Julian Rachlin is one of the most exciting and respected violinists of our time. For the last 23 years, he has been captivating audiences around the world with his distinctively rich sound, superb musicianship and outstanding interpretations. He has established close relationships with many of the most prestigious conductors and orchestras. Always willing to expend his musical horizons, Julian is also praised as a viola player and, most recently, as a conductor. This year marks the 11th anniversary of the internationally renowned “Julian Rachlin & Friends” festival held annually in Dubrovnik, Croatia, a platform for creative and vibrant projects with today’s leading musicians and actors. Besides delighting his audiences with his musical performances, Julian is also receiving recognition as a young philanthropist for his charity work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and his educational outreach.
In the upcoming season, Julian will open the Philadelphia Orchestra 2011-12 season with Charles Dutoit, he will perform with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta, the Orchestra Filharmonica della Scala and Daniel Harding, as well as the Gewandhaus Leipzig and Josep Pons. Other future highlights include appearances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Detroit Symphony and Leonard Slatkin, and the Orchestre National de France conducted by Daniele Gatti. He will also continue his play/direct performances with The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Camerata Salzburg, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Moscow Virtuosi.
Krzysztof Penderecki is currently writing a Double Concerto for Julian, which will be premiered at the Vienna Musikverein in 2012 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons.
With his regular duo partner, pianist Itamar Golan, he will perform a series of recitals, including a Beethoven Cycle at the Beethovenfest in Bonn, as well as a Brahms Cycle at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna.
Julian Rachlin’s recordings for Sony Classical, Warner Classics and Deutsche Grammophon have all been met with great acclaim.
Born in Lithuania in 1974, Julian immigrated to Vienna 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 in Amsterdam. He then became the youngest soloist ever to play with the Vienna Philharmonic, making his debut under Riccardo Muti.
Since September 1999, Julian Rachlin has been on the faculty at the Vienna Conservatory Private University.
Julian Rachlin plays the 1704 "ex Liebig" Stradivari, on loan to him courtesy of the Dkfm. Angelika Prokopp Privatstiftung.