2018 finished with a few highlights:

I played the Violin Concerto No. 2 by Georg Friedrich Haas in Porto, Portugal with the wonderful Orchestra of the Casa da Música and their director Baldur Brönnimann. Just before performing, I was asked by the orchestra manager if I was going to play an encore. I thought about it a moment and, after the concerto, played the Andante from Bach’s A minor Sonata. There was a standing ovation and a terrific, thorough review of the concerto from the Spanish magazine Mundo Clasico, which said “Miranda Cuckson gave an authentic lesson of instrumental mastery and microtonal intonation, a prominent aspect of this Violin Concerto”. And:

“After the Haas concerto, Miranda Cuckson gave us something extra.. what was done by the American violinist in the ‘Andante’ of the Sonata in A minor BWV 1003 (c. 1720) was impactful, going from the microtonality of Haas to the fullness of a Bach whose double-stops spurred Cuckson to explore and handle the polyphony of this Andante not only with marvelous technique, but with a warmth and beauty of sound as I have rarely heard in these Sonatas and Partitas (and without gut strings, or baroque bow, or “historical” interpretation). A moment, therefore, of genuine beauty; in essence, the most refined and intense that we have heard this afternoon in Porto.”

Also, much appreciated from an audience member: “I have no word to express my feelings about the concert. Haas’s music comes from another dimension and you get all the atmospheres. I really enjoyed the piece. Your sound is full of color, force and humanity. And thank you for the beautiful postlude.”

2018 also ended with the two nice accolades: David Wright at New York Classical Review picked my duo concert with Michael Hersch at National Sawdust as one of his top ten concerts of the year. I had the pleasure to play the Hersch Violin Concerto in its New York premiere last year, with Ensemble Échappé and conductor Jeffrey Milarsky, with whom it was great to reconnect having known him at Juilliard years ago. 

Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times chose a movement from my recording with pianist Blair McMillen of Harold Meltzer’s “Kreisleriana” as one of the 25 best classical tracks of the year.  It’s on Harold’s new album “Songs and Structures” on Bridge Records. Check it out!