Unique Experiences

Item Description

Host a private salon concert with violinist Jennifer Koh in your own home!

Violinist Jennifer Koh mesmerizes audiences with the sheer intensity of her playing.  As a virtuoso whose natural flair is matched with a probing intellect, Ms. Koh is committed to exploring connections between the pieces she plays, searching for similarities of voice between different composers, as well as within the works of a single composer.    In the words of Allan Kozinn of The New York Times: “Jennifer Koh's violin recitals are consistently pleasing, not only because she is in command of a strong technique and a rich arsenal of tone, but also because she builds her programs thoughtfully, with a sensible balance of contemporary works and standard repertory.”  These qualities have recently been recognized with a Grammy nomination for her recording “String Poetic,” on the Cedille label, which includes a world premiere by Jennifer Higdon as well as music by John Adams, Lou Harrison and Carl Ruggles.

Ms. Koh’s engagements in the 2009-10 season include return guest appearances with the New Jersey Symphony, National Symphony of Washington, D.C., and the New World Symphony, among other ensembles. Abroad she makes her PROMS debut with the BBC Symphony directed by Jri Blohlávek in a world premiere performance of Augusta Read Thomas’s violin concerto “Juggler in Paradise,” and is also heard with the BBC (Scottish) Orchestra.  A new concerto written and commissioned for Ms. Koh by Klas Torstenssans will be premiered in Amsterdam with the NIEUW Ensemble in May 2010.  In recital  Ms. Koh also plays the violin sonatas and partitas of J.S. Bach at New York’s Miller Theatre as part of the “Bach and Beyond” project commemorating the 325^th anniversary of Bach’s birth.  Ms. Koh’s other recital engagements include all-Mozart and Schubert programs with pianist Shai Wosner and a duo program with cellist Anssi Kartunnen in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. (Kennedy Center), New York (Miller Theatre and the Baryshnikov Arts Center), San Francisco (Herbst Theatre), Oberlin College (OH), Houston (Da Camera Society), and Minneapolis (Schubert Club).

Since she came to international attention in 1994 as winner of the top prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition, Ms. Koh has gone on to perform as guest soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, National Symphony of Washington, D.C., the Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Moscow Radio Symphony, and the Helsinki and Czech Philharmonics.  A prolific recitalist, Ms. Koh appears frequently at major music centers and festivals including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Marlboro, Wolf Trap, Spoleto, and The Festival International de Lanaudiere in Canada. She regularly records for the American Cedille label and has recently released a recording, “Rhapsodic Musings,” which features works for solo violin by 21^st century composers. 

Born in Chicago of Korean parents, Ms. Koh currently resides in New York City.  Ms. Koh is a graduate of Oberlin College and an alumna of the Curtis Institute, where she worked extensively with Jaime Laredo and Felix Galimir.  Ms. Koh is grateful to her private sponsor for the generous loan of the 1727 Ex Grumiaux Ex General DuPont Stradivari she uses in performance.

Item Special Note

This concert will only be offered in Manhattan, and will be a half hour in length.

Photo by Fran Kaufman