Rennolds: Leila Josefowicz, violin

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. Ms. Josefowicz has recently premiered concertos written for her by Esa-Pekka Salonen/Los Angeles Philharmonic, Steve Mackey/St. Louis Symphony and Colin Matthews/City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and played first performances of Thomas Adès’ violin concerto Concentric Paths with the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, the San Francisco, Toronto and Seattle symphonies and at the Aspen Music Festival.In recognition of her passionate advocacy and genuine commitment to the music of today, Ms. Josefowicz was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

Recent appearances in North America include performances with the Philadelphia, Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras, the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston and Cincinnati symphonies; Carnegie Hall appearances with the St. Louis Symphony and American Composers Orchestra; and recitals in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, St. Paul and at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.

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 recordings 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.