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Renata Artman Knific (1987)
Violin
Diploma Szymanowski
Liceum (Poland)
Diploma Royal College of Music (England)
Artist's Diploma Cleveland Institute (USA)
High-Resolution
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Renata Artman Knific's international career began in London when she
joined the English Chamber Orchestra at the age of 21. Tours of Europe,
North and South America, and Asia followed, with artists such as Herman
Bauman, Barry Tuckwell, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Maurice Andre, Pinchas
Zuckerman, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Murray
Perahia. She worked closely with conductors Daniel Barenboim, Simon
Rattle, Edo De Waart, and Christoph Eschenbach, and recorded dozens of
records for the EMI, Decca, and CBS labels.
As violinist of the Merling Trio, Knific performs 20 to 40 concerts
annually throughout the world, including appearances at Merkin Hall,
Carnegie Hall, St. John's, London, and the Banff Center for the Arts.
She has released three CDs with the trio and premiered many works
written for the group. The Merling Trio was a finalist for the Naumburg
Foundation Chamber Music Award in 1994. She has also appeared in chamber
music festivals and as a soloist throughout Europe, the United States,
and Canada.
Knific is Professor of Music and Chair of the String Area at Western
Michigan University. She has also taught at the Encore School for
Strings, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Interlochen Arts Academy,
and the Lancut Festival in Poland. Her former students perform in the
Cavani, Pro Arte, and Cypress quartets and in orchestras throughout the
world including the Cleveland, Houston, Honolulu, and Sao Paulo, Brazil
symphonies.
Knific is a founding member of the contemporary ensemble, OPUS 21, and
has premiered nearly two dozen works by many leading composers in recent
years. In 2003, Knific released "West of Everywhere," a crossover
recording featuring her with a variety of jazz greats including Gene
Bertoncini, Sir Roland Hanna, John Abercrombie, Jamey Haddad, and Billy
Hart. Leonarda Records released her premiere recording of Marga
Richter's concerto for piano, violin, cello, and orchestra entitled
"Variations and Interludes on Themes from Monteverdi and Bach" in 2004
to critical acclaim. She recently recorded the works for violin and
piano by William Bolcom, at the composer's request, for MSR Classics
Records.
Email: renata.knific@wmich.edu
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