Geraldine Walther, occupant of the Orchestra's Jewett Chair, has been Principal Violist of the San Francisco Symphony since 1976, having previously served as assistant principal of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Miami Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony. A native of Florida, she first picked up the viola in a public school music program in Tampa. She went on to study at the Curtis Institute with Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet and at the Manhattan School of Music with Lillian Fuchs, and in 1979 she won first prize at the William Primrose International Competition.
Among the many works Ms. Walther has performed as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony are Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, Telemann's Concerto in G major,Berlioz's Harold in Italy, Hindemith's Trauermusik, Der Schwanendreher, and Kammermusiken Nos. 5 and 6, Tippett's Triple Concerto, MartinŰ's Rhapsody-Concerto, and the viola concertos of William Walton, Walter Piston, Thea Musgrave, Béla Bartók, Alfred Schnittke, and Krzysztof Penderecki. She has given the US premieres of several important works with the Orchestra, including Tôru Takemitsu's A String Around Autumn in 1990, Peter Lieberson's Viola Concerto in 1999, and George Benjamin's Viola, Viola (together with SFS Associate Principal Violist Yun Jie Liu), also in 1999. In May 2002 she was soloist in William Schuman's Concerto on Old English Rounds, and in December of that year she gave the American premiere of Robin Holloway's Viola Concerto.
In 1995 Ms. Walther was selected by Sir Georg Solti as a member of his Musicians of the World, an orchestra composed of leading musicians from around the globe, for concerts in Geneva to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. She has also served as principal violist with the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and has performed as soloist with other Bay Area orchestras. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Walther particularly enjoys playing in small ensembles with her SFS colleagues. She regularly participates in leading chamber music festivals, including Marlboro, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, Bridgehampton, and, most recently, the Telluride, Seattle, and Ruby Mountain festivals, Music at Kohl Mansion, Green Music Festival in Sonoma, and the inaugural season of Music at Menlo this past summer. She has collaborated with such artists as Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, and Jaime Laredo, and has appeared as a guest artist with some of the world's most renowned string quartets, including the Vermeer, Guarneri, Lindsay, Cypress, and St. Lawrence quartets. In 2001 she joined the Tokyo Quartet on a tour of Spain and Italy.
Geraldine Walther's recordings include Hindemith's Trauermusik and Der Schwanendreher with the San Francisco Symphony (both on London/Decca), Paul Chihara's Golden Slumbers with the San Francisco Chamber Singers (Albany), and Lou Harrison's Threnody (New Albion). Together with SFS Assistant Concertmaster Mark Volkert and cellist Jan Volkert, she has just released a new disc of Mr. Volkert's transcriptions for string trio entitled Delectable Pieces (Con Brio). Ms. Walther's instrument, created by Lorenzo Storioni of Cremona in 1780, was purchased by members of the Symphony's Board of Governors and is on loan to her from the SFS. Ms. Walther lives in Oakland with her husband and two daughters.
