by Mike Telin
There are certain musicians who you can’t believe have never been to ChamberFest Cleveland. Case in point: Kim Kashkashian.
“Diana Cohen has been asking me for years,” the celebrated violist said during a Zoom conversation. “We know each other from Marlboro, and when I was in the Baltimore area I knew her father Frank very well. So we’ve all been friends for decades.”
On Thursday, June 26 in Mixon Hall, Kaskashian will be featured in Brahms’ Two Songs for alto, viola, and piano. On Friday, June 27 in Harkness Chapel she’ll be part of the ensemble who will be playing Brett Dean’s viola quintet, Epitaphs. And on Saturday, June 28 in Reinberger Chamber Hall she’ll take part in Brahms’ Piano Quintet in f. Tickets for all performances are available online.
That third program will also include György Kurtág’s Signs, Games, and Messages for solo viola. Kashkashian said that she’s had a long association with the composer and his music.
“I’ve had the honor and privilege of working with him in person over the years going back to about 1990,” Kashkashian said. She reached out to the Hungarian composer before she, pianist Robert Levin, and clarinettist Eduard Brunner recorded Kurtág‘s Hommage à R. Sch.
“At that time I was working on Signs, Games, and Messages, so I asked if I could come and check it with him. I was living in Freiburg, Germany so I took the night train to Budapest. I thought I was totally prepared, but we spent three or four hours on the first three or four lines. That was my first experience with him but that’s how he works — you just play a passage over and over again until it’s exactly the way it is in his imagination. And since that first encounter I have felt that he was my mentor for my mid-years.”
While living in Germany, Kashkashian developed a satisfying career playing what she liked — a lot of contemporary and solo music. “In Germany the viola is considered a solo instrument, so I also played with orchestras. But chamber music had always been my first love. So working with György Kurtág was a turn of the kaleidoscope in what I thought was possible.
The violist said that the composer spent time in Vienna and Amsterdam before landing in Berlin. “By that time I was also in Berlin, so we’ve had many encounters over the years. And I feel that although I cannot understand the man and his creative life, I do have a feeling for what he might want to hear. So whenever I work with a group of violists, I always try to include something to do with signs, games, and messages.
Kashkashian is one of a select group of violists to have an international solo career. Among her many accolades and honors is a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for her recording “Kurtág & Ligeti: Music for Viola”.
Born in Detroit, she switched from violin to the viola while in the eighth grade. “I just loved the sound and I identified with the alto voice more than the soprano voice. And when I got my hands on a viola — the Interlochen Arts Academy had an instrument library — I wanted to switch,” she said.
After Interlochen she studied with Walter Trampler at the Peabody Conservatory, still thinking “that in the best of all possible worlds I would get a job in a good orchestra.”
After Walter Trampler left Peabody, Karen Tuttle arrived, and strongly encouraged Kashkashian to audition for Marlboro. “I didn’t think I was ready, but she said, ‘No, you’re going to do it.’ And going to Marlboro really changed my mind about what I thought I wanted to do. So she pushed me into a situation I was a little young for, but it worked out. I went for many summers and Felix Galimir became my mentor there. And that changed my life. I was inspired by the artists who made up the backbone of the place, artistically, creatively, and philosophically. So much so that I ended up hoping that eventually I could have a chamber music career.”
The violist said that she got lucky at a couple of viola competitions and because of those wins, she was invited by Gidon Kremer to attend his Lockenhaus Festival, which, like Marlboro, is all about chamber music.
“But as a result of that, he asked me to play solo concerts with him. So I had no desire or plan to be a soloist — it just happened. If I were to give advice to young artists today, I would say, You know what? Life happens to you and all you can do is be ready.”
Published on ClevelandClassical.com June 19, 2025
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