A 1/16 size violin is the smallest available size made for young musicians; it’s specifically designed for children under five years old. That’s what Maria Ioudenitch first held when she started playing violin at the age of three.
Born in Balashov, Russia in 1995 and raised in the United States, Ioudenitch praises her parents, Stanislav and Tatiana Ioudenitch, for instilling a love of music in her from such an early age.
“My parents are musical. They are both pianists, and they grew up in the Soviet Union, where classical music is such a part of culture,” says Ioudenitch. “They wanted me to have that education, and then I would choose for myself if it was something I wanted to do with my life.”
“It was important to them that I get started early, that it’s in my bones,” she laughs. “I’m very grateful for that.”
As a child in Kansas City, Ioudenitch had numerous teachers, then went to both the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
One might think that pianist parents would encourage their child to play the piano. And Ioudenitch does play the piano. But the violin soon became “her” instrument. “As I got older, it felt like my voice,” she says.
The piece she’ll play with the CPO is Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, also known as the Turkish Concerto. “I feel like every time I play this piece, something new comes to mind and comes to my arms. It still feels new for me.”
“When you get to know a piece very well, it is easy to fall back on habits, or fall back on how you’ve done it before,” says Ioudenitch. There’s no risk of that with this concerto. “With this piece, it’s so fresh each time. I’m looking forward to discovering new things with Calgary.”
Award-winning violinist Maria Ioudenitch joins the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on November 20 and 21 for a program entitled Mozart + Mahler. The program will be conducted by Ramón Tebar and you can find tickets and information here.
Hear Maria Ioudenitch play Fantasie in C Major, Op. 159, D. 934: II. Allegretto by Franz Schubert, accompanied by pianist Kenny Broberg. This is from the album Songbird, released in 2023.
