Leila Josefowicz has reached a point in her still-blossoming career where she can do what few other high-profile classical artists have even considered: Devote an amazing 90 percent of her time to new works.
“It’s really my passion. It’s really what I believe in. It’s my strong point as a player,” said the 32-year-old Canadian violinist, who will make her summer debut Friday evening at the Aspen Music Festival.
There are plenty of classical artists who are new-music specialists, but most of them tend to operate on the fringes of the field.
Josefowicz’s big breakthrough has been persuading mainstream orchestras and presenters to allow her to perform the contemporary works she likes to champion.
“This is something I’m really making a mark in,” she said, “so if people know I’m going to do a new work, they know that it’s going to be done with great care and a lot of integrity. So it’s much easier for me to sell that than somebody else.”
It also helps, of course, that Josefowicz long ago established her bona fides in the traditional repertoire: She first gained widespread attention in 1994 with her Carnegie Hall debut with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at age 16.
Now focused on the contemporary realm, she played a leading role in the commissioning of concertos for her by three of today’s top composers — Steve Mackey, Colin Matthews and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Salonen, who also is a major conductor, led the premiere of his work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in April 2009. The two are scheduled to perform it with an array of other major orchestras.
“That’s one of the big highlights of the next couple of years,” Josefowicz said. “We’re taking his concerto all over — Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. This has really been just the most inspiring and satisfying experience.”
At the same time, she has championed violin concertos by such composers as John Adams and Oliver Knussen — works that were not written for her but ones that she has essentially made her own.
When Adams, for example, needed a soloist for a recording and telecast of his 1994 concerto which he planned to conduct in London in January 2002, he had his pick of just about anyone. He chose Josefowicz.
“I want to give the great pieces attention,” she said. “I want to make sure that people hear them and appreciate what masterworks are being written right now. And whether it’s written for me or not is not really that big a deal to me.”
In Aspen, Josefowicz will join the Aspen Chamber Symphony for a performance of Thomas Adès’ Violin Concerto, “Concentric Paths,” which was premiered in 2005 by Anthony Marwood and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
“It’s an amazing piece,” she said. “It’s all about extremes. Extremes of emotions, extremes of physical range — very, very high playing for the violin. It’s definitely a piece that doesn’t let you passively listen. It grabs you and holds on.”
Though it was not written for her, Josefowicz has become one of the work’s principal exponents. She has played it 15 or so times to date, and more performances are scheduled, including upcoming ones with the famed Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Holland.
As pleased as she is with the works already in her repertory, Josefowicz constantly keeps an eye out for new ones to add — decisions she does not take lightly.
“These are big commitments of time and energy for me, and I want to feel 100 percent convinced about them,” she said. “Usually the signs are pretty clear right away. If I get a real burning feeling in my gut and I’m really enthusiastic and the cerebral decision is sort of taken away from me by the excitement, this is a very good sign.”
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
Violinist Leila Josefowicz
Classical music. Benedict Music Tent, Aspen Music Festival grounds. The internationally known soloist joins conductor Larry Rachleff and the Aspen Chamber Symphony for a performance of Thomas Adès’ Violin Concerto, “Concentric Paths” (2005). The concert will take place under the auspices of the eight-week Aspen Music Festival, which concludes Sunday. 6 p.m. Friday. $70. 970-925-9042 or aspenmusicfestival
