Violinist Shannon Lee’s New Album, “Witraz”

Released on Azica Records, Lee performs with pianist Arseny Gusev in works by Szymanowski, Bacewicz, Stravinsky, and more

Violinist Shannon Lee and pianist Arseniy Gusev have released their new album “Witraż,” inspired by the psychological and aesthetic tensions of Eastern Europe during the interwar period. 

Named for the Polish word for stained-glass windows, “Witraż” points to the shattering of the windows of England’s Winchester Cathedral by soldiers during the English Civil War. At the time, the glass shards were later rearranged by the people into mosaics to preserve them. 

The album features Szymanowski’s Mythes; Bartók’s Sonata No. 1; Gusev’s arrangement of Boris Lyatoshynsky’s Reflections, op. 16; Bohuslav Martinů’s Impromptu, H.116; Bacewicz’s Kołysanka (Cradle Song) and Witraz; and Stravinsky’s Duo Concertante.

To purchase and listen to the album, click here. 

“Since we recorded this album in 2023, tensions around the world have only become more complex,” said Gusev and Lee in the press release. “The music from this program contains a wide gamut of expression, from devastation to poignancy, wistfulness, mysteriousness, humor, daring energy, or a striving away from sentimentality, letting particular structures in the music speak powerfully for themselves. 

“It’s been more or less 100 years since these pieces were composed, but there are stories inside and behind each one, vivid as ever,” they added. “For instance, the namesake of the album, Witraż, is a special early piece by violinist-composer Grażyna Bacewicz, and unquestionably evokes an otherworldly atmosphere of smoke and glimmering light. Bacewicz would go on to give secret underground concerts in Warsaw during the Second World War. It is likely that this little piece was giving its light at that dark time as well. 

“The architecture of the album invites listeners to explore imaginative threads that weave through time and culture, challenging them to find beauty in the fragments of history and art.”

A graduate of Columbia University, Curtis Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute, and Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Shannon Lee has appeared solo with orchestras including the Tokyo Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. 

Since 2018 she has won top prizes at the Queen Elisabeth, Sendai Music, Shanghai Isaac Stern, Indianapolis Violin, and Naumburg Foundation competitions. Her mentors and influences have included Jan Mark Sloman, David Nadien, Jaime Laredo, Ida Kavafian, Arnold Steinhardt, and Vera Beths.

Pianist and composer Arseniy Gusev began his music studies at age five and later attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. He is also a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Yale University. Since 2024, he has been pursuing a master’s degree in piano at The Juilliard School. 

Guzev has given solo concerts in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Slovakia, Russia, and Germany. His compositions have also been performed in Mariinsky Theater, Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Dortmund, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Hall, and other major concert venues.