Composer and violinist Curtis Stewart is just out with a new album, 24 American Caprices, which pays tribute to some of country’s greatest artists in the style of Paganini and Wieniawski. The album of his compositions, which also includes several of his compositions, was released on June 19, 2026.
Stewart, who grew up in a musical family in New York City but studied Violin Practice and mathematics at the Eastman School of Music, discusses his album and musical inspirations.
Born in Helsinki, Finland, Stewart was surrounded by music for as long as he can remember.
“Both my parents are musicians, my father is a jazz tuba player, and my late mother was a violinist and an opera singer in the Polish National Opera.” From an early age, the young Stewart was introduced to classical music – from his mother – and what the violinist turned composer describes as “the more creative music side,” namely Jazz, from his father.
“Following my studies, I moved back to New York City to teach music at the Performing Arts High School before moving onto The Julliard School of Music where I managed a chamber music program, and then finally becoming the Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra.”
Stewart, however, attributes his decision to become a musician to his mother’s ultimate influence, but stresses that becoming one “is an active decision given that there are nobody out there who are asking for more musicians in the world.” The older Stewart, for his part, encouraged his son to study something more practical – math, “which wasn’t my passion but I did it anyways.”
Discussing his newly released album, Stewart points out that his mother had been listening to a diverse range of music genres, ranging from classical music to rapper Queen Latifah. But interest in popular music is also enjoyed by Stewart’s wife, who enjoys Taylor Swift.
Between the two most important women of his life, Steward quickly expanded his music horizon to a world beyond classical music, he declares with obvious pride and passion.
“At that point, I realized that composers such as Béla Bartok and Dmitri Shostakovich had also drawn inspiration from contemporary music for their compositions,” Stewart says, but points out that “there is still a stigma in the world of classical music when it comes to drawing inspiration from popular music.”
“Some people lift their eyebrows or assert that ‘oh, you’re just trying to go the hip-pop music route,’ or that the music is somehow something that is inauthentic.” Stewart attributes these attitudes – which remain prevalent within musicology and among some musicians – to the belief that music is an absolute, formalist, and an entirely abstract form.
Some contemporary composers even consider their music as “a rebellion to popular culture. And for someone to choose to interact with a popular culture, they must not really like Taylor Swift. They must not really like Earth, Wind and Fire.”
These critics, Stewart charges, also proclaim that classical musicians cannot possibly like this kind of music but that they are rather motivated by making money.
“Earth, Wind and Fire feels like the whole song is in fact a hook from the little guitar riff at the beginning all the way through the chorus. And so I like to just make all these musics part of the conversation of my composition.”
In the album, the composer references the legendary country star Dolly Parton, the celebrated band leader John Coltrane, beloved folk singer Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Billy Strayhorn, Nina Simone, Wayne Shorter, and the-one-and-only Aretha Franklin, among others.
Stewart is also paying homage to the historic virtuoso violinists Niccolò Paganini and Henryk Wieniawski with his unique ability to seamlessly integrate a kaleidoscope of popular styles into his classical vocabulary. His album “pays homage to the history of violin performance and American culture, as well as the event that provided the impetus for Stewart’s solo career: his live performance of a caprice on Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ at the 2022 Grammy Awards,” according to a statement on Stewart’s newly released album.
I believe there was something about my parents both having a mission with their music making that I wanted to be a part of. I also somehow did not want to let them down by not becoming a musician
