Juliette Kang
Juliette Kang
Juliette Kang. Violinist, b Edmonton 6 Sep 1975; B MUS (Curtis) 1991, MA (Juilliard) 1993. A child prodigy, Juliette Kang began violin lessons at age four and soon became a student of James Keene, concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. She made her concerto debut in Montreal at age seven.
Juliette Kang (far left) in performance at the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival. From YouTube.
Prizes and Early Performances
In Canada, Kang won top prizes at the National Music Festival 1983-6. At age nine, she was accepted as a violin student on scholarship at the Curtis Institute and became a student of Jascha Brodsky. By age 11, Kang had garnered international attention, winning top prizes at the 1986 Beijing International Youth Violin Competition in China. In 1989, at age 13, Kang became the youngest artist to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. She appeared as a soloist with the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, in December 1990, and in June 1991 she performed Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor with Pinchas Zukerman and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at the 30th Anniversary Young Concert Artists Gala. Kang began her master's at Juilliard in 1991 with renowned violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. In her first year at Juilliard, Kang won first prize in the 1992 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in Paris. In February 1992, she won first prize in the Philadelphia Orchestra Student Competition, a win that included a solo performance with the ensemble.
Kang performed her New York recital debut in March 1993 in the Young Concert Artists Series at the 92nd Street Y. She continued her studies at Juilliard for an additional two years after graduation and performed an average of 20 recitals per year. Kang received the Canada Council's Sylva Gelber Award in 1993, awarded annually to the most talented Canadian artist under 30. In 1994, Kang won the gold medal at the Indianapolis International Violin Competition, as well as prizes for best Bach performance and best performance of Witold Lutoslawski's Subito, the commissioned work of the event. In spring of 1994, Kang toured northern Canada with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and in October, returned to perform in their Master Series.
International Career
Kang has since performed with every major orchestra in Canada, including the Toronto, Montreal, and Edmonton symphony orchestras, as well as with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Internationally, she has performed with the San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, and Indianapolis orchestras, as well as with the Boston Pops, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Singapore Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, and the Orchestre National de France. From 1999 to 2000, Kang was the principal second violin with the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra. From 2001 to 2003, she was a member of the first violin section with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, which she followed with a two-year stint as assistant concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Since 2005, Kang has held the position of first associate concertmaster with the Philadelphia Orchestra and plays second violin.
A distinguished recitalist, Kang is much in demand, her invitations including performances in Toronto's "Onstage at the Glenn Gould" series and at Carnegie Hall, the Frick Museum, Boston's Gardner Museum, and Paris' Théâtre Châtelet. Kang has made frequent appearances at festivals, including the Festival de Lanaudière, the Festival d'été International de Québec, Marlboro festivals, Spoleto USA, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and France's Colmar Festival. Kang has also given performances with her husband, cellist Tom Kraines, as part of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, the Moab Music Festival, the Next Generation Festival, and the Portland Chamber Music Festival.
Repertoire
Kang's repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary, including the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Wieniawski, Ravel, Poulenc, Marjan Mozetich, and Witold Lutoslawski. She has performed some of the most challenging repertoire for violin, including Beethoven's Violin Concerto, performed with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, and William Walton's Violin Concerto, performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Critical Review
Kang has been praised internationally throughout her career. In a review of her debut recital in New York, the New York Times (13 Mar 1996) described her tone as "rich but never cloying." Referring to Kang's 1992 win at the Menuhin competition in Paris, Strad magazine wrote, "She has real personality as well as effortless technique and tremendous variety of sound." In 1996, Kang was listed in the New York Times as one of the 30 people under age 30 anticipated to change our culture.
Selected Discography
Debut Recording. Beethoven - Bach - Lutoslawski. 1994. Koch Discover International DICD 920241
Juliette Kang: Carnegie Hall Recital Debut. 1998. Samsung/Nices
Wieniawski/Schumann: Violin Concertos. 2000. CBC Records SMCD 5197
Mozetich. Affairs of the Heart. CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi conductor. 2000. CBC Records SMCD 5200
Author Jennifer Higgs
MacLean, Mairi. "Young violin whiz enjoys a busy year," The Edmonton Journal, 16 Sep 1989
Allen, John L. "Pops is tops as young talent lights up symphony stage," The Muskegon Chronicle, 26 Sep 1992
"Juliette Kang." Young Concert Artists Inc Profile, Oct 1992
"Juliette Kang wins 1992 Paris Menuhin Competition," ConservaStory/Alberta College Conservatory, vol 2, Spring 1993
Baker, D.T. "Juliette Kang returns for home-town concert: Solo violinist enjoying banner year in competitions," The Edmonton Journal, 13 Oct 1994
Crew, Robert. "'Over-the-hill' teen violinist is really on top of the world," The Toronto Star, 15 Oct 1994
Kaptainis, Arthur. "From prodigy to post-grad: 19-year-old violinist returns 12 years after first show," The Gazette (Montreal), 4 Feb 1995
Dawson, Eric. "A medal win is just the beginning for young musicians: Hard work is the difference between career and brief fame," The Calgary Herald, 16 Nov 1995
"Child prodigies," Allegro (magazine of the Vancouver Symphony), vol 2, Sep/Oct 1996
Todd, Richard. "A tale of two Kangs," The Ottawa Citizen, 22 Feb 2001
Links to Other Sites
Juliette Kang
A profile of Juliette Kang from the Alberta Scene website. Includes a brief audio clip of her music.
The many hats of an artist
An interview with renowned Canadian violinist Juliette Kang. From the website Quills Quotes & Notes.
Musical Instrument Bank
News and information about the Canada Council for the Arts' Musical Instrument Bank. Includes downloadable images of the instruments and comments by Canadian musicians participating in the program.
Juliette Kang
A profile of acclaimed violinist Juliette Kang. From the website for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Juliette Kang
A biography of Juliette Kang, International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Laureate. From the website for the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
In Performance: Classical Music
A brief 1996 review of Juliette Kang's Carnegie Hall debut. Search The New York Times website for additional articles on Ms. Kang (select "All Results Since 1851). From the New York Times.
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