Introducing Leila Josefowicz

‘My fascination has always been in keeping things new – the learning process, the sounds. It means I always have an experience that I’ve not had before. It’s the opposite of getting stuck in standard repertoire and feeling like you know how it goes. I experienced that so often in my teens and 20s with orchestras.’ 

Indeed, by her 20s, Josefowicz was already an old hand. She started the violin aged 3 and at 8 went to the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles. Before she was even in her teens, she was playing on the Johnny Carson Show and Mickey Mouse Club, and on televised galas for Leonard Bernstein and Lucille Ball. She switched to the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia aged 13, and by the age of 17 she had made her Carnegie Hall debut, signed a record contract and a management agreement. Pretty fast work.  

Another aspect of the longevity of Josefowicz’s career is her musical partnership with pianist John Novacek. It goes right back to when she was 8, at Colburn, where Novacek played the piano for her teacher Robert Lipsett’s violin studio. They’ve worked together ever since.  

‘He’s a phenomenal musician, a wonderful person and a great colleague. We’ve worked together so long that in certain ways, we know more about each other and how the other’s mind works than we know about ourselves. When people see this, they can feel the years of playing together, in the best way. I’m very happy he’s able to join me.’ 

They’ll be playing the same program across seven concerts, so how does that feel for someone who craves new experiences?  

‘I can dive deep into this program and feel how each performance evolves in the different halls and cities and with different audiences. When you get comfortable with a program, you can try different things on different days and be extra-spontaneous, according to how you’re feeling that day.’ 

As for coping with the travel, she says, ‘This profession requires a lot of mental and physical flexibility. It’s incredibly challenging to play this instrument in so many different environments and circumstances. You make plans, you have itineraries, but then you realise that things are constantly shifting. Your body feels different every single day.  

‘As John Lennon sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making plans.”’

You can hear Leila Josefowicz and John Novacek in The Fairy’s Kiss, touring 5-20 July to Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth and Sydney.