Shared Madness began with an immense debt. For eight years, the violinist Jennifer Koh — “a prodigious builder of musical bridges,” according to the Los Angeles Times — struggled to pay off the loan she had taken for her instrument. At one point, she even considered declaring bankruptcy. While teetering on that brink, however, she met Justus and Elizabeth Schlichting, patrons who agreed to take on her debt in exchange for new commissions for Koh and her violin. They got an astounding thirty-two new works.

Debuted during the New York Philharmonic’s Second Biennial, the two concerts of Shared Madness includes thirty-two short pieces from composers whom Koh considers her friends. It is a marvelous study of violin virtuosity for the twenty-first century, inspired by Paganini’s Caprices. At the two concerts at Duke’s 200-seat von der Heyden Studio Theater in the new Rubenstein Arts Center, there is Julia Wolfe’s breathless Spinning Jenny; Vijay Iyer’s quixotic Zany, Cute, Interesting; and Gabriel Kahane’s playfully metatextual The Single Art Form Is Dead. Koh also introduces Philip Glass’ stately take on the sarabande form, Sarabande in Common Time, and Michael Gordon’s electrifying kwerk. Each of these two concerts is ticketed separately.

Parking for Duke Performances presentations at the Rubenstein Arts Center, including Shared Madness, is available directly across the street from the venue in the Campus Drive Lot, approximately a one-minute walk. The entrance to this lot is on Anderson Street, just north of Campus Drive, facing the west side of the Rubenstein Arts Center. A crossing guard will be stationed near the entrance of the Campus Drive lot before and after each show to allow you to cross the street safely.

Part One:

Sam Adams: for jenny
Zosha Di Castri: Patina
Missy Mazzoli: Kinski Paganini
Timo Andres: Winding Stair
Augusta Read Thomas: Venus Enchanted
Lisa Bielawa: Vireo Caprice
Eric Nathan: Far Beyond Far
Mark Grey: Twenty
Michael Gordon: kwerk
Daníel Bjarnason: First Escape
Gabriel Kahane: The Single Art Form Is Dead
Vijay Iyer: Zany, Cute, Interesting
John Harbison: Painting the Floors Blue

Part Two:

Marc Neikrug: Flash
Philip Glass: Sarabande in Common Time
Phil Kline: Bedeviled
David Ludwig: Moto Perpetuo
David Lang: low resolution
David Bruce: Marzipan
James Matheson: Capriccio
Matthew Aucoin: Resolve
Christopher Cerrone: Shall I Project A World?
Sean Shepherd: wideOPENwide
Bryce Dessner: Gift
Derek Bermel: Twenty Questions
Anthony Cheung: Character Studies
Andrew Norman: Still Life
Kaija Saariaho: Sense
Julia Wolfe: Spinning Jenny

If you purchased tickets prior to February 1, please note that these two programs have been reordered at the request of the performer.