38 | OCTOBER 14 • 2021 

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

W

ith the same intensity shown 
while fronting esteemed 
orchestras at celebrated 
venues, violinist Yevgeny Kutik has per-
formed in solo programs before small 
Jewish congregations in remote meeting 
halls. 
Born into a family of classical musi-
cians who left the Soviet Union to 
escape antisemitism, Kutik is motivated 
to bring treasured music to those of 
shared religious background assembled 
in places experiencing limited live enter-
tainment. 
Kutik’s in-person appearances, 
exchanged for Zoom opportunities 
during the pandemic, are starting to 
resume as he takes the stage at Detroit’s 
Orchestra Hall and joins Leonard Slatkin 
conducting the Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra. Three performances, with the 

last available digitally, run Oct. 15-16. 
Kutik will be premiering Joseph 
Schwantner’s Violin Concerto in a pro-
gram that will include Tchaikovsky’s 
Symphony No. 5 and Samuel Adler’s 
Mirror Images, another world premiere. 
“This will be my first time work-
ing with Leonard Slatkin, so I’m very 
excited,” says Kutik, 36, and based near 
Boston. “I have played in Michigan quite 
a bit over the years, and I’m going up to 
Traverse City in a couple of months. 
“I got to know Joseph Schwantner 
about 10 years ago, when he wrote a 
small work for violin and string orches-
tra called The Poet’s Hour. I recorded 
and filmed that with Gerard Schwarz 
and the All-Star Orchestra and got to 
know Joseph’s music.
“The first movement of the concerto is 
based on The Poet’s Hour, but it’s much 

Violinist Yevgeny 
Kutik joins
conductor
Leonard Slatkin 
at Orchestra Hall.

Making
the Violin 

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Details
Yevgeny Kutik will perform at 
10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, 
Oct. 15, (in-person only) and 
8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, 
(in-person and free online) at 
Orchestra Hall in Detroit. $15-
$105. (313) 576-5111, dso.org.
 Audience members must 
provide proof of full vac-
cination for COVID-19 or a 
negative test (48-hour PCR 
or 6-hour antigen). Everyone 
must also wear a mask while 
inside regardless of vaccina-
tion status.

Yevgeny 
Kutik

Sing
Sing

RACHEL TINES

