Jennifer Pike

Jennifer Pike is an English violinist and teacher born (in Stockport, England – Stockport is about five miles southeast of Manchester) on November 9, 1989.  She is known for having been the youngest winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award competition in 2002.  On the occasion of her performance, she played the well-known Mendelssohn concerto - the one in e minor.  She was 12 years old.  Since then, she has forged a solo career, touring the world as soloist in recital and with orchestra, as most concert artists do.  Her violin studies began at age 5.  I do not know who her first teacher was, although it is very likely that it was her father, a violinist and composer.  At age 8 she entered Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester.  She made her debut at age 15 playing Haydn’s fourth violin concerto (the one in G), although by then she had already been recognized as a child prodigy and made public appearances, including one at the Royal Opera House when she was ten years old.  She further studied with David Takeno in London.  She also attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and the University of Oxford (in Oxford, England – about 40 miles northwest of London) from which she graduated in 2012.  Her discography is not extensive but she has recorded a few works for the Chandos and Sony labels.  Pike has played a Matteo Goffriller violin constructed in 1708 for some time but I do not know if she is still playing that violin.  Here is a YouTube video where she is playing a popular piece by William Kroll.

Antal Zalai

Antal Zalai (Antal Szalai) is a Hungarian violinist, composer, and teacher born (in Budapest) on January 31, 1981.  He is known for what has been described as a perfect technique and refined artistry.  He is a former child prodigy who was offered his first recording contract while still a teenager and his musical education is very broad.  Zalai began his violin studies with his father and mother at age 5.  From age 7 to age 14 he studied, in Budapest, with Laszlo Denes.  His other teachers in Budapest were Josef Kopelman and Peter Komlos.  In fact, it has been said that he acquired his 1733 Stradivarius violin from Professor Komlos.  That violin had been owned by another Hungarian violinist, Gyorgy Garay, who is now almost completely forgotten.  Zalai graduated from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels in 2009.  He was 28 years old.  However, Zalai had been concertizing since age 12.  Along the way, he had participated in masterclasses given by Erick Friedman, Pinchas Zukerman, Tibor Varga, Lewis Kaplan, Isaac Stern, Gyorgy Pauk, and an assortment of other concert violinists.  He made his British debut in Liverpool in 2008.  That same year he made his debut in Berlin.  The venues he has played in include Carnegie Hall (New York), the Musikverein (Vienna), the Philharmonie (Berlin), and the Moscow Conservatory.  Zalai has toured almost the entire globe and played with some of the most famous names in the conducting world.  He also frequently conducts masterclasses wherever he performs.  As are so many violinists, he is a chess player.  The cadenzas he plays are very frequently his own.  Here is a YouTube video where he teams up with Russian violinist Marianna Vasileva to play the violin duos by Shostakovich – Zalai plays the second violin part.  These duos are written in a style which we do not associate with the famous Russian composer.  The (intense and emotional) performance is easily the best on YouTube.  This othervideo is also quite unique and interesting.