JOSHUA BELL & ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
Overview
Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields return to Davies Symphony Hall for a program of favorites. Bell leads the ensemble in violin concertos by Bach and Barber, highlighting Bell’s trademark emotional depth and unstoppable virtuosity. The program closes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third Symphony, which rings with heroic themes that struggle against demons that lurk not far below.Program
PRESENTING SPONSOR OF
THE GREAT PERFORMERS SERIES
SUPPORTING SPONSOR OF
THE GREAT PERFORMERS SERIES
Leader and Violin
With a career spanning almost four decades, Grammy Award–winning violinist Joshua Bell has performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world, and continues to maintain engagements as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, conductor, and music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
Mr. Bell’s highlights this season include an international tour of his newly-commissioned project, The Elements, featuring works by living composers. The work receives its premiere with the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Hong Kong Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, and Seattle Symphony. Last summer he released his new album on Sony Classical, Butterfly Lovers. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1991 as a Shenson Young Artist.
Mr. Bell has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, was named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, deemed a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, received the Avery Fisher Prize, and was named an Indiana Living Legend. He has performed for three American presidents and the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He also participated in Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities’ mission to Cuba on an Emmy-nominated PBS Live from Lincoln Center special, “Joshua Bell: Seasons of Cuba,” celebrating renewed cultural diplomacy between Cuba and the United States.
Formed by Neville Marriner in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields gave its first performance in its namesake church in November 1959. Through live performances and a vast recording output of more than 500 releases—highlights of which include the 1969 best-seller Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus—the chamber orchestra gained an international reputation for its distinctive, polished, and refined sound.
Today the orchestra is led by music director and violinist Joshua Bell, retaining the collegial spirit and flexibility which have become ASMF hallmarks. Under Mr. Bell’s direction, and with the support of leader and director Tomo Keller and principal guest conductor Murray Perahia, the ensemble continues to push the boundaries of player-directed performance to new heights, presenting symphonic repertoire and chamber music on a grand scale at venues around the globe.
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