VC LIVE | Kronberg Academy Presents Violist Nicholas Swensen

Tune in on July 16 at 12 PM (ET) for an exciting recital with works by Schubert and Kurtág

We're coming to you from the Kronberg Academy in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany, for the weekly concert of the Kronberg Academy Young Virtuosi Series, featuring violist Nicholas Swensen. For this concert, entitled Signs, Nicholas is joined by violinists Guido Sant’Anna and Dmytro Udovichenko and cellist Anouchka Hack.

Every Wednesday at 12 PM (ET), audiences can watch an hour-long concert featuring the Kronberg Academy's students from the Professional Studies program and the Sir András Schiff Performance Program for Young Pianists. Recorded at the Carl Bechstein Hall, the recital programs were designed by the young artists themselves, and often feature their friends from the Academy’s Bachelor and Master programs performing alongside them.

PROGRAM:

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

"Gute Nacht" from "Winterreise" D. 911 (arr. for string quartet by the Danish String Quartet)

György Kurtág (*1926-)

"Jelek" from "Signs, Games and Messages" for solo viola

IV. Vivo feroce

III. Lento parlando

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

String Quartet in G major, no. 15 D. 887

I. Allegro molto moderato

II. Andante un poco moto

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio. Allegretto

IV. Allegro assai

Nicholas Swensen is a former prizewinner at The Juilliard Viola Concerto Competition, Primrose Viola Competition, Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition, Berlingske Competition, and the  Max Rostal International Viola Competition, among others.

At the age of 14 Nicholas was accepted into the class of professor Barbara Westphal as a part of the ‘Jungstudent’ program at Lübeck Musikhochschule. He later studied with Lars Anders Tomter and Asbjørn Nørgaard in Copenhagen and he is currently finishing his Master’s Degree at The Juilliard School with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory.

Nicholas is under the management of Nordic Artists Management. He plays a viola by brothers Amati (1616) through a generous loan from Anders Sveaas’ Almennyttige Fond. He has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Tabea Zimmermann since 2023 - generously made possible by the Jürgen Fitschen/Friederike Lohse patronage.