VC Artist Augustin Hadelich to be Featured on New Suzuki Recordings

VC Artist Augustin Hadelich will be the latest violinist to be heard by thousands of children worldwide as part of resources associated with the Suzuki Violin School. Alongside pianist Kuang-Hao Huang, Hadelich will provide recordings for Volumes 4-6 of the Suzuki books. His performances will be available for purchase in CD form, as a digital download, and in the SmartMusic app.

Hadelich's take on the pieces will replace the existing Book 4-6 recordings, which were made by disgraced ex-Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William Preucil Jr. Preucil lost his position in the orchestra, as well as his role as a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2018, after four different women brought sexual assault allegations against him.

In late 2020, the recordings of the first three Suzuki books also received an update, with Hilary Hahn and pianist Natalie Zhu taking on the task. Other violinists who have featured on earlier Suzuki recordings include David Nadien, Koji Toyoda, and Shinichi Suzuki himself.

"I felt it was quite a big responsibility, to record the version that so many kids would listen to as they’re working on the books!" Hadelich said of the recording.

VC Artist German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, and the 2015 Warner Music Prize. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Augustin is a former first prize winner at the Indianapolis International Violin Competition.

In 2016, he was awarded the Grammy Award for the "Best Classical Instrumental Solo," for his recording of Dutilleux’s Violin Concerto with Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra — and he was honored by Musical America as the 2018 "Instrumentalist of the Year."

Augustin's recent release on Warner Classics, "Bach Sonatas & Partitas," has been nominated for the upcoming 2022 Grammy Awards.