Kerson Leong

Violin

  • Kerson Leong has been described as “not just one of Canada’s greatest violinists but one of the greatest violinists, period” (Toronto Star). Forging a unique path since his First Prize win at the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition in 2010, he continues to win over colleagues and audiences alike with “a mixture of spontaneity and mastery, elegance, fantasy, intensity that makes his sound recognizable from the first notes” (Le Monde).

    His latest album, featuring the Britten and Bruch violin concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Patrick Hahn for Alpha Classics, was released to widespread critical acclaim, including having been awarded ‘Editor’s Choice’ by Gramophone, ‘The Strad Recommends’ by The Strad, and the ‘Choc de Classica’ by Classica as well as five-star recommendations from the Sunday Times and Diapason among others.

    His 23/24 season includes solo performances with the Arkansas Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Regina Symphony, La Sinfonia de Lanaudiere, I Musici de Montreal and Violons du Roy. Recent season highlights include solo performances with such ensembles as the Royal, Oslo, Brussels, Kansai, and Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, the Seattle, Singapore, Toronto, Istanbul, Toledo, Montreal, Tucson, Bilkent, and Wuppertal Symphony Orchestras, a tour of Sweden with the Camerata Nordica, a recital tour of the Midwestern United States, and recording John Rutter’s Visions with the composer himself and the Aurora Chamber Orchestra, after giving its world premiere in London, UK.

    As a sought-after soloist, he was hand-picked by Yannick Nézet-Séguin to be his artist-in-residence with the Orchestre Métropolitain during the 18/19 season and has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Wigmore Hall, the Auditorium du Louvre and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. As a passionate chamber musician, he has performed at such international festivals and concert series as the Verbier Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Flâneries musicales de Reims, and Bergen International Festival among others.

    Passionate about pedagogy and music outreach, he has been invited to give masterclasses and teach at various festivals and universities including the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Gustav Mahler Academy, the Domaine Forget Festival Academy, the University of Ottawa, and Dalhousie University among others. Fostering a significant audience away from the concert hall as well, he is cementing his noteworthy role in reaching young people, aspiring musicians, and potential music lovers alike with his art in creative and engaging ways on social media. He is an associate artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he was mentored by Augustin Dumay.

    He has always been keen on making connections between music and other fields. Ever since his dad started introducing him to physics concepts about string resonance, they have strongly influenced his playing and philosophy on sound production. Together with his dad, he has given lectures about this subject in places such as the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Barratt-Due Music Institute in Oslo, and various universities in California.

    Kerson performs on the ‘ex Bohrer, Baumgartner’ Guarneri del Gesu courtesy of Canimex Inc, Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.

  • May 5, 2023: In Collaboration with Kerson Leong, Album “Britten Bruch: Violin Concertos”

    February 5, 2021: Kerson Leong Releases Solo Album “Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin”
    - Spotify

    January 24, 2020: In Collaboration with Kerson Leong, Album “A Tribute to Ysaÿe” Is Released
    - Spotify

    January 19, 2020: Kerson Leong Wins ‘Concert of the Year-Montréal’ and ‘Concert of the year-Classical’ With the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal
    - Opus Awards

    November 18, 2019: Kerson Leong Joins Canadian Delegation to Accompany Governor General
    - The Governor General of Canada

  • PRAISE FOR ‘BRITTEN BRUCH: VIOLIN CONCERTOS’
    “…I can’t recall a better account of the piece than this.”
    -Edward Seckerson, Gramophone

    “In one case, Kerson Leong's instrument has the propulsive force of an Olympic bow, in the other, the rippling ability of a musical saw.” (translated from French)
    -Le Monde

    “…he evokes a raw pathos that allows the instrument to take on a convincingly human quality.”
    -Azusa Ueno, The Classic Review

    “His sound is ravishing and lyrical when it needs to be, dance-like and playful at times, and purposeful and strong when it needs to be.”
    -Geoff Pearce, Classical Music Daily

    “A summit in the interpretation of this modern work, which takes on its full meaning today. For the musician, so young, but already great, it is a consecration. Nothing less.” (Translated from French)
    -Le Parnasse Musical

    REVIEW: VIRTUOSO PLAYED VIOLIN SOLO WITH TSO
    ”One would have sworn last Sunday that it was not a human hand on Leong's Guarneri instrument producing sounds at the very height of human hearing. Nothing than the tip of an angel's wing could have sufficed.”
    -Dr. Donald J. Behnke, Green Valley News

    “…the opportunity to admire in such a popular opus the assertive playing, the singular tone of this beautiful violinist…” (translated from French)
    -Jean-Charles Hoffe, Artamag

    REVIEW: PLAYING SCHUMANN’S VIOLIN SOLOS AS SMOOTH AS SILK
    “Leong plays on a gloriously warm-sounding Guaneri del Gesu violin and the influence of his mentor Augustin Dumay was clear in his rich tone, fluid bowing and natural lines. At just 22, he displays remarkable mastery of the violin.”
    – Mervin Beng, The Strait Times

    REVIEW: CLASSICAL MUSIC ALL-STARS SHINE AT TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC OPENING NIGHT
    “The first half concluded with a barnburner, Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, played by that wunderkind of Canadian violinist Kerson Leong. At 22, he’s no longer “promising” but has “arrived.” He also plays on a Guarneri del Gesu, not too shabby! One can’t help but be impressed by his jaw-dropping technique. That said, he’s no mere technician. Everything is executed with uncommon musicality and expressivity. I grew up on recordings of Heifetz, Perlman and all the greats, and one can get a bit jaded with this piece, but Leong was so superb that I found myself smiling the whole 9 minutes.

    He then opened the second half with four pieces composed/arranged by Fritz Kreisler. The dazzling virtuosity of Leong’s playing took my breath away. Yes, I admit I’m easily impressed by prodigious technique, but in all honesty, I sense a true musical heart underneath all that razzle-dazzle.”
    – Joseph So, Ludwig Van Toronto

    REVIEW: A SMILING SUMMER NIGHT
    – Michael Johnson, ConcertoNet.com

    REVIEW: OSO, KERSON LEONG OFFER PROGRAM FULL OF HEART AND VIRTUOSITY
    “Leong has matured into an intelligent, inquisitive young musician with a gorgeous sound and just the right amount of dramatic fire.”
    – Natasha Gauthier, Artsfile

    RETURN OF THE OSM AT THE MAISON SYMPHONIQUE: A BEAUTIFUL CONCERT OF DISCOVERIES
    [Kerson Leong] demonstrates an excellent sense of phrasing, correct intonations, and flawless virtuosity in the third movement, presto in moto perpetuo , short but very gripping, and demanding for the soloist. Well done.
    – Caroline Rodgers, Ludwig van Montreal

  • Orchestral Repertoire

    Bach
    Concerto No. 1 in a minor, BWV 1041
    Concerto No. 2 in E major, BWV 1042
    Concerto for Two Violins in d minor, BWV 1043

    Barber
    Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

    Bartok
    Concerto No. 1
    Concerto No. 2

    Beethoven
    Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
    Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56

    Berg
    Violin Concerto

    Bernstein
    Serenade for Violin, String Orchestra, Harp and Percussion (1954)

    Brahms
    Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
    Double Concerto for Violin & cello in A minor, Op. 102

    Britten
    Violin Concerto

    Bruch
    Concerto in g minor, Op. 26
    Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 46

    Chen/He
    The Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto

    Dvorák
    Concerto in a minor, Op. 53

    Elgar
    Violin Concerto in b minor, Op. 61

    Glass
    Violin Concerto No. 2 ‘The American Four Seasons’

    Hartmann, Karl Amadeus
    Concerto funebre (Funereal Concerto, 1939)

    Khachaturian
    Concerto in d minor

    Korngold
    Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

    Lalo
    “Symphonie Espagnole” Op. 21

    Mendelssohn
    Concerto in e minor, OP. 64
    Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Strings in d minor, MWV O4

    Moussa
    Concerto for Violin “Adrano”

    Mozart
    Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major, K. 207
    Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 211
    Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216
    Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K. 218
    Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219
    Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, viola and Orchestra, K. 364

    Paganini
    Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6
    Violin Concerto No. 2 in b minor, Op. 7
    Violin Concerto No. 4 in d minor, MS 60

    Piazzolla
    Four Season of Buenos Aires

    Prokofiev
    Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19
    Concerto No. 2 in g minor, Op. 16

    Rutter
    Visions

    Saint-Saens
    Concerto No. 3 in b minor, Op. 61

    Schumann
    Violin Concerto in d minor, WoO 23

    Shostakovich
    Concerto No. 1 in a minor, Op. 99
    Concerto No. 2 in C-sharp minor

    Sibelius
    Concerto in d minor, Op. 47

    Stravinsky
    Concerto in D Major

    Szymanowski, K
    Violin Concerto No. 1
    Violin Concerto No. 2

    Tchaikovsky
    Concerto in D Major, Op. 35

    Vivaldi
    Four Seasons

    Walton
    Violin Concerto

    Wieniawski, H
    Violin Concerto No. 2 in d minor, Op. 22

    *Updated January 2024