Canadian-born violinist Kerson Leong will be in the spotlight for the next concert by London Symphonia on April 5. Conducted by Tania Miller, the program includes Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Sibelius Symphony No. 2.
“When Kerson Leong made his debut with London Symphonia in 2018, we knew right away that he was a meteoric talent unlike any other in Canada,” said Andrew Chung, Artistic Producer, London Symphonia in a statement. “Kerson has continued to flourish in his international career gaining renown as one of the brightest classical stars who continually delivers thrilling performances and daring interpretations. We can’t wait to join him on stage yet again.”
Violinist Kerson Leong
Kerson Leong was born in Ottawa. His mother was a pianist, and his father a physicist. Kerson was already playing the violin at age four, studying with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal concertmaster Calvin Sieb.
His career was launched at the age of 13 with a First Prize win at the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition in 2010. He performed with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra in 2012, and gave the world premiere of Visions by English composer John Rutter, a piece written for him, in 2016. Kerson was hand-picked by Yannick Nézet-Séguin to be his artist-in-residence with the Orchestre Métropolitain during the 2018/19 season.
Leong has performed as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles all over the world, including the Royal, Oslo, Brussels, and Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Seattle, Singapore, Toledo, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Wuppertal Symphony Orchestras, among others. He is an associate artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium.
Kerson is also a recording artist. His latest release on the Alpha Classics label included the Britten and Bruch violin concertos, performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Through his father, he was introduced to the physics of string resonance, which has greatly influenced his performance. He’s given lectures on the subject with his dad at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Barratt-Due Music Institute in Oslo, and various universities in California.
Kerson performs on the ‘ex Bohrer, Baumgartner’ Guarneri del Gesu violin that comes to him courtesy of Canimex Inc, Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.
The Music
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written in 1806. It was premiered by Franz Clement, an Austrian musician and friend of the composer’s, in Vienna that year, but fizzled at its debut. Beethoven had written it specifically for Clement, who had helped him with some advice as he was writing his opera Fidelio.
Rumour has it that the premiere performance included a piece by Clement himself, with some accounts claiming that the violinist actually interrupted the concerto in favour of his own work.
Whatever the reason, it had few performances during Beethoven’s lifetime.
However, in 1844, long after the composer’s death in 1827, it was performed to great acclaim by the then 12-year old violin prodigy Joseph Joachim with conductor Felix Mendelssohn and the orchestra of the London Philharmonic Society. Since then, it’s become a standard and much beloved part of the violin repertoire.
Sibelius Symphony No. 2
Baron Axel Carpelan was a great friend to Sibelius, although not much is known about him in his own right. Not long after Finlandia had premiered, he wrote to Sibelius, “You have been sitting at home for quite a while, Mr. Sibelius, it is high time for you to travel. You will spend the late autumn and the winter in Italy, a country where one learns cantabile, balance and harmony, plasticity and symmetry of lines, a country where everything is beautiful — even the ugly. You remember what Italy meant for Tchaikovsky’s development and for Richard Strauss.”
Though he was tight on cash himself, the Baron managed to scrape together enough money to send the Finnish composer to Italy, where he began his Symphony No. 2. In return the Symphony is dedicated to him.
The work got mixed reviews on its premiere, but many of his fellow countrymen heard the call for an independent Finland in the piece — written when it was governed by Russia, during a time when there were sanctions on the use of Finnish language and culture.
- Find tickets — available for in-person or video on demand through high quality 4K HDR — and details about the April 5 concert with London Symphonia [HERE].
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- PREVIEW | Sinfonia Toronto Baroque & Beyond Celebrates the Season With Guest Artists The Ezra Duo - December 4, 2025
- INTERVIEW | Director Peter Phillips Talks About The Tallis Scholars And Their Toronto Concert - December 4, 2025
- PREVIEW | The Royal Conservatory Of Music Launches Orchestrated With Cory Wong - December 3, 2025
