Felix Mendelssohn once said that “…what the music I love expresses to me are thoughts not too indefinite for words, but rather too definite,” while Goethe described chamber music as “four rational people conversing.” Exchange of ideas is one of my favorite things in life and in music. Playing the violin provides almost unlimited opportunities for rich and stimulating musical experiences through collaborations, because violin is perhaps the most social of all instruments.

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I have been extraordinarily fortunate to enjoy over three decades of professionally performing some of the best music ever created. From solo appearances with orchestras and performances of over 250 chamber music compositions to most of the concertmaster solos in the orchestral repertoire, it has been a tremendous privilege to make music with people I love and admire. My early orchestral experiences in Moscow Conservatory included inspiring performances with such legendary soloists as Richter, Rostropovich and Kremer, as well as incredible learning opportunities through performing with the Grammy-winning “Moscow Soloists” in some of world’s best concert halls including Concertgebouw, BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall, Gewandhaus and Salle Pleyel under direction of Yuri Bashmet. 

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In the US, I have truly treasured the great variety of musical experiences from performing with Arlo Guthrie in Carnegie Hall, to playing a sublime concertmaster solo in Beethoven Missa Solemnis at the National Cathedral, as well as decades of performing with the Harrisburg Symphony alongside its music director, Tony Award-winner Stuart Malina.

 

I have started playing chamber music with my parents at age 11 and immediately fell in love with this uniquely egalitarian art form. In addition to hundreds of concerts with the Mendelssohn Piano Trio I founded with my wife, pianist Ya-Ting Chang, I had a pleasure of performing with many ensembles and musicians in venues ranging from National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum to National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. Sharing a stage with my mentors, pianist Ann Schein and violinist Earl Carlyss, remains one of my favorite chamber music experiences to date. For me, making music is a deeply collaborative process at its core, as well as one of the most evolved forms of peaceful cooperation and communication humanity has achieved.