Free Performance:

This Is America

Johnny Gandelsman, solo violin

Friday, May 13, 8pm

Coolidge Auditorium, The Library of Congress

Best-known to D.C. audiences as a co-founder of the adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider, violinist Johnny Gandelsman has re-imagined the works of Bach, recording not only the complete violin sonatas and partitas, but also the complete cello suites, praised by the New York Times for “an improvisatory feel of folk music.” His new project, This is America, is a set of 22 works for solo violin born out of the social-justice reckoning of 2020. The project gives voice to a diverse group of composers, including women, people of color, people of all ages, and representatives of myriad genres and backgrounds. The concert includes a new composition by Anjna Swaminathan, commissioned by Washington Performing Arts.

Co-presented with The Library of Congress