Warner Classics & Jazz

Biography

“Certainly his artistry and sensitivity place him securely among the finest players of today.” Gramophone Good CD Guide

Julian Rachlin has already established himself as one of the most charismatic and exciting violinists of his generation. Praised for his masterful interpretations, he continually brings audiences to their feet in top concert halls throughout the world where his performances often result in immediate reinvitations. In recognition of his immense talent, he received one of the most prestigious awards for classical musicians, the coveted "Accademia Musicale Chigiana" International Prize.

Highlights of Julian Rachlin's forthcoming season include his Carnegie Hall debut and later his debut with the New York Philharmonic, under the baton of Lorin Maazel. He has engagements with Leipzig Gewandhaus and Herbert Blomsted, Pittsburgh Symphony and the Bayerischer Rundfunk with Mariss Jansons, Israel Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, Chicago Symphony and the Dresden Staatskapelle under Daniele Gatti, Baltimore Symphony with Temirkanov, Atlanta Syphony with Donald Runnicles, Russian National Orchestra under Mikhail Pletnev, and a European tour with NHK Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy. He returns to the Salzburg Festival with Sir Roger Norrington. Julian Rachlin’s regular recital partner is Itamar Golan with whom he tours worldwide. In 2003/04 they will appear in Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany.

This season Rachlin will appear in the Vienna Musikverein with Yuri Bashmet, Mstislav Rostropovich and Maxim Vengerov in a concert to celebrate Rostropovich’s 75th birthday. A fervent chamber music player, Rachlin performs with such partners as Martha Argerich, Yefim Bronfman, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Shlomo Mintz, and Heinrich Schiff. He also recently gave the world premiere of Penderecki's Sextet, with Rostropovich and Bashmet, and will play at this year’s Verbier Festival with Lang Lang, Leif Ove Andsnes, Sarah Chang and Boris Pergamenschikow to name but a few. Following his successful performance at the Dubrovnik Festival in the summer of 2000, Julian was offered his own festival there, "Julian Rachlin and Friends". This is now a regular festival rapidly growing in international renown.

Born in Lithuania in 1974, Julian emigrated 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 lead 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.

Rachlin has appeared with, and returns on a regular basis to, the world's major orchestras. These include Bavarian Radio Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestra Philharmonica della Scala, Orchestre de Paris, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic. He has collaborated with, among other conductors, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Daniele Gatti, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Riccardo Muti, Sir Roger Norrington, Krysztof Penderecki, André Previn, Donald Runnicles, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Wolfgang Sawallisch.

In 2000, he began to perform on the viola and now regularly includes the viola repertoire in his performances. In 2003/04 he will perform Berlioz’s ‘Harold in Italy’ with Moscow Soloists under the baton of Yuri Bashmet and will also perform the work with the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Julian Rachlin's 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 Zubin Mehta, as well as the Prokofiev Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky Concerto with Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Fedoseyev. Julian's recordings of the Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns Concertos on the Sony Classical label were honoured as the Critics' Choice in the Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide. He has just recorded the Brahms Violin Concerto and Mozart Violin Concerto No.3 with the Bayerischer Rundfunk and Mariss Jansons for Warner Classics which will be released in Autumn 2004.

As of September 1999, Mr. Rachlin is 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.