Restoring the legacy of Afro-European
violin virtuoso George Bridgetower
Featuring Tchaikovsky Gold Medalist Ilya Kaler,
Steinway Artist Rasa Vitkauskaite,
multi-GRAMMY winner Paquito D’Rivera, and
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove
Restoring the legacy of Afro-European
violin virtuoso George Bridgetower
Featuring Tchaikovsky Gold Medalist Ilya Kaler,
Steinway Artist Rasa Vitkauskaite,
multi-GRAMMY winner Paquito D’Rivera, and
Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Rita Dove
Live at Carnegie Hall • October 3, 2026 • TICKETS
The album highlights the remarkable story of Afro-European violin virtuoso George Bridgetower (1778–1860)— the original dedicatee and inspiration behind one of Beethoven’s most celebrated works, Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47, premiered by Bridgetower and Beethoven in 1803.
Yet for more than two centuries, the sonata has carried the name of French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer — who never performed it and dismissed it as excessively difficult.
Tchaikovsky Gold Medalist Ilya Kaler and Steinway Artist Rasa Vitkauskaite present a commanding performance of the sonata, reclaimed here as the “Bridgetower,” restoring the legacy of the artist for whom it was originally written, alongside a poignant reading of Florence Price’s Adoration, a work of striking lyricism and depth.
The album is anchored by the world premiere of a new chamber work by multi-GRAMMY winner Paquito D’Rivera, inspired by George Bridgetower’s only surviving composition, Henry, and the first-ever digital recording of selected poems from Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Rita Dove’s Sonata Mulattica, read by the poet herself.
The album will be presented in a live performance at Carnegie Hall on October 3.
Some of the most celebrated voices in music and literature unite to reframe a powerful, long-overlooked legacy
Ilya Kaler is the only violinist to win first prize at three of the world’s most prestigious competitions — the Paganini, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius — and is a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Ilya Kaler has been described by Gramophone as a “magician, bewitching our ears” for his hauntingly beautiful sound and mesmerizing phrasing. His acclaimed recordings on Naxos, Ongaku, and Melodiya span solo, concerto and chamber repertoire. His most recent release pairs the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor and Double Concerto in D Minor, recorded with Rasa Vitkauskaite and conductor Jonathan Cohler (Ongaku 024-132). Mr. Kaler has also taught at the Eastman School of Music and Indiana University, and performs each summer at Chautauqua, Keshet Eilon, and the Montreal Chamber Music Festival. He is a frequent juror at the Sibelius, Henri Marteau, and International Music Competition of China.
Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite, praised for her “poetic and observant sensitivity” (Gramophone), is the principal pianist of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a Steinway Artist.
Rasa Vitkauskaite has been described as “a Beethoven interpreter of penetrating insight” (Fanfare), and has performed in more than thirty countries worldwide. In 2027, she will release the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Tchaikovsky Gold Medal–winning violinist Ilya Kaler, continuing a long-standing artistic collaboration. Her recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor has been compared to the legendary Rudolf Serkin recording with the New York Philharmonic. Vitkauskaite won the Grand Prix at the Mendelssohn Cup Piano Competition in Italy and was featured on Chicago’s prestigious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series.
Rita Dove is the youngest U.S. Poet Laureate ever appointed and one of the most honored literary figures of our time. Her book Sonata Mulattica has played a major role in Bridgetower’s modern rediscovery.
Winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, Rita Dove has received the National Medal of Arts, the National Humanities Medal, the Wallace Stevens Award, and 29 honorary doctorates from institutions including Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her poetry collection Sonata Mulattica reflects a lifelong engagement with music and performance. Her work has been set by John Williams in a song cycle premiered at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and she later collaborated with Williams and Steven Spielberg on America’s Millennium at the Lincoln Memorial.
Winner of more than a dozen Grammy Awards, Paquito D’Rivera is a virtuoso clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer whose work moves with equal authority between jazz and the classical tradition.
Paquito D’Rivera is one of the most complete musical artists of our era. A founding member of Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, he has appeared as soloist with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, National Symphony, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and his compositions have been performed by Yo-Yo Ma, trumpet virtuoso Pacho Flores, and Imani Winds. His honors include the NEA Jazz Masters Award, the National Medal of the Arts, the Kennedy Center’s Living Jazz Legend Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, which led to his appointment as Composer-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center. His more than 30 solo albums represent one of the most distinguished discographies in contemporary music.
Jonathan Cohler is a world-renowned clarinet soloist, conductor, and record producer, hailed by Fanfare as "the preeminent, most-recorded [clarinet] soloist of our time".
Called “an absolute master of the clarinet” by The Clarinet Magazine, Jonathan Cohler has earned widespread acclaim for his recordings on Ongaku Records, including the Outstanding Recording mark from American Record Guide and BBC Music Magazine’s Best CDs of the Year award. His most recent album, Contrasts with Ilya Kaler and Rasa Vitkauskaite, was featured on the cover of Fanfare, which proclaimed “Virtuosity, at the highest level.” Gramophone has praised his expression of “the poetry that lesser artists miss.” He is Professor of Clarinet and Chamber Music at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Seven-time Grammy nominee Dave Eggar is a renowned cellist, pianist, composer and arranger, and a graduate of Harvard University and Juilliard School.
Dave Eggar has performed across the globe, including at Carnegie Hall, Barbican Centre, the Kennedy Center, Paris Opera, Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Sydney Opera House, and other prestigious venues. A versatile artist, he performs, records, and arranges across classical, rock, bluegrass, and more. He has worked with artists including Amy Winehouse, Beyoncé, Coldplay, Evanescence, John Legend, Norah Jones, Paul Simon, Pete Seeger, and Taylor Swift, among others.
Grammy-nominated bassist and composer Gregg August spans the classical, avant-garde, jazz, and Latin jazz worlds, making him one of today’s most versatile musicians.
Gregg August is an associate member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the American Composers Orchestra and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Gregg has performed and/or recorded with the New York Philharmonic, Steve Reich, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Alarm Will Sound, as well as Ornette Coleman, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, and Ray Barretto. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University, the Manhattan School of Music, and Williams College.
Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 “Bridgetower”
Selected poems from Sonata Mulattica
07 The Bridgetower
Listen to the Featured Tracks:
“The Bridgetower”
from Sonata Mulattica
Available on all major streaming platforms.
To Those Who Made This Album Possible
This project is the result of collaboration, passion, and a shared belief in the power of music to bring overlooked stories to light and help shape our understanding of the past and future.
ARTISTS
Ilya Kaler, violin
Rasa Vitkauskaite, piano
Paquito D’Rivera, composer & clarinet
Rita Dove, poet
Jonathan Cohler, clarinet
Dave Eggar, cello
Gregg August, double bass
PRODUCTION
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Daniel Faneuf
PRODUCERS
Jonathan Cohler
Rasa Vitkauskaite
LABELS
Ongaku Records, Inc.
Last Light Productions, LLC
RECORDING TEAM
ENGINEERS
Brad Michel
Ryan Streber
James McLaughlin
MASTERING & MIXING
Jonathan Cohler
Brad Michel
CREATIVE
ARTWORK & DESIGN
Rasa Vitkauskaite
CREATIVE CONSULTANT
Kitt Wakeley
RECORDED AT
Shalin Liu Performance Center
Rockport, MA
Oktaven Audio, LLC
New York, NY
Mountainside Studio
Charlottesville, VA
The son of a white woman and an “African Prince,” George Polgreen Bridgetower (1778–1860) travels to Vienna to meet “bad-boy” genius Ludwig van Beethoven. The great composer’s subsequent sonata is originally dedicated to the young mulatto, but George, exuberant with acclaim, offends Beethoven over a woman. From this crucial encounter evolves a grandiose yet melancholy poetic tale.
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