Thirty five-year-old violin virtuoso Leila Josefowicz has played all her life. The Canadian-born musician started playing violin at the age of three, made her Carnegie Hall debut at 16, and has garnered an established reputation for championing new works while still continuing to play classical repertoire.

“It’s a very exciting time,” said Josefowicz by telephone from her home in New York City.

“There’s great music being written right now. What I like most about it is that I’m part of this process, that I have helped a lot of composers write some very good music. It’s something I’m proud of.”

She has enjoyed collaborations with many composers, several of whom have written concertos especially for her. Some of her best known collaborators are Esa-Pekka Salone, Steven Mackey, Colin Matthews, John Adams, Oliver Knussen, and Thomas Adès.

Josefowicz regards Esa-Pekka Salone as one of her greatest influences, saying she respects him both as a composer and as a conductor, and particularly enjoys playing his music.

However she finds all the composers she works with inspiring.

“Each person is sort of a different universe, sort of a different world,” she said. “To understand and to be friends with people like that is wonderful because it helps you to form some of your own ideas and also helps you to understand better what your own ideas are.”

Josefowicz also feels that her collaborations with contemporary composers have helped her interpret the music of those who are no longer alive. They have given her many ideas on how to approach the score, as well as how to respect it.

“I have many friends that are composers now and they mean everything that they write. Every shading is very important to them. So I take that same respect and bring it to the older scores.”

Josefowicz believes that those who are not open to new music could be reacting to a fear that they may not understand the music.

“What I explain to people very often is that there isn’t one way to hear this music. There’s many ways to hear it. There’s not a wrong way to hear it either.”

Leila Josefowicz: Violin Virtuoso Talks Music, Life-Work Balance

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