Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi

It can be demanding for any musician to play a concerto, which is a piece of music that features a soloist accompanied by orchestra usually written for the purpose of showing off the soloist’s technical and artistic skill.

In most symphony performances, a single concerto is played as the highlight of the performance. However, during “Asheville Symphony’s Artist Residency: A Celebration of the Violin,” husband and wife duo Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao will take the stage for a program made up of three violin concertos.

“Programming an all-concerto performance is almost unheard of because of the technical demands that it puts on a single artist,” said Asheville Symphony Executive Director Daniel Crupi. “However, Noah and Shanshan are both at the pinnacle of their fields—Noah leads the Berlin Philharmonic as Concertmaster and Shanshan previously was a member of the New York Philharmonic. Together, they will tackle a program that would be impossible for many violinists.”

Asheville Symphony Music Director Darko Butorac says that the program for “Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi” will “feature three distinct violin experiences.”

“Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi” will start off with a baroque masterpiece, Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, before going into Butterfly Lovers, an ionic Chinese work for violin and orchestra that features virtuosic and intertwining melodies. The grand finale will feature Bendix-Balgley alone as he takes on Brahm’s technically demanding violin concerto, which Butorac calls “one of the most beautiful works ever written for violin and orchestra.”

“Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi” will serve one of the major highlights of Asheville Symphony’s first-ever Artist Residency, which for its inaugural year celebrates the impact and the legacy of the violin. The March 11-18 residency will feature Bendix-Balgley and Yao and include a series of 11 events over the course of the week.

An Asheville native, Bendix-Balgley is First Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, widely regarded as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. He tours both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also won top prizes at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France and the Postacchini Competi-tion in Italy.

Shanshan Yao, who joined the roster of the New York Philharmonic in 2013, has won numerous competitions including the Calgary Concerto Competition and the Morningside Music Bridge Concerto Competition.

Asheville Symphony’s Artist Residency is a biennial initiative that honors and explores one musical instrument in collaboration with a preeminent musical artist.

Through an exploration of genre, instrumentation, solo performance, and more, this week-long residency offers programs for a wide range of audiences with an emphasis on education. At each residency, Asheville Symphony audiences will discover new ways to appreciate and understand a musical instrument and its role in an orchestra.

“Masterworks 5: Violin Virtuosi” will take place at the First Baptist Church of Asheville on Saturday, March 16, 2024, with performances at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets, more information, and the full list of Artist Residency events are available at www.AshevilleSymphony.org, or by calling the Asheville Symphony box office at (828) 254-7046.

Youth Orchestra Performance with Noah Bendix-Balgley

Noah Bendix-Balgley takes the stage as concertmaster with the Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra on March 18, 2024 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Asheville. An exciting opportunity to hear Bendix-Balgley one last time during the Artist Residency and for young musicians to be led by a world-renowned concertmaster, soloist and ensemble performer.

Purchase tickets and find additional information at www.AshevilleSymphony.org, or call the Asheville Symphony box office at (828) 254-7046.