Esther Apituley Performs At MET Museum May 24 And 25

Esther Apituley, the renowned Netherlands-based violist will be making a rare New York concert appearance performing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on its Balcony Concerts on Friday, May 24, and Saturday, May 25, 2019, at 5pm. She will be joined by pianist Carlos Homs. Her program will feature works by Dutch composers, Jacob TV, Jannum Kruidhof and Maurice Horsthuis that were especially composed for Ms. Apituley as well the American composer Joe Hudson who wrote a Chaconne for her. The program showcases the special sound of the viola in all kinds of colors.

Apituley, a versatile violist who is equally at home playing classical music as well as improvising, is renowned for her artistry in The Netherlands. She is acclaimed for her music-theatre concerts that bring the works of the great composers, combined with other disciplines that employ her innovative and dramatic themes, to the general public in a more intimate, relaxed and playful setting. Her original music-theatre piece, Bach & Bleach, an ode to the power of the imagination and to the power of Bach, will be presented in its American premiere in a revised New York version at La MaMa, June 5 - 9, 2019. This work has been seen to rave reviews for more than 50 performances in both the Netherlands and Spain,

The MET's balcony concerts, known as ETHEL and Friends, is specifically designed for the MET's Balcony Bar that overlooks the majestic Great Hall. Admission is FREE every Friday and Saturday evening from 5 to 8pm. www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-live-arts/ethel

Esther Apituley, the Amsterdam-based violist, has an unparalleled ability to convey the immediacy and vitality of the classical and contemporary repertoire. In addition to her theatrical concerts, she is renowned as a gifted chamber music performer for her work with the Amsterdam string trio and Amsterdam viola quartet, an ensemble that she founded, in the Netherlands and abroad. In addition, she has also worked with chamber music ensembles such as the Borodin Quartet and was a soloist with, among others, the National Ballet Orchestra, the North-Holland Philharmonic, the Metropole Orchestra, and the Radio Chamber Orchestra, all based in the Netherlands. Abroad she played the Bartok viola concerto with the Lithuania Symphony Orchestra and for three summers gave concerts and master classes in Brazil at the International Music Festival in Campos do Jordao. In 2017, she performed in Austria and Sweden.

Esther has released three recordings on the Challenge label. Her most recent for solo viola featured the music of Bach and was released on the composer's birthday, March 24, 2016, to great critical acclaim. Concertzender named it the Bach CD of 2017.

Esther Apituley presented in 2012 and 2014 the Haarlem Viola Viola Festival. This three-day festival, that was deemed a huge success, takes a new approach to reaching wider audiences by using various disciplines and soloists such as tap and hip hop dancers, and whistlers in its aim to break with the traditional presentation of the 'classical concert.' The Viola Viola Festival later evolved into a traveling music festival titled Esther Apituley's Locomotive performed in various cities throughout the Netherlands working with local choirs and youth orchestras.

In addition, Esther regularly performs as a soloist with her Lecture Concert, a program that goes beyond just listening. She talks about her passion for music, and how just one particular note can sound beautiful. With neurologist Dick Swaab and philosopher Stine Jensen, Esther offers musical lectures at museums and universities. Performances have been at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum (Municipal Museum) and Teylers' Museum in Haarlem.

Esther's theatrical concert, bringing the works of great composers to a broad public, combines classical music with other disciplines and theatrical themes. In 2018, she presented "Vivaldi Code Red," a performance that garnered great reviews with a confused woman weather reporter, and an anchorwoman, and four musicians. Its topic takes on climate change and fake news. www.estherapituley.com

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