Brahms’s First Symphony has been called Beethoven’s Tenth and indeed, quotes liberally from Beethoven as well as Bach, Schumann and Schubert.

Schumann..........Overture, Scherzo, and Finale, Op. 52
Bruch................Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Brahms.............Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68

Artists

Elissa Lee Koljonen

Elissa Lee Koljonen attracted international attention as the first recipient of the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Award. She won the silver medal in the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition, performing, among other works, the Walton Violin Concerto. Her playing has been lauded by the Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki) as “sparkling, sensual, and personal.” The Chicago Tribune praised her boundless technique and musicianship” and the Detroit News commented on her “assured technique [and] unflinching purpose and confidence.”

In Philadelphia, Ms. Koljonen performed the Shostakovich Violin Concerto no. 1 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, presented the city’s premiere of Behzad Ranjbaran’s Violin Concerto, and appeared at the Kimmel Center’s Summer Solstice festival. Ms. Koljonen made her debut in Spain with the Bilbao Symphony; she has performed with orchestras in Annapolis and Binghamton, the Delaware Symphony, the Reading Symphony, the Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic and the symphonies of Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. Ms. Koljonen has collaborated with such noted conductors as Matthias Bamert, James DePriest, Lawrence Foster, Richard Hickox, and Neeme Järvi. Her engagements have taken her to such important venues as the Vienna Musikverein, Salzburg Mozarteum, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Barbican Centre (London), Seoul Arts Center, Symphony Hall (Boston), and Academy of Music in Philadelphia.

She is active as a recitalist and an avid chamber musician appearing regularly at festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Critical acclaim greeted her debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and her appearances with the London Mozart Players and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in a special concert celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi dynasty.

Through the influence of her mentor Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music, she carries on the legacy of Leopold Auer’s legendary school of violin playing. She resides in Philadelphia with her husband and their two children.
 

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