Violinist Johnny Gandelsman Receives 2024 MacArthur 'Genius' Grant

October 1, 2024, 5:49 PM · Violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman, 46, of New York is among 24 people who were named as 2024 MacArthur Fellows on Tuesday.

Violinist Johnny Gandelsman. Photo courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The MacArthur Fellowships, known as "genius grants," are given annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Recipients are nominated anonymously, and each receives a no-strings-attached stipend of $800,000, which is disbursed over five years. The recipients represented a variety of fields, including artists, scientists, writers, historians and more.

Gandelsman told Violinist.com that the award came as a complete surprise.

"I found out over the phone about a month ago," Gandelsman said. "Of course I was completely stunned - this is not something I could have possibly imagined happening. I'm grateful for the recognition and deeply honored to be included in this extraordinary group of Fellows."

Gandelsman was praised by the foundation for "reimagining classical works and nurturing the creation of new music across genre and stylistic boundaries. In solo performances, collaborations and ensembles, and commissioning of new work, Gandelsman builds connections among diverse musical cultures and global artistic threads. He uniquely synthesizes past and present, making the experience of listening to music wholly new and fresh for audiences."

"The Foundation gives the award with no strings attached," Gandelsman said. "Having said that, I do have a number of projects in development, and this support will of course be very helpful. "

Some of Gandelsman's most recent recordings include Bach's complete Sonatas & Partitas for Violin (2018) and Cello Suites Transcribed for Violin (2020).

Gandelsman attended the Curtis Institute of Music (1995–1999). He is the founder of In a Circle Records, a former member of the Silk Road Ensemble (2002–2020), and a founding member of Brooklyn Rider (2005–present). As a producer, his recordings include Falling Out of Time (2020) with the Silk Road Ensemble; the soundtrack for The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein (2022); and Spontaneous Symbols (2017) and The Wanderer (2023), with Brooklyn Rider. Gandelsman and Brooklyn Rider also have recorded several albums with collaborators including Béla Fleck, Martin Hayes, Magos Herrera, Kayhan Kalhor, and Joshua Redman. Gandelsman has performed at venues and festivals around the world, such as the Cervantino Festival (Mexico), the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Carnegie Hall (New York City), Wigmore Hall (London), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo), among others.

You might also like:

Replies

Tom Holzman

October 1, 2024 at 11:32 PM · We saw Gandelsman a couple of years ago at the Library of Congress. He is a wonderful violinist.

Steve Jones

October 2, 2024 at 10:08 AM · Lucky man! I wonder how the anonymous nomination process works?

jean dubuisson

October 2, 2024 at 11:23 AM · if you click on the Sonatas & Partitas link, then there click on the Play button, and listen for 10 seconds, you will hear him play E where everybody plays E-flat! Is this a known issue in the interpretation of that piece? I wasn't aware of it.

Bill Palmer

October 2, 2024 at 04:47 PM · Steve, see https://www.macfound.org/programs/awards/fellows/ about to learn about the nomination process.

Mark Kashper

October 2, 2024 at 05:11 PM · It is true that most violinists play Eb there on the third beat of bar 3 (which seems harmonically justified), but, according to the "facsimile of the autograph manuscript" included in some editions (such as for example my International) of the cycle, E-natural actually appears correct, even though the main part of the edition itself indicates a flat there. It's a curious case with this Sonata: we all now that it is in G-minor and should therefore have two flats (B and E) in the key signature, and yet Bach's manuscript stubbornly shows only one flat (the Bb) in all four movements of the piece while dutifully repeating a flat in front of most of the Es, even when it happens more than once in the same measure and in the same octave - which anomaly is faithfully copied in the main musical text of the International edition and possibly in a few others too. If and/or when i have a chance to ask Johann Sebastian about this dilemma, i shall definitely do that.

Steve Jones

October 2, 2024 at 09:23 PM · Bill - Ah yes I do see, the nominators are personally invited so "anonymous" doesn't mean "open".

This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.