Doublestop Magazine

Violist Kim Kashkashian

Viola players don’t get enough attention, always being crowded out by the violin on one side and the cello on the other. So, it was nice to hear a couple of pieces on violist Kim Kashkashian on NPR recently. One piece is a review of her new CD, Asturiana, and the other is an interview with Kashkashian. From the NPR website:

Today, Kashkashian is one of only a few violists with an international solo career. Her mastery of the rich-toned cousin of the flashier violin has led to many collaborations with composers and arrangers. Kashkashian’s new album, Asturiana, finds her working with pianist Robert Levin, with whom she performs their own transcriptions of songs by composers such as Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados and Alberto Ginastera.

Kashkashian, whose new CD is rooted in the folk tradition of Spain and Argentina, admits that violists are always looking for ways to increase what’s available for their instrument to play. “We all are, in a sense, missionaries for new music, and most of us are also thieves, because we have to and want to take repertoire from other instruments.”