Biography

Violinist Baiba Skride was born into a musical family in Riga, Latvia, where she began her studies at the Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Rostock. In 2001 she won first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Ms. Skride has performed with such orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, London Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and NHK Symphony. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut at these performances.

Ms. Skride’s 2017-18 season highlights include appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic with Dima Slobodeniouk, the New York Philharmonic with Susanna Mälkki, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with Andris Nelsons, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, a Spanish tour with Copenhagen Philharmonic, and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra at Stockholm’s Konserthuset. In Asia she returns to NHK Symphony and makes her debut with Hong Kong and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras. Festival appearances include the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Grafenegg Festival.

A champion of contemporary music, Ms. Skride played the world premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Bayan, with the Boston Symphony in February 2017. She plays the Triple Concerto with Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hanover, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France this season.

Also a sought after chamber musician, Ms. Skride formed the Skride Quartet with Lauma Skride, Harriet Krjgh, and Lise Berthaud. The 2017-18 season takes the trio to Utrecht Chamber Music Festival, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, and Concertgebouw Amsterdam, among others. She will also perform in quintet with Alban Gerhardt, Brett Dean, Gergana Gergova, Amihai Grosz in performances at the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Luxembourg Philharmonie, and Tonhalle Zurich.

Ms. Skride plays the Yfrah Neaman Stradivarius violin, kindly loaned to her by the Neaman family through the Beares International Violin Society.

(October 2017)