Jennifer Koh

The New York Times
By Joshua Barone
March 23, 2018
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Scene-Stealing Tenor: The Week’s Best Classical Music Moments on YouTube

Flashes of Bach

I recently sat in on rehearsals for the violinist Jennifer Koh’s program “Limitless,” a series of new duets she’ll perform with the composers this month at National Sawdust. She is a tireless champion of new music, but is also a nimble enough artist to hop among repertory staples and world premieres with stunning ease. Is there a better fit, then for Luciano Berio’s “Sequenza VIII” (1976), a work that speaks to both the adventurous spirit of 20th-century modernism and the violin’s rich history? See how, throughout this exhausting piece, she somehow offers new ways of looking at traditional violin gestures while Berio’s music nods to some of the most challenging music ever written for the instrument. And Listen for the chords: flashes of Bach’s immortal Chaconne. JOSHUA BARONE

Now listen in as Ms. Koh works with three composers on new works for “Limitless.”

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