You would never know it from his virtuosic performances, but as a child Paul Huang was painfully shy. Playing the violin gave him a voice when words failed him and taught him the power of music to bring people together from all walks of life. “I don’t remember what I played, but I remember so vividly the power of that moment when everybody was so quiet and then they were listening to what I was doing.” Ever since that formative moment Huang has used his talent to build bridges and bring communities together.
When he returns to the TSO stage for Dvořák and the American Experience on February 21 and 23 he’ll bring a hidden gem with him.
The Dvořák violin concerto is not very well-known among audience members. People mostly know the cello concerto, and I think that makes this piece even more fresh in a way. I don’t understand why this piece is not played as often as other major concertos. It has all the wonderful virtuosity and lyricism, emotion, charm, and the dance quality that one would wish for in a great concerto, and this concerto definitely has all of them. I’m always a champion of this concerto and always love bringing it to places for people who have not heard it before. This concerto is extremely dramatic, even from the very beginning where the orchestra just has a very quick introduction of only three bars. Then the violin comes out with this incredible introduction where the soloist has to hit the highest E note on the violin and then hit the even higher A note. It really takes a lot of nerve for the soloist to just walk on stage and nail the two highest notes possible on the violin right off the bat. It’s a challenge but it’s also incredibly exciting for the audience. I can only say great things about this concerto because I love it so much.
Huang’s first appearance with the TSO was cut short by the pandemic. “Literally the day before the concert, after the dress rehearsal I got the call that the concert was cancelled because the whole the whole country was going into lockdown and I somehow got myself the last flight out that same night, and the next day all flights were cancelled.” Huang returned to Tucson in 2022 to rave reviews.
At the time Arizona Daily Star reporter Cathalena E. Burch wrote in part, “after two years of anticipation, New York violinist Paul Huang made his Tucson Symphony Orchestra debut. Huang was supposed to play the Barber Violin Concerto with the orchestra on March 13, 2020, but the pandemic spoiled those plans. On Friday, March 18, he made good on the date, performing Shostakovich’s challenging Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor. Watching him tease out those somber melodies and frenetically scale the fingerboard to keep up with Shostakovich’s furious note changes was worth the delay.”
Also on the program is the premiere of Inscription, a TSO co-commissioned new work by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Raven Chacon. Huang is a big supporter of new music, saying “part of our job as a performing artist is to always give opportunities to emerging composers, to give them a voice because if nobody wants to play their music there wouldn’t be Beethoven. Also, it’s a wonderful thing for an audience to be a part of a premiere. To be able to say 20 years from now, I was part of that, and now this piece is being played by all the major orchestras. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
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Tickets for Dvořák and the American Experience on February 21 and 23 start at $14.