With a respected technical excellence and a reputation for being creatively daring, Jennifer Koh has become an internationally renowned violinist. Her album, “String Poetic,” was nominated for a Grammy in 2008. Known for reimagining similarly constructed songs to revive past compositions, Koh will perform a number of works in her first visit to Memorial Hall.
Staff writer Abby Gerdes sat down with Koh to discuss art, outreach and the experience of performing solo.
Daily Tar Heel: Describe what it feels like to be on stage alone.
Jennifer Koh: This program, it’s one of the most naked programs possible … but it’s also one of the most intimate journeys you can take with an audience, and there is something really beautiful about that.
DTH: You’ve played in a multitude of symphonies. How is a solo performance different for you?
JK: Playing in a symphony, there is something powerful about being a small part of something greater than yourself. What is different about a very intimate solo violin recital is that it’s still about being a part of something greater than yourself, but in a much more esoteric way. You are carrying out music that was around over 300 years ago, so you become a small part of that process.
DTH: Why did you first start exploring the connections between past and present pieces?
JK: That’s just the way my brain works, and I’ve always liked programming thematically.
It just seemed natural. Contemporary music creates a thread to the past: Being alive in this time period, we don’t necessarily relate to the social circumstances of when Bach was alive, but you can reach that place by making connections through music — and in many ways that makes music of the past seem more relevant.
