Month: September 2023

Danny Yehun Jin (’23) Joins the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

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Curtis congratulates Danny Yehun Jin (’23), who has been named assistant principal second violin of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Jin joins the world-renowned orchestra alongside five new members: Mark Almond, principal horn; Justin Vibbard, principal librarian; and three bass players, Ian Hallas (who officially joined the CSO during its 2023 Ravinia residency), Alexander Horton, and Andrew Sommer.

Mr. Jin began studying the violin at age three and made his debut with the Seoul Royal Symphony as a soloist at age nine. After studying at the Korean National University of Arts and the Korean National School for the Gifted in Arts, he received his bachelor’s degree at Curtis as a Sandra G. and David G. Marshall Fellow, where he was a student of Ida Kavafian and Erin Keefe.

In the school’s 2022–23 season and during its West Coast Tour this past spring, Mr. Jin served as co-concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. He also served as concertmaster of the Music Academy of the West Orchestra in the summer of 2023. In addition to chamber music and orchestral solo performances (including guest appearances with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra), Mr. Jin is a prizewinner of several violin competitions, including the Menuhin Competition Beijing.

Read the official statement about Mr. Jin’s appointment HERE.

Banner image of Danny Yehun Jin courtesy of Nichole MCH Photography. Portrait and performance shot of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Osmo Vänskä at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in Santa Barbara, California, by Zoart Photography.

Hae Sue Lee (Viola ’21) and Gabriel Polinsky (Double Bass ’22) Win Top Prizes at 72nd ARD Competition

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Congratulations to Hae Sue Lee (Viola ’21) and Gabriel Polinsky (Double Bass ’22), who recently won top prizes at the 72nd ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. The Curtis connection to this year’s ARD Competition extended beyond these two accomplished winners to include alumnus Andrew Grams (’03), who conducted both the viola and double bass competition finals.

Ms. Lee, who studied viola at Curtis with president and CEO Roberto Díaz, was awarded first prize in the viola category, along with the Osnabrück Music Prize, a special prize courtesy of GEWA Music (winners in the viola category received an exclusive instrument case), and the audience prize, which includes an invitation to be as a guest artist with the Osnabruck Symphony Orchestra. During the final round, she performed William Walton’s Viola Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Polinsky performed the finale of Koussevitzky’s Double Bass Concerto Op. 3 with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in the final round of the competition and won first prize in the double bass category, along with the Busch Brothers Prize. Currently the associate principal double bass for The Philadelphia Orchestra, he studied with Harold Hall Robinson and Edgar Meyer while attending Curtis.

The annual ARD International Music Competition, launched in 1952, encompasses 21 categories and classical genres, including instrumental, vocal, and chamber music, making it one of Germany’s largest classical music competitions. Learn more about the competition HERE, and see the full list of winners and their prizes HERE. 

Photo of Ms. Lee and Mr. Polinsky courtesy of artists.

Harvey Sachs Publishes New Book: “Schoenberg: Why He Matters”

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“[A]n immensely valuable source for anyone desiring an accessible overview of this endlessly controversial and chronically misunderstood giant of 20th-century music.” —John Adams, New York Times Book Review, cover review

Acclaimed writer, music historian, and musical studies faculty member Harvey Sachs, biographer of Toscanini, has penned a new book, Schoenberg: Why He Matters, published through Liveright (New York and London). A New Yorker Best Book of the Year, Mr. Sachs’ portrait of international icon, Austrian American composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) has been met with additional praise from the Washington Post, Kirkus Review, the Wall Street Journal, and classical musical luminaries James Conlon (music director of L.A. Opera) and internationally renowned conductor Leonard Slatkin.

Arnold Schoenberg’s twelve-tone system was considered the future of music itself. Today, however, leading orchestras rarely play his works, and his name is met with apathy if not antipathy. Mr. Sachs restores Schoenberg to his rightful place in the canon, revealing him as one of the twentieth century’s most influential composers and teachers. Learn more about Harvey Sachs’ published works through his official website.