Tuesday, March 01, 2011

GreenBkk.com Tourism | Violin virtuoso prepares for Bangkok debut

Violin virtuoso prepares for Bangkok debut

Published: 1/03/2011 at 12:00 AM

Violinist virtuoso Cho-Liang Lin will make his Bangkok concert debut with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Michel Tilkin at the Thailand Cultural Centre on Tuesday, March 15 at 8pm.


Held as part of the 2011 Great Artists of the World Series, the concert will see the Taiwan-born violinist perform Mozart's Fourth Violin Concerto and one of the most difficult and showy works in the repertory, Pablo Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Songs), and Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.

What makes this show more exciting is the instrument he will be playing. It's his 1715 Titian Stradivarius, which is reputed to be one of the finest ever made by the great Italian craftsman.

Cho-Liang was one of the first Asian instrumentalists to break into the top echelon of the world's classical musical superstars.

Born into a most distinguished scientific family in 1960, Cho-Liang considers himself anything but a scientist. It's his training, his innate artistry and his extraordinary violins that contribute to his musical success.

When he was five, his father bought him a tiny violin and many recordings. Thus, while he never attended concerts, he listened avidly to the recorded art of Nathan Milstein, Isaac Stern, David Oistrakh, Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Kreisler.

He began performing publicly in Taiwan, winning the Taiwan National Youth Competition. At the age of 12, he departed for Australia where he played for Itzhak Perlman, one of the greatest violinists of the century.


At the famed Juilliard School in New York, he studied with the iconic Dorothy DeLay, who turned down an invitation to have the 18-year-old Cho-Liang perform with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He finally received her approval a year later.

In a career spanning more than 30 years, he has appeared with virtually every major orchestra in the world.

His many recordings range from the concertos of Mozart, Mendelssohn, Sibelius and Prokofiev, to Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun, as well as the chamber music of Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Ravel. His recording partners include such celebrated artists and friends Isaac Stern, Yefim Bronfman, Yo-Yo Ma and Wynton Marsalis.

All his recordings have been critically acclaimed, winning several Grammy nominations and Gramophone's Record of the Year award. In 2000, the classical music industry's bible, Musical America, awarded him the honour of Instrumentalist of the Year.


Violinist Cho-Liang Lin will perform at the Thailand Cultural Centre on March 15 at 8pm.

Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)

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