News
Stefan opens 2011-12 season with "Paganini-like intensity"
To open his 2011-12 season, Stefan performed the Mendelssohn concerto with the Toronto Symphony under Christoph König, and the Beethoven concerto with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra under Timothy Russell and on a tour of Florida with the Florida Orchestra under Stefan Sanderling. The Globe and Mail raved about Stefan's Mendelssohn: "Clad in black from head to toe, there was a Paganini-like intensity to his stage presence. Musically, he brought substance and drama. Throughout, his tone was bright and full-bodied and his intonation was impeccable. Using every inch of his bow, Jackiw produced a sound that soared in Roy Thomson Hall. Jackiw’s cadenza was a tour de force of agility and precision" (read the full review). The St. Petersburg Times described Stefan's performance of the Beethoven as "ravishing" and the Columbus Dispatch reported, "The refreshingly un-showy Jackiw's performance was technically flawless, but what impressed the most was his ability to take us with him into the very soul of each note. A consummate artist can unite his listeners with the music he's playing to the extent that he himself nearly disappears. Jackiw does this -- and more" (read the full review).
Stefan's 2011-12 Season Preview
Following a successful summer during which he was praised for his "liquid tone, phenomenal technique and intelligent musicianship" at the Aspen Music Festival and his "technically flawless" (Columbus Dispatch) season-opening performance of the Beethoven concerto with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Stefan Jackiw's stellar season continues in November at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under conductor Christoph Koenig in a performance of the Mendelssohn violin concerto. When Jackiw played Mendelssohn with the Baltimore Symphony and Marin Alsop in 2010, the Baltimore Sun wrote that the "radiant quality of Jackiw's playing provided consistent pleasure throughout the work." Other season highlights include debut engagements with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan, a return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and Chicago's Orchestra Hall with pianist Jeremy Denk.
From Aspen to Asia
A Kansas City Star preview for Stefan Jackiw's June concerts of Bruch's Scottish Fantasy with Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony encapsulates the violinist's rise: "Jackiw, 26, is one of those ridiculously talented prodigies … He was a soloist with the Boston Pops at age 12 and three years later made his European debut with the Philharmonia of London … He attended Harvard, where he majored in psychology before switching to music. In 2002, he received an Avery Fisher career grant, and over the years he has garnered almost universal critical acclaim."
The young violnist’s packed summer includes concerts at the Aspen Music Festival with pianist Joyce Yang and violinist Daniel Hope (July 16, 19), an all-Brahms recital for Maine's Bay Chamber Concerts (July 21), the Sibelius concerto with Gerard Schwarz at North Carolina's Eastern Music Festival (July 23), and a return to the Seattle Chamber Music Society where “Jackiw has won over Seattle crowds with his boyish looks and sublime playing." (The Gathering Note)
Jackiw (pronounced jack-EEV) toured Finland and Ireland before embarking on a June tour of Korea – his fourth – with Ensemble Ditto, a wildly popular "boy band" of chamber musicians who bring classical music to broad audiences. The intrepid frequent flyer returns to Asia at the end of the summer for an epic fifteen-date tour with the Asian Youth Symphony under James Judd, where he will perform Sarasate, Saint-Saëns and Sibelius in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan (Aug. 6-28).
Stefan's Brahms Sonatas receive glowing review from Fanfare magazine
Stefan's recording of the complete Brahms Sonatas with pianist Max Levinson on Sony Classical received a superb review in Fanfare magazine. "Jackiw is fantastic, without question the next big name to take the violin world by storm. It’s simple, really. This is now the recording of Brahms’s violin sonatas to have. It eclipses all of my previous favorites that I’ve cited numerous times in previous reviews... A young artist who may be well on his way to becoming one of the greatest violinists of the 21st century." Click here to read the full review.
