image © J. Henry Fair
Praised recently for “a rare style that fuse[s] precision and elegance with passionate intensity and successful risk-taking”, violinist/violist Miranda Cuckson’s playing has, for decades, generated tremendous audience excitement and critical acclaim. In her wide variety of solo and collaborative performances, she continues to evolve and explore. Engaging with Western classical traditions and the many musical avenues she has ventured on, Miranda has pursued a distinctive personal path motivated by sincere open-mindedness and exploration, the expression of any human feelings and experiences, and the realization of virtuosity, craft, and invention. Her particular interests include the playing of various stringed instruments in music globally, and the porousness of the arts of interpretation and composition.
In the past few years, Miranda has given acclaimed concerto debuts at the Vienna Musikverein (playing Georg Friedrich Haas’ Violin Concerto No. 2, which she premiered in four countries), with John Adams at the Ojai Festival, and, with Christian Baldini, playing the Ligeti Violin Concerto, the recording of which was then released commercially to great praise.
She and her frequent pianist partner Blair McMillen debuted at San Francisco Performances in 2023 and they will perform at Boston’s Gardner Museum in 2025. Their highly lauded recordings include their ECM Records album of duos by Bartok, Schnittke, and Lutoslawski, the Grammy-nominated “Songs and Structures” with music by Harold Meltzer; Michael Hersch’s epic “the wreckage of flowers”; and recordings of the music of major American composers including Elliott Carter, Jason Eckardt, Ralph Shapey, and Donald Martino.
Miranda’s solo albums, also celebrated, include “Világ” featuring the Bartok Solo Sonata along with folk-flavored recent works; the Korngold and Ponce violin concertos; “Melting the darkness”, a forward-looking compilation of seven microtonal/electronic pieces; and, with sound artist Christopher Burns, Luigi Nono’s haunting, 50-minute “La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura”, which was named a Recording of the Year by the New York Times.
Miranda has been a featured artist internationally at festivals including Bard, Wien Modern, Le GuessWho, West Cork, Frequency, Grafenegg, Sinus Ton, and TimeSpans, and presenters such as Liquid Music, 92NY, Miller Theatre, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Arts, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Cleveland Museum.
She is a core member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*), which is working at the forefront of interdisciplinary creation. A passionate participant in music groups and collaborative projects for many years, she is the founder/director of non-profit Nunc, with which she has curated many concerts and residencies and produced Michael Hersch’s first opera. She frequently writes and speaks to audiences about music and she holds a doctorate from the Juilliard School, where she received the Presser Music Award. Dedicated to education and young people, she is on faculty at the Mannes School of Music at New School University.