Julian Rachlin | Violin
Julian Rachlin has already established himself as one of the most charismatic and exciting violinists of his generation. He has performed with most of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and is praised for his powerful and refreshing interpretations. He continually brings audiences to their feet in top concert halls throughout the world where his performances result in immediate re-invitations. In recognition of his immense talent, he received one of the most prestigious awards for classical musicians, the coveted “Accademia Musicale Chigiana” International Prize.
He has performed with, and regularly returns to, Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestra Philharmonica della Scala, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonia Orchestra London, San Francisco Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and NHK Symphony. Among the top class conductors, Julian has performed under Vladimir Ashkenazy, Herbert Blomstedt, Myung-Whun Chung, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Daniele Gatti, Sir Neville Marriner, Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Roger Norrington, Krysztof Penderecki, André Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich, Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Riccardo Muti and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Highlights of his 2006/07 season include a German tour with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Daniele Gatti, a major celebration of the works of Dmitri Shostakovich with performances throughout the season at the Musikverein in Vienna of his chamber works and violin concertos with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He will give concerts with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Tonhalle, Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, Bayerische Rundfunk symphony orchestras as well as New York Philharmonic, Philhadelphia Orchestra and Sydney Symphony. With his regular recital partner, Itamar Golan, Julian will also give recitals all over the world including Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe and will give performances of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in China and Japan with Mischa Maisky.
In 2000, he began to perform on the viola and now regularly includes the viola repertoire in his performances. Julian is a fervent chamber musician and performs regularly with his duo partner, Itamar Golan, as well as players such as Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich, Yefim Bronfman, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lang Lang, Janine Jansen and Maxim Vengerov to name a few. He frequently takes part in many European festivals including Salzburg, Verbier, Schleswig Holstein, the BBC Proms, Lucerne and Salzburg’s Mozartwoche. Following his successful performance at the Dubrovnik Festival in the summer of 2000, he was offered his own festival there, “Julian Rachlin and Friends”. This is now a regular annual festival and rapidly growing in international renown.
Rachlin’s recordings on Warner Classics include the Brahms Concerto and Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.3 with the Bayerischer Rundfunk and Mariss Jansons and a recital disc (Shostakovich and Beethoven) on violin and viola with Itamar Golan – “totally mesmerised by the sheer brilliance of his playing throughout these two discs” BBC Music Magazine September 2005. His early recordings on the Sony Classical label include the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Sérénade with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Maazel, the Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 3 and Wieniawski Concerto No. 2 with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Mehta, as well as the Prokofiev Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky Concerto with Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra with Vladimir Fedoseyev. He now records for ONYX Classics.
Born in Lithuania in 1974, Julian immigrated to Austria, his adopted home, with his musician parents in 1978. He studied with the eminent pedagogue Boris Kuschnir at the Vienna Conservatory and took private lessons with Pinchas Zukerman. He gained international acclaim overnight in 1988 by winning the “Young Musician of the Year” Award at the Eurovision Competition held at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. This success led to Lorin Maazel’s invitation to 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 September 1999, Mr. Rachlin has been on the faculty at the Vienna Conservatory. Julian Rachlin plays the 1741 “ex Carrodus” Guarnerius del Gesù violin, on loan to him courtesy of the Austrian National Bank.