Chronicles of an Adventurous Violinist
October 16 @ 10:30 am - 11:30 am
In partnership with Chamber Music Charleston, we look forward to a twist on traditional string performance. Join renowned international violinist Anthea Kreston for a one-man show that spans Tajikistan to Carnegie Hall on a whirlwind adventure through the lens of a burgeoning musical talent. Timed with the debut of her memoir, Crescendo, this signature evening will weave together music and stories in a semi-staged comedic performance that reflects on the art form, the artist’s ambition, and the choices that compose a life.
If you are unable to attend the event but would like to purchase one or more signed copies, please visit Buxton Books here.
About the Book
When American violinist Anthea Kreston is selected as the fourth member of Germany’s Artemis Quartet, it is the culmination of decades of dedication. In Crescendo, her enchanting and deeply personal memoir, Kreston writes about growing up in a well-to-do but difficult family in Chicago, leaving home at sixteen, studying at the ultracompetitive Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (Hilary Hahn was a classmate), then burning out and leaving it all behind for a commune in Oregon. All the while, Kreston never stops playing her beloved violin, and, in time. she finds her way back, making it to the top of the classical music world. She writes candidly about struggling with years of infertility and the challenges of being a mother with a performance career. When she moves her young family to Germany, she struggles to stay true to herself and maintain her marriage, amid the never-ending pressure of the string quartet. Told with warmth and wit (Kreston once gets out of a traffic ticket by playing Danny Boy for the Irish cop), Crescendo is an honest and ultimately celebratory reflection on art, ambition, and the choices that compose a life.
About the Author
Anthea Kreston is a world-renowned violinist and violist who has performed on almost every major concert stage around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Royal Academy of Music (London), Prince Regent Theater (Munich), and Teatro Nacional (Panama City), among others. She has played in the Berlin Philharmonic, as Principal Violin in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as concertmaster of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project. An avid writer, Kreston is a frequent columnist for the music news site Slipped Disc. She has published articles in classical publications such as Strings and Chamber Music, and has been featured in the New York Times, Strings, and Strad magazine for her work with students during COVID, community building through music, and music therapy with abused children. She is also the Artist in Residence on All Classical Radio, a top classical radio station in the US. Kreston is currently first violinist of the Delgani String Quartet (Oregon) and Trio Libermé (Berlin), and she lives in Corvallis, Oregon, with her husband and two daughters. Crescendo is her first book.
About Chamber Music Charleston
Anthea Kreston appears courtesy of Chamber Music Charleston (CMC). Ms. Kreston will join CMC violinist Frances Hsieh, violists Ben Weiss and Jenny Weiss, and cellist Timothy O’Malley to perform music of Beethoven, Mozart and David Brubeck for for the opening Salon Series Concert at the historic South Carolina Society Hall on Sunday, October 18, 2026. To learn more and purchase tickets for the concert, please visit https://www.chambermusiccharleston.org/salon-1-26-27-2/