VIOLINIST PATRICIA KOPATCHINSKAJA MAKES PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS DEBUT

VIOLINIST PATRICIA KOPATCHINSKAJA MAKES

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS DEBUT

On Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 8PM, GRAMMY award-winning violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja makes her Princeton University Concerts (“PUC”) debut at Richardson Auditorium (Alexander Hall), as part of the series’ 125th anniversary season. This wild-child of the violin, a “player of rare expressive energy and disarming informality, of whimsy and theatrical ambition,” (The New York Times) has exploded onto the international scene in recent years with an untamable energy and a far-reaching approach to repertoire that runs from baroque and classical to commissions and reimagined modern masterpieces. With Polina Leschenko at the piano, she will explore music rooted in her Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss heritage, including sonatas by Béla Bartók, George Enescu, and Francis Poulenc as well as the Hungarian flavors of Maurice Ravel’s “Tzigane” – a piece which was, coincidentally, given its PUC premiere by George Enescu in 1938. At 7PM, Princeton University violin students, directed by performance faculty member Anna Lim, will offer a brief musical preview in tribute to Kopatchinskaja. This pre-concert event is free to all ticket-holders.

Tickets are $10-$55, available online at princetonuniversityconcerts.org, by phone at 609-258-9220, or in person two hours prior to the concert at the Richardson Auditorium Box Office.

Important Note: The Live Music Meditation with Patricia Kopatchinskaja originally scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 12:30PM in Richardson Auditorium has been cancelled. The final Live Music Meditation of the 2018-19 season will be on Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 12:30PM with pianist Paul Lewis. The meditation is free, unticketed, and open to all; no prior experience necessary.

ABOUT PATRICIA KOPATCHINSKAJA

Moldovan born violinist and one of the most distinctive voices in the violin world, Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s unique approach shows itself in her diverse repertoire ranging from baroque and classical works played on gut strings, to new commissions and re-interpretations of modern masterpieces.

On the recital platform, Kopatchinskaja partners regularly with artists such as cellists Jay Campbell and Sol Gabetta, appearing at leading venues such as the Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna Konzerthaus and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. With pianist Polina Leschenko she released Deux in 2018 for Alpha, which the duo toured to summer festivals including Mecklenburg – Vorpommern, Engadin and Gstaad this year.

With the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kopatchinskaja has held the position of Artistic Partner since 2014 and was awarded a Grammy in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category 2018 for Death and the Maiden recorded with the Orchestra and released on Alpha Classics. Other accolades include the prestigious Swiss Grand Award for Music, which recognises exceptional talent and innovation, awarded by the Federal Office of Culture for Switzerland in 2017.

Last season began with the world premiere of her new project Dies Irae at the Lucerne Festival where she was ‘artiste étoile’. Following the success of Bye Bye Beethoven with Mahler Chamber Orchestra in 2016, the second staged project was conceptualised using a theme from the Latin Requiem Mass and features music from composers such as Scelsi, Biber and Ustwolskaja. The project was given its North American premiere as part of Kopatchinskaja’s position as Music Director at the Ojai Music Festival this summer. Other highlights include appearances at the Salzburger Festspiele for pieces by Ustwolskaja and Hartmann.

A prolific recording artist, the last few seasons have seen a number of releases on Alpha Classics including an album of Kancheli’s music with Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica and a disc of duos entitled TAKE TWO. Kopatchinskaja has recorded Schumann’s Violin Concerto and Fantasy with WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Heinz Holliger for Audite and a selection of concerti by Bartók, Ligeti and Peter Eötvös for Naïve Classique, which claimed Gramophone’s ‘Recording of the Year’ Award in 2013 and a 2014 Grammy nomination.