News
Stefan's Summer 2010
Stefan recently made a triumphant debut at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, performing the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Marin Alsop. This marked Stefan's second appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra this season. He joins Marin Alsop again in September, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Baltimore Symphony.
Three days later, Stefan performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto at the Bellingham Festival of Music. Entertainment News Northwest raved, "an absolutely stupendous performance. Mr. Jackiw has had a well-justified and meteoric rise to the top of the international music scene. I felt he was channeling Jascha Heifetz. His playing combined flawless technique with impeccable musicianship and an incredible sense of musical line. Absolutely exquisite" (read the review).
Stefan closes season with Beethoven and Sibelius
Stefan closed his 2009-2010 concert season with performances of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Omaha Symphony and the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. The Omaha World-Herald raved, "Jackiw delivered a memorable performance. Throughout, Jackiw played with a robust sound, lyrical tone, flawless intonation and effortless technique. His interpretation... was remarkable for its soaring lyricism" (read the review). The Oklahoman described Stefan's Sibelius as "Spectacular. A performance that will be talked about for weeks to come. Jackiw is a player of real distinction. Jackiw’s mastery was evident in countless ways... with thoughtful, intelligent playing throughout" (read the review).
Stefan's Mozart in Toronto: "as close to perfection as music can get"
On May 5th, a day before his 25th birthday, Stefan Jackiw made his debut with the Toronto Symphony under Sir Andrew Davis, playing Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major. Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail declared, "Stefan Jackiw has risen swiftly in the past decade to challenge the foremost talents of our day – Ehnes, Tetzlaff, Kavakos, Hahn – by the quality of his insight and skill. He played the Mozart like an angel. The slow movement is in itself music from heaven, but Jackiw joined it on its level, simply, without the least pretension or show. The result was about as pure and as close to perfection as music can get, and very moving indeed. The outer movements were similarly flawless and unforced in their contrasting brilliance and joy" (read the review).
The Toronto Star reported, "from the moment Jackiw's bow struck the first notes, it was clear why audiences get so excited about this artist. Here was a mop-headed poet of the violin in full rhetorical flight... It is hard to imagine hearing this popular concerto played any more beautifully" (read the review).
Stefan's Brahms Sonatas available on iTunes
Stefan's recording of the Brahms violin sonatas with pianist Max Levinson on the Sony Classical label is now available for download from the iTunes music store. Listen to samples here. The CD is also available for purchase on Amazon.
