By The Strad | February 4, 2026
Davina Shum reports back from a weekend in Manhattan, which revealed the city’s deep devotion to the violin – from María Dueñas’s dazzling New York Philharmonic debut to Itzhak Perlman’s intimate turn at Carnegie Hall
Just two days later and ten blocks south, I was at Carnegie Hall for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s concert, featuring the legendary Itzhak Perlman performing with the orchestra’s music director, Peter Oundjian.
Both events carried a sense of occasion. Dueñas was making her New York Philharmonic debut, having already built an impressive career through competition wins, acclaimed recordings and a busy international schedule. Perlman, who celebrated his 80th birthday last year, appeared alongside Oundjian in a performance that showcased their decades‑long friendship and professional partnership.
Dueñas offered a gracefully fluid reading of Beethoven in the Wu Tsai Theater – a warm acoustic that highlighted the silvery resonance of her 1718 ’Székely, Michelangelo’ Stradivari violin in its highest register and the incisive bite of the orchestra’s lower strings in more forceful moments. Several standing ovations followed, prompting her to offer an encore: Song of Veslemoy, no.4 from Halvorsen’s Mosaique Suite.