NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University Professor of Violin Andrej Kurti will present a concert of works by J.S. Bach on Monday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. A livestream will be available at capa.nsula.edu.
Kurti, an internationally acclaimed violinist, was born in Belgrade, Serbia, where he began his violin career in the studio of professor Djula Tešenji. He continued his studies in Moscow “Tchaikovsky” Conservatory in studios of professors Levon Ambartsumian and Zorya Schikmurzaeva. Kurti finished his graduate studies in the University of Georgia, where he received a doctorate degree in violin performance.
He was a recipient of five first prizes in competitions in Yugoslavia, four first prizes in competitions in Georgia and Florida, and was a finalist of the MTNA (Music Teacher National Association) Competition in 1998.
In 2000, Kurti became a recording artist for classical label Blue Griffin Recording, for which he later recorded “Six Sonatas for Violin Solo by Eugene Ysaye, Op. 27.” Classics Today and American Record Guide wrote…”his near-perfect intonation, assured technique (check out the Third Sonata’s climactic double stops), and intelligent shaping of polyphony”…”Kurti is an excellent violinist and musician, very musical and stylish, and these are some of the better performances of these sonatas that I have heard…you couldn’t go wrong if you had this disc as your only recording of these works.”
In 2004, Kurti became a professor of violin at Northwestern State. He appeared as a soloist with many symphony orchestras in the United States, Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, Greece, Russia, France, and Colombia. He also appeared as a chamber performer in Spain, France, Latvia, Canada, Colombia, and South Korea.
In non-classical music world, Kurti performed and arranged on more than 40 albums of popular and modern music, which he recorded for many different music labels in the United States. In November 2019, Kurti was invited to Nashville, to perform live in concert with several Rock&Roll legends, such as James Burton (Elvis Presley), Dr. Brian May (Queen), Micky Dolenz (The Monkees), Joe Walsh (Eagles) and Sammy Hagar (Van Halen).
Kurti has been invited to several international music festivals where he most often performed music written for solo violin. In 2015, Kurti performed Ysaye’s op.27 in a Road to Carnegie nation-wide recital series, culminating with his Carnegie Hall debut.
Kurti has remained a very active concert violinist, where, besides solo and chamber recitals, he appears as a soloist with chamber and symphony orchestras in United States and abroad.
In 2019, Kurti recorded “Twenty-Four Caprices for Violin, Op. 1” by Nicolo Paganini. The new CD was released in the fall of 2021 by Blue Griffin Recording. Fanfare Magazine wrote…“The famously difficult Paganini Caprices seem to hold few terrors for Kurti. His intonation is impeccable, his double stops are secure, and he has a strong internal rhythmic pulse. Kurti masters all of the challenges brilliantly, and it is the brilliance that impresses throughout.”
