Bach & Paganini

Recorded: March 2, 2024 

Trinity Church,
Lakeville, CT

Performer:

Edson Scheid, period violin

About Edson Scheid

Edson Scheid has been praised for his “polished playing” (The Strad), and for being a “virtuoso violinist” (The Boston Globe). His performance of Strauss’s song Morgen at Carnegie Hall alongside Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro was described as follows: “The concertmaster, Edson Scheid, proved a worthy foil as violin soloist” (The New York Times).

A native of Brazil, Edson Scheid is based in New York City, where he plays with some of the city’s leading ensembles, including the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Classical Orchestra, Musica Sacra New York, The Clarion Orchestra and New York Classical Players. He frequently performs throughout the United States, on both modern and period instruments, and in Europe, Asia, North and South America with such ensembles as Il Pomo d’Oro and Les Arts Florissants.

As concertmaster, Edson Scheid has led performances with Seraphic Fire, Washington Bach Consort, Il Pomo d’oro, Music Sacra New York, Juilliard415, The Clarion Orchestra, and Teatro Nuovo, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Cullen Theater at Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Sala São Paulo, Harris Hall in Chicago, the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.

Edson Scheid’s many performances of Paganini’s 24 Caprices, on both period and modern violins, have been received with enthusiasm around the world. He has been featured live in-studio on In Tune from BBC Radio 3 and his recording of the Caprices on the baroque violin for the Naxos label has been critically acclaimed: “Far from being mere virtuoso stunts, Scheid’s Caprices abound in the beauty and revolutionary spirit of these works…” (Fanfare Magazine).

the Sala São Paulo in Brazil, after a performance as concertmaster with Il Pomo d’Oro and Joyce DiDonato.

His second solo album, “On Paganini’s Trail… H. W. Ernst and more”, has been released under the Centaur Label – the first recording ever of this repertoire on a period violin. New York Concert Review writes that “Mr. Scheid is a superb violinist and a musician who can handle the fiendish challenges of this repertoire while finding the music in it.”, and Early Music America praises Edson Scheid for taking “his time through these works, letting them breathe without losing sight of execution or musicality…”

Edson Scheid has given masterclasses as a guest artist at the University of California Santa Barbara and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has led a program with students of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Joyce DiDonato, and offered a presentation on performing Paganini Caprices as part of the Benedetti Foundation’s Baroque Virtual Sessions. Since 2020 Edson Scheid is member of the Il Pomo d’Oro Academy, offering masterclasses on period instruments.

Edson Scheid holds degrees from the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, the Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School, where he was the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship. He is a two-time winner of the Historical Performance Concerto Competition at Juilliard, and a recipient of the Broadus Erle Prize at Yale.

Crescendo is a national-award-winning music performance organization. Now in it’s 20^th season, Crescendo has presented concerts year- round in northwestern Connecticut, the Berkshires, and the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. The organization is based at Trinity Church Lime Rock in Lakeville, CT.

Founder and Artistic Director, Christine Gevert, is celebrated for her innovative approach to programming and performance. Crescendo’s audiences are often rewarded with programs of rarely-heard and newly discovered works. Often Ms. Gevert uses original manuscripts to make her own performing editions for chorus, soloists and orchestra because there are no existing published editions. Frequently our programs feature early and contemporary music works alongside each other, creating a contrast for the listener. Eight new works have been commissioned for our chorus and vocal ensemble. Crescendo has presented ten U.S. premieres.

Crescendo’s innovative programming relies on a local base of dedicated and talented auditioned amateurs and professionals who make up the Crescendo Chorus and Crescendo Vocal Ensemble. Crescendo has its own Period Instrument Orchestra and Andean Ensemble, comprised of professionals from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Hartford. These instrumentalists and the internationally recognized soloists who regularly collaborate with Crescendo bring the performances to a level comparable to the best ensembles in the country. Instrumental music ensembles and concerts with vocal soloists have been part of Crescendo’s programs since the beginning. Some of the performers have been: Julianne Baird (Philadelphia) soprano, Nicholas Tamagna (Oldenburg, Germany), countertenor, Peter Sykes (Boston) and Władysław Kłosiewicz (Warsaw, Poland), harpsichord, Christopher Bellsucio (Boston), natural trumpet, Tricia van Oers, recorder, I Fagiolini Renaissance Vocal Ensemble (London, UK), L’Orchestre de Chambre Française (Paris, France), Lisa Rautenberk (North Haven), Edson Scheid (New York), and Peter Lekx (Montreal) baroque violin, Duo Alturas (Hartford) charango, viola and guitar, and Duo Les Inégales, traverso and harpsichord.

We are strongly committed to educational outreach―to our own singers, our audiences and local students. Talented local high school singers and young musicians are coached by Ms. Gevert as part of our “Young Artist Program”, and often play a part in our performances. She and members of the chorus visit local schools to work with students.

Artistic Director Christine Gevert is celebrated for her innovative approach to programming and performance: In 2014 Crescendo won the prestigious Chorus America / ASCAP Alice Parker Award. Today’s programming reflects some of the diversity and scope of music that Crescendo is known for.