Violin Odyssey Itamar ZormanIeva Jokubaviciute & Kwan Yi

• Grażyna Bacewicz (1909 - 1969): Oberek No. 1:
• 1 Bacewicz: Oberek No. 1 01:44
• Moshe Zorman (b. 1952): Wanderings:
• 2 Zorman: Wanderings 02:18
• Joseph Achron (1886 - 1943): Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano):
• 3 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 2, Jumping with Tongue Out 01:20
• 4 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 11, Sleep, My Puppy 01:01
• 5 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 12, Birdies 01:46
• 6 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 10, March of Toys 01:27
• 7 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 4, Mamma, Tell a Fairy Tale 01:34
• 8 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 8, The Top 01:02
• 9 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 18, The Caravan 01:13
• 10 Achron: Children's Suite, Op. 57 (Excerpts Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano): No. 20, Parade with Presents 01:45
• Dora Pejačević (1885 - 1923): Violin Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 43 "Slavonic":
• 11 Pejačević: Violin Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 43 "Slavonic": I. Allegro con anima 06:22
• 12 Pejačević: Violin Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 43 "Slavonic": II. Adagio 05:44
• 13 Pejačević: Violin Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 43 "Slavonic": III. Allegro molto vivace 04:55
• Silvestre Revueltas (1899 - 1940): El afilador, R. 13 (Arr. for Violin & Piano):
• 14 Revueltas: El afilador, R. 13 (Arr. for Violin & Piano) 02:31
• Tierra p'a las macetas, R. 6:
• 15 Revueltas: Tierra p'a las macetas, R. 6 02:13
• Ali Osman (1958 - 2017): Afromood:
• 16 Osman: Afromood 05:38
• Gao Ping (b. 1970): Questioning the Mountains:
• 17 Ping: Questioning the Mountains 06:53
• Gareth Farr (b. 1968): Wakatipu:
• 18 Farr: Wakatipu 05:19
• Erwin Schulhoff (1894 - 1942): Violin Sonata No. 2:
• 19 Schulhoff: Violin Sonata No. 2: I. Allegro impetuoso 07:02
• 20 Schulhoff: Violin Sonata No. 2: II. Andante 04:18
• 21 Schulhoff: Violin Sonata No. 2: III. Burlesca 02:24
• 22 Schulhoff: Violin Sonata No. 2: IV. Finale 03:38
• William Grant Still (1895 - 1978): Three Visions:
• 23 Still: Three Visions: II. Summerland (Version for Violin & Piano) 03:57
• Total Runtime 01:16:04

Info for Violin Odyssey

The worldwide lockdowns of 2020/21 proved highly fruitful for US-based violinist Itamar Zorman in his quest to seek out new repertoire. A virtual voyage around the world yielded a discovery of many lesser known and rarely played works for violin, which he presented in 2020 as a livestreamed video series entitled Hidden Gems. From this musical treasure trove he selected 10 pieces for his new album Violin Odyssey, produced by Grammy Award-winning Judith Sherman.

The far-reaching geographical origins of the repertoire, from New Zealand to the United States by way of Sudan, China, Russia, Poland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Israel and Mexico, reveal a fascinating variety of styles and cultural diversity in these seldom heard works. Two larger works set the framework of the album: Slavonic Sonata (1917) written by Croatian noblewoman Dora Pejacevic and the Second Sonata for Violin and Piano (1927) by Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff. While sharing Eastern European flavour, the two sonatas, written only ten years apart, are worlds apart stylistically. These particularly dramatic works are complemented by a programme of shorter pieces with evocative titles that suggest little adventures and encounters on a traveller's journey.

“Violin Odyssey—a striking collection which showcases Zorman’s incredible virtuosity and variety of sound… Zorman’s virtuosity dazzles as he flies through furiously fast passages, never once losing his commitment to the work’s emotional intensity.” (The Cusp)

“Zorman displays his customary strong, impassioned playing throughout an excellent disc.” (The Wholenote)

Itamar Zorman, violin
Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano
Kwan Yi, piano (tracks 3-10, 19-22)
Julia Thompson, tambourine

Itamar Zorman
is one of the most soulful, evocative artists of his generation, distinguished by his emotionally gripping performances and gift for musical storytelling. Since his emergence with the top prize at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, he has wowed audiences all over the world with breathtaking style, causing one critic to declare him a “young badass who’s not afraid of anything.” His “youthful intensity” and “achingly beautiful” sound shine through in every performance, earning him the title of the “virtuoso of emotions.

Awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award for 2014, violinist Itamar Zorman is the winner of the 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.

Mr. Zorman has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, KBS Symphony Seoul, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, German Radio Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Kremerata Baltica, RTE National Symphony Orchestra (Dublin) and American Symphony. He has worked with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson-Thomas, David Robertson, James DePreist, Yuri Bashmet, Michael Stern, Daniel Oren and Thierry Fischer. Mr. Zorman has performed around the world in halls such as Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, and Teatro Massimo Palermo. As a recitalist he performed at Carnegie Hall's Distinctive Debut series, People's Symphony Concerts, Merkin Hall, the Louvre Museum, Suntory Hall Laeiszhalle Hamburg and HR-Sendesaal Frankfurt.

Mr. Zorman was invited to the Verbier, Marlboro, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brevard, Classical Tahoe, MITO SettembreMusica, and Radio France Festivals. He has also collaborated with a number of legendary artists such as Richard Goode (including performances at Carnegie Hall and Library of Congress), Mitsuko Uchida, Steven Isserlis and Jörg Widmann.

As part of an ongoing exploration of the music of Paul Ben-Haim, Mr. Zorman released a CD of the works for violin and orchestra with BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Philippe Bach for BIS Records, in April 2019, entitled “Evocation”. His first solo CD recording, entitled “Portrait”, features works by Messiaen, Schubert, Chausson, Hindemith, and Brahms and was released by Profil - Editions Günther Hänssler.

Described as a “poet of the violin”, Itamar Zorman is also a committed chamber player. He is a founding member of the Israeli Chamber Project and a member of the Lysander Piano Trio, with which he won the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prize in the 2011 Coleman Chamber Music Competition, 1st prize in the 2011 Arriaga Competition, and a bronze medal in the 2010 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

Born in Tel-Aviv in 1985 to a family of musicians, Itamar Zorman began his violin studies at the age of six with Saly Bockel at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel-Aviv. He graduated in 2003 and continued his studies with Professor David Chen and Nava Milo. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance as a student of Hagai Shaham, and his Master of Music from The Juilliard School in 2009, where he studied with Robert Mann and Sylvia Rosenberg. He then went on to receive an Artist Diploma from Manhattan School of Music in 2010 and an Artist Diploma from Julliard in 2012 under the tutelage of Sylvia Rosenberg, and he is an alumnus of the Kronberg Academy where he studied with Christian Tetzlaff and Mauricio Fuks. He is also the recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and has taken part in numerous master classes around the world, working with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel, and Ivry Gitlis.

Mr. Zorman is currently on faculty at the Eastman School of Music. He plays on a 1734 Guarneri del Gesù, from the collection of Yehuda Zisapel.

Booklet for Violin Odyssey