Violinist Elissa Cassini’s Weill Hall Debut was praised as a “dazzling, unusually rhapsodic, emotionally uninhibited performance that brought the house down”. Her expressive tone, captivating stage presence, and innovative programming concepts make her an exciting, versatile, and sought-after artist. She has performed throughout Europe and North and South America, with recent solo engagements including concerti by Beethoven, Bartók, and Schumann. Invited to concertmaster under Pierre Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy, she worked personally with him on Anthèmes 1, his solo violin piece.
 
Presently concertmaster of the Petrobras Sinfônica in Rio de Janeiro, Elissa has been exploring a variety of new trends in Brazilian music, working with some of today’s most exciting young composers and performers in Sao Paulo and Rio. In this special showcase of Explorative Brasilian music, Elissa is thrilled to present unusual and daring pieces which call forth the unabashed spirit of Risk-Violin, on unique violin pieces, most of which were written for her by composers such as Herraiz, Alves, Holmes, Lunsqui and Kampela.
 
www.elissacassini.com