The Solo Violin Sonatas of
Johann Sebastian Bach
Kevin Lawrence
violin
Guest Artist Recital
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
7:30 pm
Organ Hall, Music Building
Program
Sonata no. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 Johann Sebastian Bach
Adagio (1685-1750)
Fuga
Siciliano
Presto
Sonata no. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
Grave
Fuga
Andante
Allegro
Intermission
Sonata no. 3 in C major, BWV 1005
Adagio
Fuga
Largo
Allegro assai
"On one staff, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world."
-- Johannes Brahms
Kevin Lawrence
Praised for his "vibrant intensity," (The Times, London) and playing "supremely
convincing in its vitality," (Cleveland Plain Dealer) violinist Kevin Lawrence has
consistently elicited superlative responses for his performances throughout the
United States and Europe. His assertive style and strong musical personality
have thrilled audiences at Merkin Hall, Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in
New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and in Houston,
Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Rome, Prague, Bucharest, Sofia, St.
Petersburg, and Amsterdam, where the Dutch press described him as "simply
miraculous." (Het Vaderland).
Lawrence's release of the complete violin works of the American composer
Arthur Foote on the New World label was "highly recommended" as "beautifully
played" by the Washington Post, and heard on the Ken Burns series “Not for
Ourselves Alone,” broadcast on PBS; his second CD of American violin sonatas,
recently released by New World, was hailed as “vital playing” and “a labor of
love” by ClassicsToday.com. He is also heard with renowned flutist Carol
Wincenc on a recording of American flute quintets released by Bridge Records,
and named as 2012 Critics Choice by American Record Guide. Lawrence has
premiered sonatas by contemporary American compositional voices Laura
Kaminsky and Judith Shatin, and chamber works by Michael Rothkopf and
Lawrence Dillon.
Kevin Lawrence received his musical education at The Juilliard School as a
scholarship student of Ivan Galamian and Margaret Pardee. While at Juilliard he
also studied chamber music with Felix Galimir and continued his chamber music
study with Josef Gingold at the Meadowmount School in Westport, New
York. Appointed to the Meadowmount faculty by Ivan Galamian in 1980, he
taught there each summer until 1994, when he became the Dean of the Killington
Music Festival in Vermont. After serving as Killington's Artistic Director from
1997 through 2004, he founded the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival
(www.gmcmf.org), which will hold its tenth season at the University of Vermont
during the summer of 2014. Lawrence has given master classes throughout the
United States, and in Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia,
Costa Rica and Venezuela. He currently serves as chair of the string department
at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, which recognized him
with its Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007.
