Kim Kashkashian

Violist Kim Kashkashian is a major practitioner of her instrument and a stalwart champion of contemporary music. A long list of European composers have written new works for her, including Arvo Pärt, Peter Eötvös, Krzysztof Penderecki, and György Kurtág. Kashkashian's critically acclaimed recording career began in 1984 when she was heard on a recording of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with violinist Gidon Kremer. She and pianist Robert Levin released the album Elegies in 1986. She is perhaps best known for her recordings on ECM, one of which, the 2013 recording Kurtág and Ligeti: Works for Viola, won a Grammy Award. In 2021, Kashkashian joined the Parker Quartet on an album of works by Kurtág, one of her favorite composers.