New York violinist delights in variety

"I think just for the sake of longevity of classical music, there needs to be a lot more variation in what people choose to play. I think there needs to be more experimentation and more daringness in just the kind of repertoire that people choose."

Violinist Leila Josefowicz takes her own advice — although she's also quick to point out her strong connection with classic works by past composers. Speaking from her home in New York, Josefowicz talked about her upcoming appearance in the Virtuoso Series at Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah.

"This is a really varied program, a lot of different kinds of music — everything from a more standard work, like the Brahms that we're going to open with, to music by a living composer from Estonia.

"The thing I like to do with recital programs is to have them be varied," she said, as opposed to performing all three Brahms sonatas, for example.

"I'm of the opinion that a recital should reflect as many different sides of a player's playing as possible, so that's what this program — and, for that matter every program — is about. I like also to include at least one piece on each program of music of a living composer."

Looking at Josefowicz's upcoming performances, it's apparent that her touring schedule reflects on a larger scale what she tries to achieve in her concerts on a smaller scale.

In March, for example, she will appear with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, playing John Adams' Violin Concerto — which will be conducted by the composer himself. And sandwiched between performances of works by Hindemith, Shostakovich and Adams (with major orchestras like the London Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra), Josefowicz also has appearances scheduled for Beethoven's Violin Concerto.

Josefowicz said that she wrote the cadenza for the Beethoven concerto herself. She added that, while that is her primary "standard work" for this season, she is happy to have still made it about the creative process in some way.

She's also involved in the creative process by commissioning new works. "For 2008-09 season, I'm doing a concerto by Steven Mackey," she said. "The next year, 2009-10, is with Colin Matthews, a British composer that's very well-known. The next year, for recitals, I have a violin-piano sonata by Magnus Lindberg, a Finnish composer.

"It's very, very exciting, working with composers and being part of the creative process. That's another thing that I find inspiring — that you can share ideas, share what the strong points are of my playing, and they can cater to the way I play, as opposed to just being handed the score. So that's something I get really excited about, too."