Described by Gramophone as a “magician, bewitching our ears”, Ilya Kaler is one of today’s most outstanding violinists. His recording of the Paganini Caprices (8.550717) places them "in a class by themselves" combining "the perfection, passion, and phrase sculpting of Michael Rabin with the energy, excitement, and immediacy of Jascha Heifetz." (American Record Guide). Other highly acclaimed recordings include those of Sonatas by Schumann and Brahms, Concertos by Paganini, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Schumann, Dvořák, Glazunov, as well as Taneyev’s Suite and Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, to name a few. The Washington Post lauds him as, "a consummate musician, in total control at all times, with a peerless mastery of his violin."

Ilya Kaler was born in Moscow into a family of musicians. After graduating from the Central Music School for Especially Gifted Children in Moscow, where he studied with Zinaida Gilels, Ilya Kaler continued working under the guidance of Leonid Kogan and Viktor Tretyakov at the Moscow State Conservatory and later with Abram Shtern in Kiev and Los Angeles.

Winner of gold medals at three of the world’s most prestigious competitions, the Tchaikovsky in Moscow in 1986, the Sibelius in Helsinki in 1985, and the Paganini in Genoa in 1981, Ilya Kaler has earned rave reviews for solo appearances with distinguished orchestras throughout the world , including the Leningrad, Moscow and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, Montreal Symphony, Danish and Berlin Radio Orchestras, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Seattle Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Osaka Century Orchestra, the Moscow and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, among others. He has worked with a number of outstanding conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Dmitry Kitaenko, Mariss Jansons and Jerzy Semkow. Recitals and solo engagements with orchestras have taken him to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South Africa and the Americas.

Ilya Kaler has served as a concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra as well as a guest concertmaster with Aspen Music Festival, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestras.

One of the most sought-after teachers in the world, Ilya Kaler has served as a Distinguished Professor at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and is currently a Professor of Violin at DePaul University School of Music in Chicago.

An active chamber musician, he has performed at festivals and chamber music societies around the world with Yuri Bashmet, Emmanuel Ax, Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tutsumi, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Vadim Repin, Cécile Licad, Gérard Causse, Myron Bloom, Eli Eban, Atar Arad, Steven Doane, Alexander Peskanov, Boris Slutsky and others.

A number of video clips featuring Ilya Kaler may be viewed on YouTube.

Upcoming Engagements

2009

MAY 11 :	Recital at WFMT-Chicago Radio
MAY 20 :	Grant Concert at Orchestra Hall, Chicago DePaul University Symphony (Stravinsky)
MAY 30 & 31 :	Lake Forest Symphony Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 3