Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa. The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States. A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals. In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

Bartók’s Violin Sonata No. 1: Ancient Folk Influences and Strange New Sounds

by

Describing Béla Bartók’s Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75, violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja notes The power in the first movement, the loneliness of the violin melody and the states of panic in the second; the almost grotesquely joyful and folk-like character of the third — it’s a special joy if you can play it with pleasure and without stress, without worrying about all its terrifying difficulties. It’s technically extremely difficult, with all the …

Read more

“Sweet, Sweet Spirit”: Doris Akers

by

It has been said that American gospel composer Doris Akers (1923-1995) provided the soundtrack for the civil rights movement. Born in Missouri as the eighth of ten children, Akers moved to Los Angeles at the age of 22. Here she published her first song while performing with the Sallie Martin Singers. In 1957, Akers was invited to direct the 100-voice-strong Sky Pilot Choir. One of the earliest integrated choirs, it was heard …

Read more

Mendelssohn’s “Athalie” Overture: Triumph Over a Villainous Queen

by

A notorious villain of the Hebrew Bible, the Baal-worshiping Athalia usurped the throne of Judah, attempted to kill all royal heirs, and ruled as Queen for six years (c. 841–835 BC) before being overthrown. The dramatic story is the subject of Jean Racine’s 1691 play, as well as Handel’s 1733 oratorio. King Frederick William IV of Prussia commissioned Felix Mendelssohn to write incidental music for a Berlin performance of Racine’s Athalie. In …

Read more

Martinů’s Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola: Bohemian Renaissance

by

Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) was born in the tower of St. Jakub Church in the small Bohemian town of Polička. He was a notoriously bad student at the Prague Conservatory, where he studied violin but was more interested in composing. Briefly, he was a member of the second violin section of the Czech Philharmonic. In 1923, he moved to Paris, where he studied with Albert Roussel and began to compose extensively. Following the …

Read more

Vaughan Williams’ “Household Music” (Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes): Music for the Waiting Hours of War

by

The Blitz, a bombing campaign conducted by the Nazi German Luftwaffe against the United Kingdom, began in September of 1940 and lasted eight months. Its climax brought a firestorm which became known as the Second Great Fire of London. It was during this dark period, when professional concerts were in limited supply, that Ralph Vaughan Williams suggested that composers write music for “combinations of all manner of instruments which might be played …

Read more

Rachmaninov’s Elegie, Op. 3, No. 1: Gary Graffman

by

Sergei Rachmaninov was 19 when, in 1892, he composed his set of five solo piano Morceaux de fantasie (“Pieces of fantasy”). The collection was dedicated to Anton Arensky, Rachmaninov’s harmony teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. It includes the famous Prelude in C-sharp minor, with its allusion to the Bells of Moscow. Shortly after publication, the young composer gave a copy to Tchaikovsky, who commented on the quality of the work. The set begins …

Read more

Prokofiev’s Russian Overture: A Joyous Homecoming

by

Even as Stalin’s purges intensified, a homesick Sergei Prokofiev returned permanently to the USSR in 1936. In 1918, he fled Russia, living in the United States and then in Paris. He was lured back with promises of artistic freedom and the ability to travel abroad, both of which ultimately were restricted by Soviet authorities. Composed in 1936, and premiered the same year by conductor Eugen Szenkar and the Moscow State Philharmonic, Russian …

Read more