Biography
Leila Josefowicz
Violinist Leila Josefowicz has won the hearts of audiences around the world with her honest, fresh approach to the repertoire and her 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 with 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 and 9/10 seasons, Ms. Josefowicz will premiere concertos written for her by Steve Mackey and Colin Matthews.
Recent appearances in North America include performances with the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco, Toronto, National, Detroit, Baltimore and Pittsburgh 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 San Francisco, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.
During her 2007/08 season, Ms. Josefowicz returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Louis, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, New Jersey and Utah symphonies; makes her subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony playing the Knussen Violin concerto with Esa-Pekka Salonen; appears in recital in Philadelphia; and plays chamber music at the 92nd St. Y in New York.
Equally active internationally, recent and upcoming engagements in Europe and Asia include performances with the Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, the London and Munich Philharmonics, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic; a tour with the London Symphony Orchestra playing Adam's Dharma on Big Sur with Adams conducting; and a fourth appearance at the London Proms.
No stranger to television, Leila Josefowicz has appeared on numerous national broadcasts such as The Tonight Show, Evening at Pops and PBS' Live from Lincoln Center. Her most recent television appearance was Eugenia Zukerman's profile of her on CBS Sunday Morning. In January 2002, her performance of John Adams' Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony was televised and broadcast throughout Europe by the BBC.
Ms. Josefowicz made her recording debut with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 1994 for Philips Classics. Subsequent releases on that label include Solo, a disc of unaccompanied violin works by Bartók, Kreisler, Ysa˙e, Ernst and Paganini; Bohemian Rhapsodies, a collection of virtuosic violin 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, Charles Dutoit conducting. Additional releases include a live recording of her performance of the Adams Violin Concerto with John Adams conducting on the BBC label and Adams' Road Movies, which received a 2004 Grammy nomination, for Nonesuch. Her most recent releases are a recital disc featuring the works of Messiaen, Beethoven, Salonen, Ravel and Mark Grey and the Shostakovich Violin Sonata and Concerto No. 1 (with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo) for Warner Classics.
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. In addition to her solo work, she studied chamber music at Curtis with Felix Galimir and participated for several summers at Marlboro Music Festivals. Ms. Josefowicz currently performs on a Del Gesu made in 1724.