Julian Rachlin

Violin

Continually bringing audiences to their feet in top concert halls worldwide for over a decade, Julian Rachlin received the 1998 Classical Musician of the Year Award from one of Europe's leading music publications, Music Manual. In July 2000, Julian received one of the most prestigious awards for classical musicians, the coveted "Accademia Musicale Chigiana" International Prize. In addition, his recordings of the Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns Concertos on the Sony Classical label were honored as the Critics' Choice in the Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide.

Some highlights of Julian Rachlin's upcoming engagements include, among others, his New York debut at Carnegie Hall with Lorin Maazel and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, as well as his debut with the Munich Philharmonic led by Daniele Gatti. His American orchestra debuts include the San Francisco Symphony with Donald Runnicles, the Atlanta Symphony with James DePriest and the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Emmanuael Krivine. In addition, Julian will be the guest artist for the American Youth Symphony annual gala in Los Angeles' Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, he will tour Germany with the Philharmonia Orchestra London led by Myung-Whun Chung and will collaborate for the first time with Sir Roger Norrington.

Julian Rachlin's highly acclaimed performances in 1999-00 included the world premiere of Penderecki's Sextet, which included Mstislav Rostropovich and Yuri Bashmet, in the golden hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, as well as his concert with the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra led by Lorin Maazel. In addition, he returned to the Israel Philharmonic for two concerts as part of their Brahms Cycle, performing under the baton of Zubin Mehta the Brahms' Violin Concerto as well as the Double Concerto with Mischa Maisky. Julian also debuted with the Orchestre de Paris under Neeme Järvi and toured Asia with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for its 100th anniversary. He appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, toured Australia with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, and toured Italy with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In recital, Julian was joined by Itamar Golan at the Salzburg Festival, in Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Bilbao and their home town, Vilnius. A special highlight of the season was Julian's performance with Lambert Orkis for an historic event in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Given the strong imprint of his individuality and sensibility, it is not surprising that, at the age of 25, Julian Rachlin has already established himself as one of the leading violinists of his generation. His stunning performances evoke a throwback to the old Russian School, a tradition passed on to him by the eminent pedagogue Boris Kuschnir. Furthermore, Rachlin's distinctive interpretative approach is enriched by the musical heritage he encountered growing up in Vienna.

Born in Lithuania, he emigrated to Austria, his adopted home, with his musician parents in 1978. His affinity for the violin became apparent early in his life. He began formal study at the age of six, and only seven years later gained international acclaim overnight by winning the coveted "Young Musician of the Year" Award at the Eurovision Competition held at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. This lead to Lorin Maazel inviting him to make his debut at the Berlin Festival with the Orchestre National de France, and to tour Europe and Japan with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He then became the youngest soloist ever to play with the Vienna Philharmonic, making his debut under Riccardo Muti.

Since the beginning of his career in 1989, he has made hundreds of appearances with the world's major orchestras, including, beside the aforementioned, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra London, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Orchestra Philharmonica della Scala, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, the Czech Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with, among other conductors, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Riccardo Muti, André Previn, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kurt Sanderling, Wolfgang Sawallich and Yuri Temirkanov.

A fervent chamber music player as well, Julian Rachlin performs with such partners as Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Yefim Bronfman, Natalia Gutman, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Oleg Maisenberg, Shlomo Mintz, Mstislav Rostropovich and Heinrich Schiff. Julian Rachlin's duo partner for many years has been the worldrenowned pianist Itamar Golan. Together with Itamar Golan and Orfeo Mandozzi, Julian Rachlin also forms a piano trio. In addition, he appears at the most heralded international festivals including Salzburg, Ravinia, Tangelwood, the London Proms, Lucerne, Montreux, and Verbier.

At the invitation of Pinchas Zuckerman, Julian Rachlin has been traveling regularly to New York City, for coaching sessions with this modern day master. Since September 1999, Julian is on the faculty at the Vienna Conservatory.

Julian Rachlin's recordings on the Sony Classical label include the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Sérénade with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Lorin Maazel, the Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 3 and the Wieniawski Concerto No. 2 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta, as well as the Prokofiev Concerto No. 1 and the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Fedoseyev.

Julian Rachlin plays the 1741 "ex Carrodus" Guarnerius del Gesù violin, on loan to him courtesy of the Austrian National Bank.

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