Violinist Alexi Kenney announces the World Premiere recording of Paul Wiancko’s X Suite for Solo Violin, released on all streaming platforms on April 16. This recording represents the full-circle completion of Alexi’s journey with X Suite, beginning in 2019 when he commissioned and premiered the piece at Wigmore Hall in London. In tandem with the audio release, Alexi releases a video filmed by Mike Grittani at the stunning Donum Estate in Sonoma, California, which pairs each of the seven movements of X Suite with seven contemporary sculptures by Doug Aitken, Louise Bourgeois, Gao Weigang, Subodh Gupta, Jeppe Hein, Richard Hudson, and Jaume Plensa.

“From the moment I played through the piece for the first time, I felt that X Suite was a representation of myself in musical form,” says Alexi.

“Many of the movements are inspired by Baroque dances you might find in Bach, and yet the whimsical, colorful, and totally contemporary lens with which Paul has reimagined them is breathtaking. X Suite jumps off the page for the listener and player alike, however, it is also a virtuosic and innovative feat of composition. All of the movements share the same DNA, with common motives, techniques, intervals, and melodies warping and morphing constantly throughout the work. In the third movement, Canon, the violinist is asked to play two voices on two strings in canon at the unison. In the Bourree, there is a chorus of eight chattering voices, to be played simultaneously. The resulting music is complex and fun to listen to."

"These inventive and groundbreaking techniques are never employed just for their novelty; rather, X Suite (and Paul’s music as a whole) has an electric current of raw emotion running through it, and a clarity of thought that transcends the notes on the page and takes on a life of its own. To me, this is the mark of a truly great piece of art, and why I am so proud to be bringing this major new work for solo violin into the world.”

About Alexi:
The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, Alexi Kenney is building a career that defies categorization, following his interests, intuition, and heart. He is equally at home creating experimental programs and commissioning new works, soloing with major orchestras in the USA and abroad, and collaborating with some of the most celebrated musicians of our time. His upcoming project is entitled [c]ode[x]: a set of six new commissions for violin and electronics based on poetry, to be premiered in the 2022-23 season.
For more please visit the artists’ websites: www.alexikenney.com and www.paulwiancko.com.

X Suite was recorded on February 21, 2020 at the Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo, California by Sergey Parfenov, who also edited, mixed, and mastered the album, and was co-produced by Irina Osetinskaya and Alexi Kenney.

X Suite: the video was filmed by Mike Grittani at the Donum Estate in January 2021, with assistance from Alice Kao and Eric Cheng.

This recording was made possible by the generous support of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.