Gwendolyn Masin - Origin CD

Gwendolyn Masin is one of today's significant concert violinists. She is regarded as "a formidable talent that demands attention" (The Irish Times), "appearing to merge with her instrument and in so doing, enchanting her audience" (Thuner Tagblatt). She is celebrated for "setting first-rate standards in concert performance with her technically superior, refined, intensive and richly contrasting expression" (Der Bund). Masin is descendant of a lineage of classically-trained musicians and remembers playing violin as naturally as having a conversation when she was a child. Her family, imbued with musical insight, helped her to avoid "the pitfalls of child prodigy status" (Figaro.hu). Her formative years were shaped by musical instruction, world travel, performing for audiences in reputable concert halls, and collecting accolades internationally – all by the age of five. At eleven she gained national exposure in Ireland after appearing on The Late Late Show. She has been a regular guest on TV and radio shows and has performed throughout Europe, Russia, South Africa, the Middle East, and North America. ORIGIN is a collection of the cultures, music, traditions and heritage which have shaped Gwendolyn Masin's life and talents. As the descendant in a lineage of musicians from Central and Eastern Europe, the young violinist grew up surrounded by music. She evolved as a player alongside the students of her parents who are founders of a school for gifted young string instrumentalists as well as violinists themselves. Dubbed a prodigy, Gwendolyn performed around the globe and in this way, was exposed to the music and arts of many cultures and places. The maturations of Gwendolyn from childhood prodigy to professional musician was synergistic - a player shepherding her heritage and multicultural background into the ever-changing world of classical music and traditional folk pieces. In her search for own identity, music appears to have found Gwendolyn. She arrived at her present moment, shaped by her experiences, with a unique mind, perspective and string artistic sensibilities. ORIGIN Tracklist: 1. Manuel de Falla: Danse Espagnole from La Vida Breve 2. Ernest Bloch: Nigun (Improvisation) from Baal Shem 3. Miklós Lukács: Bartók Impressions 4. Béla Bartók: Romanian Dances, Sz. 68 5. Maurice Ravel: Tzigane, Rapsodie de Concert 6. Pablo de Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Opus 20 7. Fritz Krisler: La Gitana 8. Maurice Ravel: Piece en Forme de Habanera 9. Grigoraș Dinicu / Jascha Heifetz: Hora Staccato