Miranda Cuckson

Praised recently for “a rare style that fuse[s] precision and elegance with passionate intensity and successful risk-taking”, violinist/violist Miranda Cuckson’s playing has, for decades, generated tremendous audience excitement and critical acclaim. In her wide variety of solo and collaborative performances, she continues to evolve and explore. Engaging with Western classical traditions and the many modern musical avenues she has ventured on, Miranda has pursued a distinctive personal path motivated by sincere interest and exploration, the expression of any human feelings and experiences, and the realization of virtuosity, craft, and invention. Her particular interests include the playing of stringed instruments in music globally and the porousness of the arts of interpretation and composition.

In the past few years, Miranda has given acclaimed concerto debuts at the Vienna Musikverein (playing Georg Friedrich Haas’ Violin Concerto No. 2, which she premiered in four countries), and with John Adams at the Ojai Music Festival. Her live performance of the Ligeti Violin Concerto with the UC Davis Orchestra was released as a commercial recording to great praise.

She and her frequent pianist partner Blair McMillen gave a recital at San Francisco Performances in 2023 and will perform at Boston’s Gardner Museum in 2025. In addition to their recording for Urlicht AudioVisual of music by Elliott Carter, Jason Eckardt, and Roger Sessions,their many highly lauded recordings include their ECM Records album of duos by Bartók, Schnittke, and Lutoslawski, the Grammy-nominated “Songs and Structures” with a duo written for them by Harold Meltzer; Michael Hersch’s “the wreckage of flowers”, and a landmark run of albums of seldom-heard duo and solo violin music by American composers Ralph Shapey, and Donald Martino.

Her album, with sound artist Christopher Burns, of Luigi Nono’s haunting, 50-minute La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura was named a Recording of the Year by The New York Times, and they have performed it live a dozen times, exploring its spatial and theatrical possibilities in a wide variety of settings. Miranda’s solo albums, also celebrated, include “Világ” featuring the Bartok Solo Sonata along with folk-flavored recent works; violin concertos by Korngold and Ponce; and melting the darkness, a forward-looking compilation of seven microtonal/electronic pieces.

In addition to her many live concerts around the USA and in her hometown of New York City, she has been a featured performer internationally at festivals including Wien Modern, Le GuessWho, West Cork, Bard, Frequency, Grafenegg, Sinus Ton, and TimeSpans, and presenters such as Liquid Music, 92NY, Miller Theatre, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Arts, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Cleveland Museum.

She is a core member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*), which is working at the forefront of interdisciplinary creation. A passionate performer and enthusiastic participant in many music groups and collaborations, she is also the founder/director of non-profit Nunc, with which she has curated concerts and residencies and produced numerous premieres, including ensemble works and opera. She frequently writes and speaks to audiences about music and she earned a doctorate from the Juilliard School. Dedicated to education and young people, she is on faculty at the Mannes School of Music at New School University.