Violin soloist likes all styles

The breast cancer survivor raises money for cancer research.
By ROBERT ROLLIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Joan Kwuon has an international reputation as an outstanding violin soloist with major orchestras. Last season she was featured touring soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and this year will appear with the Seattle Symphony, the State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, the Bulgarian National Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales -- the latter two on American tours.
Kwuon will be guest soloist with the Youngstown Symphony, performing the Mozart G Major Violin Concerto, K. 216, Saturday at Powers Auditorium. Also on the program are Bizet's Symphony in C and Brahms' "Variations on a Theme by Haydn." In a telephone interview about the upcoming event, Kwuon radiated energy and enthusiasm and spoke of the concerto.
"My husband, Joel Smirnoff [primarius of the Juilliard String Quartet] and I worked together and wrote second- and third-movement cadenzas for the Mozart," she said. "This gives me a special feeling in performance."
Kwuon, who grew up in Los Angeles, had three older sisters. As a result of hearing them play strings, she went on her own to request use of a violin from her school -- when only in the first grade!
Her parents were Korean & eacute;migr & eacute;s who adjusted quickly to their new home. Her father became a successful businessman, while her mother remained at home, raising their four daughters. Kwuon continued her education at Indiana University, at Juilliard for a master's, and at the Cleveland Institute for an advanced performers certificate. She now teaches at Juilliard in New York City and substitutes for her husband when he is on tour.
Variety of talents
Kwuon loves chamber music and has recently been performing with pianist Vladimir Feltsmann, guest soloist for the Youngstown Symphony's last concert. She expressed interest in all musical styles and mentioned performing 20th-century French composer Olivier Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" at a Korean music festival, where she also taught this past summer. She is bilingual and could therefore teach very effectively in Korean.
Kwuon recently recorded an improvised duet of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" with singing legend Tony Bennett for his new album, displaying her natural enthusiasm for jazz and popular music.
For her time away from music, Kwuon loves running, reading and eating ethnic foods.
Kwuon, a breast cancer survivor, is also co-founder and president of the nonprofit organization, Artists for Breast Cancer Survival Inc., which presents Artists for the Cure at Carnegie Hall, a series of benefit concerts featuring such artists as Kristen Chenoweth, Roberta Flack, Denyce Graves, Mandy Patinkin and Itzhak Perlman. ABCS has raised more than 1 million for this cause.