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Catapult: Violinist rides win into fame
Winston-Salem Symphony Photo
Danielle Belen will play with the Winston-Salem Symphony.
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Published: October 11, 2009
Violinist Danielle Belén won the prestigious Sphinx Competition for black and Latino string players in 2008. She is now one of its biggest fans because of everything that has come her way as result -- including an appearance next weekend with the Winston-Salem Symphony.
"The last year has been unlike anything I expected it could be," she said. "Things just kind of exploded. It was really incredible. I just can't say enough good things about the Sphinx Competition and what it has done for me."
Belén will share the spotlight with Corine Brouwer, the symphony's concertmaster, in "The Four Seasons," a "Classics" program that Robert Moody will conduct next Sunday and Oct. 20 at the Stevens Center. Belén will solo in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and after the intermission, Brouwer will do the same in Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
An abridged version of "Four Seasons" will be presented Saturday at the Stevens Center as part of the symphony's "Kicked-Back Classics" series.
Belén, 26, said that she likes the format for the "Four Seasons" program. This is similar to that in the Eight Seasons CD, in which virtuoso Gidon Kremer recorded both Vivaldi's and Piazzolla's Seasons concertos with Kremerata Baltica.
"It's such a great pairing," she said. "I've seen it done a couple of times, and it works so well, because of the stark contrasts. The Vivaldi is just so pristine, pure and clean and clear. And in the Piazzolla, you start to get a little bit down and dirty. It's tango music and it's sensual."
Belén also spoke of several quotations of Vivaldi's Seasons in that of Piazzolla. She described one of these as "turned upside down and a little more risqué."
Belén's win at the Sphinx has led to appearances with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Boston Pops, the San Francisco Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. She is from southern California.
"I love playing concertos with orchestras," she said. "That's one of my favorite things to do. I've done it a lot. I enjoy the rush of being on stage with 80 other musicians and this massive sound."
But she was also excited about another Sphinx-related project that she has recently finished, namely a recording of Lawrence Dillon's solo-violin music for the Naxos label that will be available for streaming and downloading in March and as a CD in April. Dillon teaches at UNC School of the Arts.
When Belén signed on with Naxos, the company stipulated that she record the works of a contemporary American composer. She said that she first came across Dillon's compositions on a Web site in which examples of short violin music from Dillon and several other composers had been collected.
"I really appreciated the humor and the virtuosity and how well it was written for violin," she said. "It just went from there. (His music) is very well-written for the violin in a traditionally musical way while still being kind of edgy."
"Danielle is a very special violinist -- there is nothing she can't do technically, and her artistic insights are uncanny," Dillon said by e-mail.
Belén said that she has engagements lined up through 2011 because of her Sphinx win. But her ambitions in music go beyond a solo career. She is also on the faculty at the Colburn School in Los Angeles and is the teaching assistant of Robert Lipsett, one of the best violin instructors in the business.
"Five or 10 years from now, I'd like to think my reputation as a teacher would be up there with Dorothy DeLay and Robert Lipsett," she said. "That's my ultimate goal."
KKeuffel@wsjournal.com
727-7337
Want to go?
The Winston-Salem Symphony will present concerts and activities Tuesday through Oct. 20. The concerts will be at the Stevens Center, 405 W. Fourth St.
• MUSICAL U: David Levy, a musicologist at Wake Forest University who writes the symphony's program notes, along with symphony conductors Matthew Troy and Robert Moody, will lead a discussion on the enduring popularity of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Admission is $8, $18 or $25. Visit www.reynoldahouse.org or call 758-5900.
• LUNCH: Moody and violinists Danielle Belén and Corine Brouwer will discuss The Four Seasons at the Music Lovers' Luncheon at noon Friday at the Piedmont Club, 200 W. Second St. (19th floor). The cost is $15. Reservations are required. Call 724-7077.
• KICK BACK: The "Kicked-Back Classics" concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The program will include the "Spring," "Autumn" and "Winter" movements of Vivaldi's Seasons, along with the "Summer" and "Winter" movements of Piazzolla's. Tickets are $15-$35 (student rush $6).
• AFTERPARTY: "Brews with Bob" (or "Root Beer with Robert") will be immediately after the Saturday concert at Noma Urban Bar and Grill, 321 W. Fourth St. Ten percent discount on food purchases with concert ticket stub.
• CLASSIC: A "Classics" concert, called The Four Seasons, will be at 3 p.m. next Sunday and at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20. Belén will solo in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Corine Brouwer in Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Tickets are $15-$55 (student rush $6). For concert tickets, see www.wssymphony.org or call 464-0145 or 721-1945.
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