Virgil Boutellis-Taft to Perform At Carnegie Hall in June

French violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft wil return to Carnegie Hall on Wednesday, June 12, at 7:30 p.m., for a program of impassioned music from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Pianist Juyoung Park joins him for the one-time recital at Zankel Hall, presented by New York Concert Artists and Associates.

Virgil Boutellis-Taft is a soloist and chamber musician whose career has taken him to the world's major stages since the 2010s, including Elbphilharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Benaroya Hall, and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, among many others. His second album, Incantation, from 2020, was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Jac van Steen, in London. The Strad singled out Virgil Boutellis-Taft's "sensitive phrasing and a ravishing tone."

Four of the selections for the Carnegie Hall recital were picked from the album - "works [that] have long inspired me," says Virgil Boutellis-Taft. "What's interesting is to bring them together and make them speak to each other." He adds that the title Incantation "pays tribute to their incantatory power, through their fascinating melodic beauty, their obstinate rhythm, and their spiritual ambition."

Among the selections for the program are Saint-Saëns' fervent Danse macabre, and Bloch's deeply moving 'Nigun,' from Baal Shem. Schumann's Violin Sonata No. 1 in, A Minor, and Janáček's Violin Sonata are also highlights, rounding out a stellar program.

Order your tickets HERE.

Performers

• Virgil Boutellis-Taft, violin (virgilboutellistaft.com)
• Juyoung Park, piano (juyoungpark.net)

Program

• BRUCH Kol nidrei
• JANÁČEK Violin Sonata
• TCHAIKOVSKY Sérénade mélancolique
• R. SCHUMANN Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor
• BLOCH "Nigun" from Baal Shem (watch a video here)
• SAINT-SAËNS Danse macabre, Op. 40

More about Virgil Boutellis-Taft

Virgil Boutellis-Taft performs as soloist and chamber musician in major international concert halls, including Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Benaroya Hall, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Cammilleri Hall, Salle Gaveau, the Phillips Collection, and Tel Aviv Opera. He has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra Emeritus, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, and Sinfonia Varsovia, among others. He also plays in major international festivals.

Boutellis-Taft was born in Limoges and grew up in Paris. He took up the violin at 6, enrolled at the Tours Conservatory three years later, and went on to the Paris Conservatory, where he studied with Suzanne Gessner and earned a First Prize at age 16. He also studied at the Royal College of Music in London, the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, and Tel Aviv University, where he worked with Hagai Shaham.

Boutellis-Taft made his recording debut in 2016, with pianist Guillaume Vincent, with the album Between East and West (Evidence Classics/Harmonia Mundi). It was also hailed by critics for its "incandescent intensity".

He plays the Domenico Montagnana "ex Régis Pasquier" Venice 1742, by generous loan of an anonymous benefactor.