Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is described by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation”. Among his extensive discography is the 2015 Grammy-winning album for Best Classical Instrumental Solo, Play.
Recent performance highlights include debuts at the Domaine-Forget Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, as well as returns to San Francisco Performances (part of an annual Artist Residency), Caramoor Festival (as Artist-in-Residence), Ravinia, and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Other recent venues include the National Gallery of Art, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the 92Y, Wolf Trap, Curtis Presents, Seoul Arts Center, and Shanghai Concert Hall. Jason Vieaux has performed as concerto soloist with over 100 orchestras, including Cleveland, Toronto, Houston, Nashville, San Diego, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Vieaux’s multiple appearances over the years with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music@Menlo, Strings Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Caramoor Festival, etc., have forged his reputation as a top-drawer chamber musician. Regular collaborators include the Escher String Quartet, Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, and accordion/bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro.
In March 2021, Jason Vieaux performed the premiere recording of a new solo guitar suite, “Four Paths of Light” composed for Jason by jazz legend (and 20-time Grammy-winner) Pat Metheny for his new album Road To The Sun (BMG Modern). Jason performed the live recording of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Guitar Concerto with Nashville Symphony in 2019 (Naxos). Jason’s passion for new music has also fostered recent premieres from Jeff Beal (House of Cards Symphony, BIS, 2017), Avner Dorman, Vivian Fung, Mark Mancina, Dan Visconti, and many more.
Slated for Spring 2022 release is a new solo Bach recording on Azica.
Of his Grammy-winning 2014 solo album Play, The Huffington Post declared that Play is “part of the revitalized interest in the classical guitar.” Albums with Escher String Quartet and Yolanda Kondonassis are also in Vieaux’s recent Discography. Jason’s Aughts-era solo CDs of music by Bach, Albeniz and Metheny are influential records in music circles. Vieaux was the first classical musician guest on NPR’s popular “Tiny Desk” series in 2009, and he made a rare repeat performance in 2015 with Kondonassis.
Since its launch in 2012, The Jason Vieaux School of Classical Guitar at ArtistWorks Inc., has provided tutorials and one-on-one study with Vieaux for hundreds of guitarists around the world. In 2011, Vieaux co-founded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music, inaugurated the guitar program at the Eastern Music Festival in 2015, and has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music since 1997. Vieaux’s primary teachers were Jeremy Sparks and John Holmquist, and he plays a guitar by Gernot Wagner (2013).
Quotes
virtuosic, flamboyant, dashing and, sometimes ineffably lyrical.The New York Times
perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.NPR
[a] spirited and expressive guitaristThe New Yorker
Vieaux ... makes everything look and sound easy. An uncommonly relaxed figure onstage, he seems immersed entirely in the moment. Every note comes out fully formed, but nothing he does feels premeditated, and the music, just a little understated, speaks eloquently for itself.Washington Post
This terrific guitarist, a Philadelphia favorite, worked wonders with Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez... he played with elegance and fine-tuned precision… a marvel.The Philadelphia Inquirer
masterful ease, and great panache.San Francisco Classical Voice
Vieaux’s new recording Play is not only like pop iTunes, it is part of the revitalized interest in the classical guitar.The Huffington Post
Vieaux [was] nimble-fingered in a Vivaldi Concerto that was remarkable for its variety of colors.Boston Globe
The writing for the solo instrument was fantastic— lyrical, virtuosic, tender, and passionate all at once. Vieaux proved to be an ideal soloist. [Leshnoff Concerto, Nashville Symphony]American Record Guide
Vieaux excelled in its flamenco-style flourishes, ethereal high notes and spiraling passage work. [Villa-Lobos Concerto, San Diego Symphony]San Diego Union Tribune
Vieaux showed why he is among the most talented guitarists of his generation, a player whose effortless technique and fluidity gave the concerto a singing voice.Tampa Tribune
...one of America's premier guitarists... Vieaux's performance spun magic. Rarely has a single instrument so clearly painted such cinematic vistas and searching introspectionFort-Worth Star-Telegram
Vieaux was first-class. One movement of Ponce’s Concierto del sur made me want to hear more of his work, such was the range of sounds he drew from his instrument.New Zealand Herald
…among the elite of today’s classical guitarists.Gramophone