Hillsdale College Hosts Violin Recital by Grammy Award-Winning Conductor
John McLaughlin Williams and Matthew Bengtson performed works for violin and piano.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — The Hillsdale College Music Department hosted Grammy Award-winning conductor and violinist John McLaughlin Williams for the second time on Monday, along with pianist Matthew Bengtson, associate professor of music at the University of Michigan.
“It is always fun to invite guest performers to campus, and this recital was a particularly exciting way to begin our year,” said Daniel Tacke, chair of the Hillsdale Music Department. “Mr. Williams’ impassioned playing and commentary really drew people into the performance, and Dr. Bengtson’s masterful touch at the piano was the perfect counterpart. It was a great opportunity for our students and community to experience some first-rate musicianship.”
“Mr. Williams’ impassioned playing and commentary really drew people into the performance.”
The performance included Mozart’s Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K. 304, Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice for Solo Violin, Op. 1 No. 4, selections from Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Esquisses Op. 63, Ulysses Kay’s Partita in A, Ross Lee Finney’s Fiddle Doodle-Ad: Eight American Folk Tunes, and Joseph Marx’s Frühlings Sonate.
Grammy Award-winning conductor John McLaughlin Williams has been critically acclaimed for his outstanding interpretive abilities and engaging podium presence. Equally at home in the standard literature and the masterworks of American composers, Williams has made world-premiere recordings of orchestral works by composers both well-known and neglected and has been critically hailed in international publications. Williams was awarded a Grammy in 2007 and received further Grammy nominations for his conducting in 2009 and 2011. Williams is also a violin soloist, pianist, and chamber musician. He previously performed at Hillsdale College in 2022.
Critically acclaimed as a “musician’s pianist,” Matthew Bengtson has a unique combination of musical talents ranging from extraordinary pianist to composer, analyst, and scholar of performance practice. An advocate of both contemporary and rarely performed music, he commands a diverse repertoire, including numerous contemporary composers. He has performed internationally and appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras. Bengtson is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, where he teaches piano, piano literature, and runs the historical fortepiano program.
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