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Julian Rachlin (Violin, Viola, Conductor)

Born: December 8, 1974 - Vilnius, Lithuania

The Lithuanian-born violinist, violist and conductor, Julian Raclin, immigrated with his parents to Vienna in 1978. . In 1983, he entered the Konservatorium Wien and studied violin in the Soviet tradition with the eminent pedagogue Boris Kuschnir, while also receiving private lessons from Pinchas Zukerman. His career as a child prodigy began with his first public concert in 1984. He gained international acclaim overnight in 1988 by winning the "Young Musician of the Year" Award at the Eurovision Competition in Amsterdam. This led to his being invited to appear at the Berlin Festival with conductor Lorin Maazel and to his becoming the youngest soloist ever to play with the Wiener Philharmoniker, making his debut under Riccardo Muti.

Julian Rachlin is one of the most exciting and respected violinists of our time. For the last 24 years, he has been captivating audiences around the world with his distinctively rich sound, superb musicianship and outstanding interpretations. Always willing to expand his musical horizons, Rachlin is also praised as a viola player and, most recently, as a conductor.

In the development of his career, Julian Rachlin He has established close relationships with many of the most prestigious orchestras, and has enjoyed collaborations with some of the most illustrious maestros in Europe and the USA, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, and André Previn. In 2000, he joined Mstislav Rostropovich and Yuri Bashmet, among others, in the premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki's Sextet. The same year, Rachlin also founded his own music festival in Dubrovnik, Croatia "Julian Rachlin and Friends", , a platform for creative and vibrant projects with today’s leading musicians and actors. In 2005, Rachlin made his Carnegie Hall debut when he performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Lorin Maazel. He performed with The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) in April, 2009. In 2009 he performed at the Eilat Festival in Israel, and shared stage with Aleksey Igudesman, Pavel Vernikov, Aisha Syed, Boris Kushnir, and Maxim Vengerov.

Leading contemporary composers have written new works for Julian Rachlin. They include: Penderecki (Chaconne and Double Concerto), Dubugnon (Piano Trio and Sonata Violiana), Kancheli (Chiaroscuro).

Since his debut as a conductor in 1998, Julian Rachlin has collaborated in play/direct performances with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Tonkunstler Symphony Orchestra and Zürcher Kammerorchester. Upcoming debuts include collaborations with the Camerata Salzburg, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Moscow Virtuosi, RTE National Symphony and Slovenian Philharmonic.

In the late 1990’s, Julian Rachlin studied with Pinchas Zukerman who strongly encouraged him to play viola for his musical development, and 2000, he has also played the concerto and chamber repertoire for the viola.. His viola approach began with the early Haydn Quartets and today his repertoire includes all major works written for viola, both solo and in chamber music. "The Viola works were perfectly judged and beautifully played." - The New York Times. Julian's passion for the viola resulted in Krzysztof Penderecki writing Double Concerto for him, which will be premiered at the Vienna Musikverein in October 2012 with Janine Jansen and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphonieorchester conducted by Mariss Jansons. This concerto was commissioned by the Musikverein.

Current and upcoming highlights include concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Alan Gilbert, Orchestre National de France and Vassily Sinaisky, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Christoph von Dohnányi and Zubin Mehta, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrey Boreyko, Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, as well as Münchner Philharmoniker and Lorin Maazel. Play & Conduct performances include collaborations with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kremerata Baltica, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra.

Besides performing violin concertos, Julian Rachlin also performs chamber music with such artists as pianists Martha Argerich, Itamar Golan, Stefan Vladar; violinists Gidon Kremer, Janine Jansen (his former girlfriend); violist Maxim Rysanov; cellists Mischa Maisky, Torleif Thedéen, Natalia Gutman; oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk; and he used to perform with Mstislav Rostropovich. With his regular duo partner, pianist Itamar Golan, Rachlin is performing a series of recitals, including the Johannes Brahms Sonatas Cycle for violin and viola in New York, Amsterdam and Vienna.

Julian Rachlin’s recordings has appeared on Sony Classical, Warner Classics and Deutsche Grammophon labels. His recordings of the violin concertos of Johannes Brahms, Sibelius, and Tchaikovsky, as well as of Dmitri Shostakovich's Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147, have been lauded by music critics.

Julian Rachlin is dedicated to pass on his musical knowledge to the next generation. He has served as a professor at the Vienna Conservatory since September 1999 and is expanding his educational outreach internationally. In the upcoming season (2012-2013), he will give master-classes at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in Zurich, and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, among others. He takes his teaching work as seriously as his work for Unicef and takes great joy in sharing with his students every possible tool that could help them in their artistic and human development. Despite his busy performing schedule, Rachlin dedicates as much time as possible to both talented young musicians in need of guidance and children who represent the audience of tomorrow. His philosophy remains that it is every established musician's responsibility to ensure the continuity and love for classical music. Additional projects are in the making and will be announcsoon. Besides delighting his audiences with his musical performances, Rachlin is also receiving recognition as a young philanthropist for his charity work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and his educational outreach. In 2000, he was rewarded with the prestigious International Prize of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana of Siena.

Julian Rachlin plays the 1704 "ex Liebig" Stradivari, on loan to him courtesy of the Dkfm. Angelika Prokopp Privatstiftung. He also plays the 1786 viola by Nicola Bergonzi on loan to him, courtesy of Dmitry Gindin, London.


More Photos

Sources:
Julian Rachlin Website
Wikipedia Website (February 2011)
Contributed by
Aryeh Oron (March 2013)

Julian Rachlin: Short Biography | Bach Discography: Recordings of Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Julian Rachlin (Official Website)
Julian Rachlin & Friends Festiva “(Official Website)
Julian Rachlin (Wikipedia)


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Explanation | Acronyms | Missing Biographies | The Sad Corner




 

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