Noah Geller's Playlist

By Leilani Polk

Seattle Symphony Concertmaster Noah Geller takes center stage at the beginning of May to present his personally curated Playlist Series program, which spans centuries and includes a duet with Principal Second Violin Elisa Barston. He’ll also be playing the Brahms Double Concerto with Efe Baltacıgil in the 2024/2025 season. Find out about his Playlist selections and more below.  

Tell me about the Bach, Samuel Adams and Mozart you are performing in the Playlist concert. Why did you select these particular works? 

The program consists of two timeless classics and one future classic in the Sam Adams. It was actually quite natural for me to put this program together because the Bach Concerto for Two Violins and Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto are works that are familiar, no doubt, but I wanted to find something additional that is equally as good and will likely be a new discovery for our audience. 

The Bach Double is a work that is filled with joy in its outer two movements, the first movement being somewhat more moderate and the last movement really flying. The slow middle movement is achingly beautiful and the way the two violins play off each other is still a marvel of Bach’s genius to this day. Samuel Adams’ Movements (for Us and Them) is a piece that I discovered when making this program. And I didn’t have to search far! Sam lives in Magnolia and is married to my amazing standpartner, Associate Concertmaster Helen Kim. We are so lucky to have such talent in Seattle. I believe this is one of the most exciting, electric works for string orchestra in existence. It relies a lot on a good groove and arching, echo-like effects, and will be a good palette cleanser from our “older” music. The vibe of Movements calls for some playing that I would describe as fiddling, that I’m hoping will really bring the barn down! Last is the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5, a staple in our repertoire and one that I’ve played since I was a kid. If you’ve ever heard a Mozart opera, it’s clear that he wrote for the voice sublimely, and my opinion with this concerto is that he is always employing a vocal quality to the music, even when writing for solo violin. 

You’ll be playing cadenzas by Joseph Joachim (the first movement) and Noah Bendix-Balgley (movements two and three) in the Mozart. Can you tell me why you selected the latter’s cadenzas? 

Noah Bendix-Balgley is one of the concertmasters of the Berlin Phil, but many may not know that he’s also a fantastic composer, so I asked and he graciously agreed to allow me to play his cadenzas for this performance. I find them extremely fresh, filled with humor and creativity.   

Can you tell me about your violin, and playing on a modern violin versus, say, a violin that was originally created a few hundred years ago? 

The violin I’m using is actually a new one from Justin Hess made in 2023. I met Justin a few years ago while visiting Philadelphia, and I was amazed at his instruments’ ease of play and tremendous ability to ring. Old instruments are a little tricky because, while many of them do sound good, many of them do not sound good, or their playability is questionable. Of course, there are some really special ones, but those are already far out of reach for most violinists to own.  

Switching gears, your Playlist concert happens the same weekend as the Víkingur Ólafsson recital. I hear you guys went to Julliard together.  

Víkingur is such a superstar now. Wow! Yes, we were in the same class at Juilliard, where we played Brahms’ Third Piano Quartet freshman year, coaching with Seymour Lipkin. Beyond that, we played many times together in recitals and we had a great friendship. Unfortunately, we’ve been out of touch for many years, but I do plan to reconnect on his trip to Seattle. I’m so thrilled for him and all his success.  

Next season sees you performing Brahms’ Double Concerto with Efe (October 3 & 5). Raff mentioned you were both excited about doing this and it was something you’ve been wanting to do for a while. Can you tell me a bit about this piece?
 
Brahms’ Double is a fiery work that is a grand concerto for violin, cello and orchestra, with the orchestra part being much more than an accompaniment. Like a symphony with big solos. I’ve wanted to play this piece since I was a kid and I’m so lucky that I’ll have the opportunity here with this amazing band and the ever-inspiring Efe Baltacıgil. 

Any closing thoughts? 

I’m really excited to bring this Playlist program to you and we in the orchestra hope to convey our love for this music to our incredible audience. 

Noah Geller’s position is generously underwritten as the David & Amy Fulton Concertmaster. 
Efe Baltacıgil’s position is generously underwritten as the Marks Family Foundation Principal Cello. 
Helen Kim’s position is generously underwritten as the Clowes Family Associate Concertmaster. 
Noah Geller’s performances are generously sponsored by Patricia Tall-Takacs and Gary Takacs.