The Strad Podcast #67: Curtis Stewart on Julia Perry’s Violin Concerto

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Julia Perry (1924-1979) was an American composer, who studied at Tanglewood, Juilliard and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, where she won the Boulanger Grand Prix for her Viola Sonata. She was the recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships and also studied in Italy with Luigi Dallapiccola. Despite her prolific achievements, Perry’s work has fallen into obscurity, including her Violin Concerto of 1963.

Here to shine a light on her work is violinist Curtis Stewart, who will be giving the premiere performance of Perry’s Violin Concerto with the Experiential Orchestra and James Blachly on 2 December in New York. Curtis speaks with online editor Davina Shum about the unexpected logistics of programming an unknown work, as well as the challenges that come with the piece, and why this work should be performed more often.

Curtis will perform Julia Perry’s Violin Concerto on Friday 2 December 2022 at 8pm with the Experiential Orchestra and James Blachly, at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 West 37th Street, New York, NY. More information can be found here.