Thursday, January 6, 2011

Los Angeles Times: Nokuthula Ngwenyama is among '2011 Faces to Watch: Music'

[Violist: Nokuthula Ngwenyama (Darla Furlani) (Los Angeles Times)]

The violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama (b. 1976) is profiled at AfriClassical.com and has a website of her own at http://www.ngwenyama.com/. Today she makes the Los Angeles Times list of “2011 Faces to Watch: Music.”

Los Angeles Times
Mark Swed
“Nokuthula Ngwenyama has been a face to watch for a while: She brought her opulent tone to the viola solos in Berlioz's 'Harold in Italy' with the Los Angeles Philharmonic back in 2004. But maybe this Californian (of Zimbabwean and Japanese heritage), who also holds an advanced degree in theology from Harvard, has other priorities besides rushing her career. Her versatility in various kinds of music -- be it Bach, jazz or 'Che: A Musical Biography' for viola and guitar by Spanish composer Miguel Corella -- adds to the difficulty in finding a pigeonhole for her.

“No matter, Ngwenyama has lately begun to attract the right kind of attention. She's already an attraction in Japan. Last year she released an outstanding recording of viola sonatas by neglected 19th century Russian composer Anton Rubinstein. On Jan. 23, she joins the Claremont Trio in Dvorak's Piano Quartet in E-flat, Opus 87.

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