For the Record, Op. 349: Gil Shaham's 'Premieres'

September 6, 2025, 11:01 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.

Violinist Gil Shaham.

Premieres: Concertos by Wheeler, Dorman and Sheng
Gil Shaham, violin
The Orchestra Now, Leon Botstein conducting

Performing three concertos written specifically for him, violinist Gil Shaham is joined by conductor Leon Botstein and The Orchestra Now (TON), Bard College’s graduate orchestral masters. Scott Wheeler’s "Birds of America" (Violin Concerto No. 2) was premiered in 2021. The birds making appearances in the concerto include a hawk, a whippoorwill, loons, a mourning dove, and a downy woodpecker. Winner of the 2018 Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, Avner Dorman’s "Nigunim" (Violin Concerto No.2) was originally commissioned as Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano by New York’s 92nd Street Y, Gil, and his sister, pianist Orli Shaham. Gil premiered the orchestrated version that appears on this album with CityMusic Cleveland, conducted by Dorman, in 2014. Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng’s violin concerto "Let Fly" had its premiere in 2013 with Shaham and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, led by legendary conductor Leonard Slatkin. The title of the work was inspired by an aural image of the violin melody flying off into the air. BELOW: Gil Shaham plays Scott Wheeler’s “Birds of America” (Violin Concerto No. 2)

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For the Record, Op. 349: Gil Shaham's 'Premieres'

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