By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Los Angeles Newspaper Group

Violinist Dylana Jenson will appear as soloist with the Pasadena Symphony on Feb. 14 — read my preview story HERE.

Jenson’s struggles to find a violin that sings to and through her soul have been detailed in several postings. One is Jenson’s interview with Pasadena-based violinist and blogger Laurie Niles HERE. Another is an interview with violinist Robert L. Jones HERE.

An article by Donald Rosenberg in the Cleveland Plain Dealer is particularly illuminating because details the struggles of violinists to find just the right instrument — as Rosenberg puts it, “a cautionary tale for anyone in search of the instrument that best reflects his or her artistic soul” — Read it HERE.

As I read Rosenberg’s article, I was struck by the similarities between Jenson and organist Cameron Carpenter, who grew so frustrated with the organs on which he has played throughout his career that he built his own instrument. Read my story HERE.

My late wife was a concert pianist and I remember our long search for exactly the “right” piano for her. I was struck by the differences between the many instruments that she played, which included several Steinways. Finally when she sat down at a Baldwin L, she (and I) could hear that this was “Jennifer’s piano.”

FURTHER NOTES:
Jenson’s recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra is still available on compact disc. The recording of the Shostakovich and Barber Violin Concertos she made in 2008 with David Lockington and the London Symphony Orchestra is available as a download through cdbaby.com HERE.
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(c) Copyright 2015, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.