Stefan Jackiw @ KC

Charles T. Downey, Stefan Jackiw at Kennedy Center
Washington Post, May 7, 2012

Brahms, Violin Sonatas, S. Jackiw, M. Levinson (2009)

Violinist Stefan Jackiw is no stranger to the Washington area, having played with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra several times since his debut there in 2002, when he was just a teenager. The solo recital presented by Washington Performing Arts Society on Saturday afternoon, in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, followed one in 2010 at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in Rockville.

Now in his late 20s, Jackiw has released his first solo recording, on the Sony label, and his sweet tone, intense presence and savvy programming make his performances worthwhile listening. Jackiw and his capable accompanist, Anna Polonsky, brought particular verve and style to Stravinsky’s neoclassical jewel “Suite Italienne,” a modern updating of 18th-century music originally adapted for the composer’s ballet “Pulcinella.” There’s also nothing to complain about in their world premiere of David Fulmer’s “Arc de suspension,” an etude on modern compositional techniques that burned vividly and instantly disappeared. Richard Strauss’s Violin Sonata in E-flat tested the limits of Polonsky’s strength at the keyboard, especially in the fourth movement, but the middle movement had an affecting simplicity. [Continue reading]

Stefan Jackiw (violin) and Anna Polonsky (piano)
Washington Performing Arts Society
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Stravinsky, Suite Italienne
Brahms, Sonata No. 1 in G Major, op. 78
David Fulmer, Arc de Suspension
R. Strauss, Sonata in E-flat Major, op. 18

SEE ALSO:
Joan Reinthaler, Violinist Stefan Jackiw at the Jewish Community Center (Washington Post, October 19, 2010)

Robert Battey, Adams's 'Doctor Atomic' by BSO at Strathmore (Washington Post, October 2, 2010)

Tim Smith, There's a reason they're classics (Baltimore Sun, November 14, 2008)

Richard Dyer, Strings Prodigy (Harvard Magazine, July-August 2007)

Rachel M. Green, Stefan P. Jackiw '07 (Harvard Crimson, May 2, 2007)

Daniel Ginsberg, BSO and Guests in Peak Form (Washington Post, October 25, 2006)

Joe Banno, Stefan Jackiw: Talent That's Off the Scale (Washington Post, April 16, 2005)