Julia Fischer is one of the leading violinists of the day, captivating audiences worldwide with her music. She was born in Munich in 1983, of German-Slovak parents, and began her musical training at just four years of age. At nine, she began receiving lessons from the renowned violin teacher Ana Chumachenco. In 2006, she was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main.
Winning the international Yehudi Menuhin Competition in 1995 with the great violinist himself conducting was a significant milestone in her career. The following year, she won the 8th Eurovision Competition for Young Instrumentalists. Many of her concerts have been recorded for and/or broadcast live on radio and television. Julia Fischer receives regular invitations from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, to perform in the USA. She also plays with the leading European orchestras, including the Vienna Symphonic, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She has an especially close relationship with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, which she first led in January 2006 during a tour of Germany, with which she made history later on in the autumn, performing in Frankfurt to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the reopening of the Alte Oper. Another major tour of Germany, Austria and the Benelux is planned for 2009, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the foundation of the Academy.
Julia Fischer was appointed Artist in Residence at the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, under Chief Conductor Yakov Kreizberg, for the 2006/2007 season. Further joint projects with Maestro Kreizberg include her first appearance at the BBC PROMS in summer 2008. Julia Fischer also plays in a chamber music duo with Yakov Kreizberg at the piano: they first performed in May 2007 in recital in Valencia. Furthermore, Julia Fischer has so far recorded all her CDs of orchestral music together with Maestro Kreizberg.
Other major conductors with whom Julia Fischer has performed include: Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Yuri Temirkanov, Sir Neville Marriner, David Zinman, Jun Märkl, Ruben Gazarian, Emmanuel Krivine and Marek Janowski.
Julia Fischer is an ardent chamber musician, and performs regularly with Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Daniel Müller-Schott, among others. She receives invitations to play at the major international festivals, such as Londons Mostly Mozart Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the Prague Spring Festival, the St. Petersburg Winter Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, where she was awarded the Soloist Prize in 1997.
In 2004, her first CD was released by PentaTone, the label for which Julia Fischer records exclusively. Entitled Russian Violin Concertos, featuring the Russian National Orchestra (under Yakov Kreizberg), the CD was awarded the Echo Klassik 2005. Her latest recording - Tchaikovskys Violin Concerto - was released in November 2006, with the same orchestra and conductor. All CD releases of the young violinist have received major recognition and awards. Many have received the Diapason dOr as well as the Choc from Monde de la Musique. Her recording of Bachs Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin was voted in the BBC Music Magazine Award as Best Newcomer 2006 and was also awarded the Diapason dOr de lAnnée. Meanwhile, PentaTone has released the second CD of Mozarts Violin Concertos featuring Julia Fischer with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; Piano Trios by Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, together with Daniel Müller-Schott and Jonathan Gilad; and Brahms Violin Concerto and Double Concerto, together with Daniel Müller-Schott. Further recordings are soon to be added to her discography.
Most recently, Julia Fischer has also been concentrating on contemporary music. She gave the première of Matthias Pintschers Piano Trio together with Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Daniel Müller-Schott. During the 2006-2007 season, she performed Maazels Violin Concerto, accompanied by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Nicholas Maws Violin Concerto at the Aspen Music Festival.
Julia Fischer plays on an Italian violin made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, dating from 1750.
