Armstrong among world elite
With a violin performance that included a down home bit of behind-the-back fiddling, 21-year-old Nigel Armstrong of Sonoma has advanced to the finals of classical music’s premiere international competition.
The finals of the 14th Tchaikovsky International Competition, perhaps the most prestigious in the world, begin Monday in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Armstrong will compete against violinists from South Korea, Russia, Israel and the USA. No American has won the violin first prize since Elmar Olivera shared the gold medal in 1978.
On the way to the finals, Armstrong won a jury award for his flashy performance of the John Corigliano piece “Stomp,” during which he employed a move he said he learned at the Cloverdale Fiddle Contest.
“Who knew that Cloverdale’s old-time style fiddling celebration would be carried forward over the years and miles to touch the most prestigious classical music competition in the world?,” wondered his father, Marc Armstrong.
Nigel’s first teacher was Leta Davis, whose students are known to this day as the “Little Fiddlers.”
In addition the compulsory Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Armstrong has chosen to play the Prokofiev 1st. His competitor Eric Silberger is the only other Americans left in the competition, which includes divisions for piano, cello and voice.
The violin jury of seven, including two past winners, will see the addition of five renowned soloists, including Anne-Sophie Mutter and Maxim Vengerov.
Armstrong has fared well in previous international competitions. He won a silver medal in the 2010 Menuhin Competition’s Senior Division, held in Oslo, Norway, and the First International Violin Competition of Buenos Aires.
Armstrong is a member of the Perreson Quartet. He studied at the San Francisco Conservatory, Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts in Boston and the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles.
The finals will be webcast. Armstrong will play his first piece on Monday, June 27, at 8 a.m. PDT. On Tuesday, also from the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, he will perform at 8:45 a.m PDT.
