Virginia Eskin

While her repertory has been fairly broad, especially in 20th century fare, Virginia Eskin has become strongly identified with piano music written by women. In her conspicuous efforts to further their music, Eskin spearheaded and hosted a 13-program series of radio broadcasts for PBS entitled "First Ladies of Music," and she has been a particularly strong advocate for American composers Amy Cheney Beach and Marion Bauer, not only playing their works in concert but devoting several discs each to their music. Eskin delves into even riskier fare by the likes of the Czech Vítezslava Kaprálová and Americans Julia Lee Niebergall, May Aufderheide, Geraldine Dobyns, and Gladys Yelvington. But Eskin is hardly one-sided in her musical tastes: she plays as much music by male composers, from works by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninov to compositions by Arthur Foote, Gunther Schuller, Scott Wheeler, and Stefan Kozinski. Eskin has regularly appeared at major concert venues across the globe and with such ensembles as the San Francisco, Utah, and Rochester symphony orchestras, the Boston Pops, and Israel Sinfonietta. She has made numerous recordings for such labels as Koch International, Albany Records, Channel Classics, and Classical Arts. Virginia (Rubottom) Eskin was born in Jackson Heights, NY, in 1941. She studied at Trinity College of Music in London. Eskin steadily built her career early on and by 1980 she had arguably become the most important American advocate of women's music from her generation. Her first major recording was a 1981 LP on the Northeastern Records label, Four American Women, containing music by Beach, Appledorn, Bauer, and Crawford Seeger. A 1983 New York Times article favorably noted her advocacy on behalf of Beach as "tireless" and "distinguished." A string of recordings on the Northeastern Records label was issued throughout the 1980s, including a highly praised 1987 disc of music by Beach and Foote. Her live performances from the same time also imaginatively mixed the sexes: an acclaimed New York City-area concert from 1987 featured music by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, with Fanny Mendelssohn and female composers of ragtime pieces. Throughout the 1990s and into the new century Eskin remained busy on all fronts. Her later recordings include the 2008 Koch International CD of the Kaprálová Elegy and other works. Her 2009 concert schedule featured performances of the Beethoven Third and Fifth piano concertos and recitals of music by Beach, Kaprálová, Tower, and other women composers.
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