Belgian violist Dmitri Murrath will be the guest artist at Brigham Young University’s annual William Primrose Memorial Concert Friday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall. Admission is free.
The program will feature “Sonata für Bratsche allein” by Paul Hindemith and Suite VI, BWV 1012 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Following an intermission the performance will conclude with “Manto” by Giacinto Scelsi and “Sarasateana” by Efrem Zimbalist.
Murrath has won numerous awards, including first prize at the Primrose International Viola Competition, second prize at the First Tokyo International Viola Competition, the special prize for the contemporary work at the ARD Munich Competition, Verbier Festival Academy's Viola Prize and a fellowship from the Belgian–American Educational Foundation.
With repertoire extending from Bach to contemporary music by Ligeti, Kurtag and Sciarrino, Murrath has taken part in the Park Lane Group New Year Series in London to great critical acclaim, as well as commissioned, given world premieres and recorded several solo works.
Murrath began his musical education at the Yehudi Menuhin School studying with Natalia Boyarsky and went on to work in London with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
He graduated with an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory as a student of Kim Kashkashian. He is now on the viola faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College and the New England Conservatory.
The Primrose Memorial Concert is an annual event that honors legendary violist and former BYU faculty member, William Primrose (1903–1982). The concert series features violists from around the globe who, like Primrose, distinguish themselves on the instrument and promote its scholarship.
For more information, contact Claudine Bigelow at (801) 422-1315 or Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348, ken_crossley@byu.edu.
Writer: Preston Wittwer