As a charismatic and versatile soloist, ensemble leader, and creative collaborator, violinist Anthony Marwood has won worldwide critical acclaim for his formidable technique, extraordinary emotive power and exceptional artistry.
In the Summer of 2012, Marwood joined David Robertson and the Sydney Symphony for Thomas Adès’s violin concerto, Concentric Paths (a work written for Marwood) at the Sydney Opera House. He performed Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale at the Cheltenham International Music Festival, played concerts at the Delft Chamber Music Festival, and performed a recital with his duo partner, pianist Aleksandar Madžar, at the Snape Proms in Aldeburgh. He also made his annual visit to the Yellow Barn Music Festival in Vermont, where he led masterclasses, taught private lessons and performed chamber and solo works.
During the Fall of 2012, Marwood tours Australia and New Zealand, performing with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony, and the Australian National Academy of Music. He is joined by Aleksandar Madžar for a recital tour presented by Musica Viva, with dates in Adelaide, Newcastle, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. In North America this season, Marwood appears in recital with Aleksandar Madžar for the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, performs Mozart Violin Concerto No. 2, K.211 with the Vancouver Symphony, and returns to Les Violons du Roy as a soloist/leader, in a program of works by Tchaikovsky, Vasks and Sibelius.
His Hyperion Records recording of the Schumann Violin Concerto, with Douglas Boyd and the BBC Scottish Symphony, will be released in September 2012, and his performance of the Britten Violin Concerto, with Ilan Volkov and the BBC Scottish Symphony, was released by the label in February 2012, to widespread critical acclaim.
Last season Marwood joined the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields – an ensemble with which he has a long collaborative history – as a soloist/leader for an all-Mozart program. He performed Thomas Adès’ violin concerto Concentric Paths led by the composer in Brazil, as well as in Spain and Germany and Switzerland. He joined conductor Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the London premiere of Hugh Wood’s Violin Concerto No. 2, and appeared with the BBC Scottish Symphony led by Douglas Boyd. At Wigmore Hall, Marwood and Aleksandar Madžar performed the complete Brahms Violin Sonatas in a three-part series, performances that were recorded for release on the Wigmore Hall Live label. Other recent engagements include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Melbourne Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Bournemouth Symphony, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Les Violons du Roy.
Anthony Marwood has collaborated with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Marin Alsop, Douglas Boyd and enjoys a rich collaborative relationship with composer and conductor Thomas Adès who wrote Concentric Paths for him. Premiered in September 2005 in Berlin and at the BBC Proms, Marwood has since performed the work around the world, giving the U.S. premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the French premiere in Paris with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian premiere in St. Petersburg. His recording of the work, with Adès leading the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, was released by EMI in 2010 to widespread critic praise and was named Gramophone Magazine’s Recording of the Month.
Marwood and Adès also worked together to create and tour a program of Stravinsky’s complete music for violin and piano. Recorded by Hyperion and released in 2010, this collaboration has been praised for its “deftly characterized light and shade” (BBC Music Magazine) and “infinite subtleties” (The Times). Marwood and Adès were joined by cellist Steven Isserlis for an acclaimed chamber music recital at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, performing works by Janacek, Liszt, Poulenc, Ravel and Adès.
Marwood has premiered many works expressly written for him, including Sally Beamish’s 1995 violin concerto, televised on BBC Four and recorded for the BIS label; a concerto by Ross Harris, premiered with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; and most recently “Four Iconoclastic Episodes,” a concerto for violin and electric guitar by Steve Mackey, commissioned jointly by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Marwood acted the role of the Soldier and played the violin in ASMF’s fully-staged production of Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale,” which won critical raves on two UK tours. His performance, directed by Lawrence Evans, was named one of the cultural highlights of the year by the Daily Telegraph.
Anthony Marwood was the sole violinist of the acclaimed Florestan Trio, which concluded 16 years of exceptional music-making with a celebratory Beethoven cycle at Wigmore Hall in January 2012. He was Artistic Director and leader of the Irish Chamber Orchestra from 2006 to 2011.
The Royal Philharmonic Society named Anthony Marwood ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ in 2006. Through the generosity of a syndicate of purchasers, he plays a 1736 Carlo Bergonzi violin.
(July 2012. Please discard previously dated materials and contact publicity@colbertartists.com before making any alterations or cuts.)
