Lucie Robert, violin and Jeffrey Cohen, piano – Visiting Artist Series

The Williams College Department of Music presents Lucie Robert, violin and Jeffrey Cohen, piano as part of the Visiting Artist Series This event is free and open to the public.

Violinist Lucie Robert, a native of Montreal, has received enthusiastic praise from audiences and critics alike for the expressive lyricism and tonal beauty of her playing. Lauded in the The New York Times for her “melting tone” and “wonderfully supple approach to phrasing,” Ms. Robert carries on the great violin tradition of her teacher and mentor, the legendary Josef Gingold.

Highly sought after as a violin pedagogue, Ms. Robert has been a violin professor at the Manhattan School of Music since 1988, and in 2023 was the recipient of the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service, the highest award bestowed by the school. She is also a member of the violin faculty at the Mannes College of Music. Ms. Robert has given master classes throughout the world at prestigious institutions such as Seoul National University, Korea National University of the Arts, Beijing Central Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Tokyo College of Music, Franz Liszt Academy of Music Budapest, Hochschule für Music und Tanz Köln, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Sibelius Academy, Norwegian Academy of Music, the Glenn Gould School and the Conservatoire de Musique de Montreal. Ms. Robert has been a member of the jury at numerous international competitions including the Montreal, Fritz Kreisler, Kumho, József Szigeti, Seoul, Joseph Joachim, Isang Yun, Jean Sibelius, and the Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists. In November 20203, she will be a member of the jury for the Global Music Education League Violin Competition in Beijing.

A prize winner of the First Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Austria, Ms. Robert has appeared as recitalist and chamber musician throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Far East. She has performed over thirty different works as violin soloist with major orchestras throughout North America, as well as numerous recital appearances with her duo partner, pianist Jeffrey Cohen. Ms. Robert has also collaborated in chamber music with artists such as Menahem Pressler, Richard Goode, Claude Frank, Philippe Entremont and Isidore Cohen. An active participant in the summer music festival scene, Ms. Robert has been a guest artist or faculty member at festivals such as Bowdoin, the American Conservatoire at Fontainebleau, Meadowmount, Orford, Busan Music Festival, Hida-Takayama Festival, Texas Music Festival, MusicAlp Academy, Puerto Piano and Strings, Adamant School of Music, the Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival, and the Ishikawa Music Academy.

American pianist Jeffrey Cohen has drawn international attention for the brilliance and artistry of his interpretations. Mr. Cohen was praised by The New York Times for the “lucidity and poetry” of his playing.

In Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall.

Both as soloist and chamber musician, Mr. Cohen’s performances have taken him to three different continents including appearances for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall, the Phillips Collection, Mostly Music Series of Chicago, National Arts Center in Ottawa, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. In the summers, he has been a faculty member or guest artist at major music festivals including Bowdoin, Orford, MusicAlp International Academy, Summer Academy Voksenåsen, Adamant Music School, Amalfi Coast, Puerto Piano and Strings, Seoul Summer Music Camp, Shanghai International Piano Festival, and Beijing International Music Festival. He has performed for broadcasts on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today,” the CBC Radio Network, Radio Canada, Radio France and WQXR. Mr. Cohen’s debut recording, a collection of French chamber music with his duo partner, violinist Lucie Robert, received critical acclaim in Fanfare magazine.

In addition to his concert activities, Mr. Cohen’s teaching gifts have established him as a leading piano pedagogue of his generation. For over thirty years, Mr. Cohen has been a piano professor and member of the artist faculty at the Manhattan School of Music where he serves as Coordinator of Master Classes and Departmental Competitions. In 2023, he was the recipient of the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service at MSM, the school’s highest teaching honor. He has given master classes at prestigious institutions throughout the world such as the Jacobs School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Central Conservatory in Beijing, Shanghai Conservatory, Seoul National University, the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Boston University, and Young Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore. Mr. Cohen has served as an adjudicator for numerous major national and international competitions.

A native of Tucson, Mr. Cohen studied at Indiana University where he worked with Menahem Pressler and received the coveted Battista Memorial Award. He is a past Laureate of the Beethoven Foundation and a prizewinner of the Sherman-Clay Steinway Piano Competition.

Lucie Robert and Jeffrey Cohen are presented by the Williams College Department of Music with the generous support of the W. Ford Schumann ’50 Performing Arts Endowment