Biography
Leila Josefowicz
Violinist Leila Josefowicz has won the hearts of audiences around the world with her honest, fresh approach to the repertoire and dynamic virtuosity.
Ms. Josefowicz came to national attention in 1994 when she made her Carnegie Hall debut with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and has since appeared with many of the world's most prestigious orchestras and eminent conductors. A regular, close collaborator of leading composers of the day such as John Adams and Oliver Knussen, she is a strong advocate of new music - a characteristic which is reflected in her diverse programs and her enthusiasm for premiering new works. During the 08/09 season Ms. Josefowicz premiered concertos written for her by Esa-Pekka Salonen/Los Angeles Philharmonic and Steve Mackey/St. Louis Symphony and played first performances of Thomas Adès' violin concerto Concentric Paths with the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco and Seattle symphonies. In October 2009 she premiered another concerto written for her by Colin Matthews with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In recognition of her passionate advocacy and genuine commitment to the music of today, Ms. Josefowicz was awarded a 2008 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
Recent appearances in North America include performances with the Philadelphia, Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras, the Toronto, Detroit, National, Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston and Cincinnati symphonies; a performance of John Adams' Violin Concerto in Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra under the baton of Mr. Adams; and recitals in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.
During the 2010/11 season Ms. Josefowicz returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, New World and Houston symphonies, the Los Angeles and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras and the St. Louis Symphony both in St. Louis and at Carnegie Hall; performs recitals in San Francisco, Toronto and St. Paul; appears at the Aspen Music Festival and Ravinia; and plays the Salonen Violin Concerto at the New York City Ballet with the composer on the podium accompanying a world premiere ballet choreographed by Peter Martins.
Equally active internationally, recent and upcoming engagements in Europe include appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, the London, Munich and Czech Philharmonics, London Symphony and Finnish Radio Orchestra; performances of the new Salonen concerto in Paris, Stockholm, Lisbon and Ferrara, Italy with the composer on the podium; and a fifth appearance at the London Proms.
Ms. Josefowicz's debut recording with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 1994 for Philips Classics was awarded a Diapason d'or. Subsequent releases on that label include Solo, a disc of unaccompanied works, which also won a Diapason d'or; Bohemian Rhapsodies, a collection of virtuosic works with orchestra; For the End of Time and Americana with pianist John Novacek; and the Mendelssohn, Glazunov and Prokofiev concertos with the Montreal Symphony/Dutoit. Additional recording include John Adams' Road Movies, which received a 2004 Grammy nomination, for Nonesuch; a recital disc and the Shostakovich Violin Sonata and Concerto No. 1 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Oramo, which received a 2007 ECHO Award, both for Warner Classics; and a live recording of the Knussen concerto conducted by the composer at the London Proms for Deutsche Gramophone. Her most recent recording is of The Dharma at Big Sur with John Adams conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic for DG Concerts released on iTunes.
A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1994 as well as a 2007 United States Artists Cummings Fellowship, Leila Josefowicz is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Jaime Laredo and Jascha Brodsky. Ms. Josefowicz currently performs on a Del Gesu made in 1724.