Irina Muresanu
Romanian violinist Irina Muresanu has won the hearts of audiences and critics alike with her “irresistible,” (Boston Globe) exciting, elegant and heartfelt performances of the classic, romantic and modern repertoire. The Globe has also come to praise her as “not just a virtuoso, but an artist” and the Los Angeles Times has written that her “musical luster, melting lyricism and colorful conception made Irina Muresanu’s performance especially admirable”. Her performances have been frequently cited as among the Best of Classical Music Performances by the Boston Globe, most recently for a 2016 recital with pianist Roberto Plano titled “Rorem, Ravel, and Rags.”
Muresanu has performed in renowned concert halls throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Her solo engagements include concerts with the Boston Pops, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Williamsburg Symphonia, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Geneva), the Metropolitan Orchestra (Montreal), the Transvaal Philharmonic (Pretoria, S. Africa), the Romanian National Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Radio Flamande (Brussels), the Boston Philharmonic, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and Symphony New Hampshire, amongst others.
An active chamber musician and recitalist, Ms. Muresanu is a member of the Boston Trio. She has appeared in such festivals and venues as Bargemusic in New York, the Rockport Festival in Massachusetts, Bay Chambers concert series and Bowdoin Festival in Maine, the Strings in the Mountains and San Juan Music Festival in Colorado, Maui Chamber Music Festival in Hawaii, Reizend Music Festival in Netherlands, Festival van de Leie in Belgium, and the Rencontres des Musiciennes Festival in France and Guadeloupe islands.
In 2013, Muresanu introduced her “Four Strings Around the World” project, a solo violin recital featuring works of composers inspired by various musical cultures around the world. Winning the Creative and Performing Arts Award at the University of Maryland in 2015 allowed her to commission new works from Indian composer Shirish Korde and Native American composer Jerod ‘Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. Critic Keith Powers noticed the formidable virtuosic stamina and originality of this program in the Cape Cod Times:
Four Strings Around the World” not only extends the superbly talented Muresanu in new directions, but offers a glimpse into variations of violin technique and approach that would only be gleaned by attending different concerts in various country fairs, Irish pubs, campfire gatherings and parlors.
“Four Strings Around the World” sparked an orchestral project called “Strings Across Europe,” a program in which Muresanu performs multiple roles as soloist and conductor. She premiered this program with longtime collaborators at Symphony New Hampshire.
Irina Muresanu is an avid performer of new music, especially by American composers. Her recent recording releases include the Thomas Oboe Lee’s Violin Concerto (dedicated to Ms. Muresanu) on the BMOP label, and works of Elena Ruehr on Avie Records. Ruehr’s aforementioned album “Lift” was included on Keith Powers’ 13 Best Classical Music Recordings of 2016. She has also recorded the complete William Bolcom sonatas on the Centaur label with pianist Michael Lewin, funded by the Copland Recording Grant. In Europe, her recording of the Guillaume Lekeu and Alberic Magnard late Romantic Violin and Piano Sonatas with pianist Dana Ciocarlie for the AR RE-SE French label has sparked enthusiasm. Fanfare noted the recording with“singing and soaring…[a] sizzling performance.” Among numerous additional recordings, Ms. Muresanu has also recorded the world premiere recording of Marion Bauer’s Sonata for Violin and Piano with pianist Virginia Eskin on Albany Records.
Early on Muresanu achieved international acclaim as an outstanding young soloist, recitalist and chamber musician winning top prizes in several prestigious international violin competitions including the Montreal International, Queen Elizabeth International, UNISA International String, Washington International, and the Schadt String Competition. She is the winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, the Presser Music Award, the Kate Kinley Fellowship Award from the University of Illinois and the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.
Irina Muresanu currently serves on the faculty the University of Maryland and has taught at Boston Conservatory and in the Harvard and MIT Music Departments. She received the prestigious Artist Diploma degree and a Doctor in Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory. She plays an 1849 Giuseppe Rocca violin and an Etienne Pajeot bow.
Artist biography from 2019