authorities restricted her performances to only Eastern bloc countries, but in 1982 she defected, first teaching in Melbourne at the Victorian College of the Arts, then from 1987 to 2005 at Indiana University. Here is a 1959 recording of Shkolnikova playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto:

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Violin Community News 2010, Op. 6

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