Stefan Jackiw

Violinist Stefan Jackiw is recognized as “one of the best and most interesting young violinists heard in a long time” (Chicago Sun-Times), captivating audiences with playing that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe). Hailed for “talent that’s off the scale” (Washington Post), Jackiw has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others, and he has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Marin Alsop, Andrew Davis, Hannu Lintu, Ludovic Morlot, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Mikhail Pletnev, Gerard Schwarz and Yuri Temirkanov. His solo performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra at Australia’s Sydney Opera House in March was seen live on YouTube by more than 30 million people worldwide. In the 2012/13 season, Jackiw makes his Carnegie Hall recital debut in November, when he performs Stravinsky, Brahms, Strauss and a world premiere work by David Fulmer with pianist Anna Polonsky in Weill Recital Hall. Beyond Carnegie, Jackiw performs recitals throughout the U.S. this season. Other season highlights include performances of the Mendelssohn Concerto at the Detroit Symphony with James Gaffigan, with the Royal Philharmonic under Charles Dutoit, and with the Netherlands Philharmonic and Louie Langree; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and The Hague Philharmonic; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Melbourne Symphony and Sir Andrew Davis; and the South American premiere of a concerto by Osvaldo Golijov with the Sao Paolo Symphony and Marin Alsop. In 2011/12, Jackiw debuted with the Atlanta Symphony and the Rotterdam Philharmonic and enjoyed return engagements with the Chicago Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic. Jackiw performed several high profile chamber music recitals, working with pianists Jeremy Denk, Orli Shaham, Joyce Yang, Anna Polonsky and violinist Gil Shaham, among others. This past summer, Jackiw appeared at a number of music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival and Seattle Chamber Music Society. Jackiw made his European debut in London in 2002 to great critical acclaim, playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Benjamin Zander. His sensational performance was featured on the front page of London’s Times, and The Strad reported, “A 14-year-old violinist took the London music world by storm.” Jackiw has also performed abroad with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Ulster Orchestra of Ireland, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In North America, Jackiw has appeared with the Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Seattle Symphonies, the orchestras of Philadelphia and Cleveland, and the New York Philharmonic. Jackiw is also an active recitalist and chamber musician. He has performed in numerous important festivals and concert series, including the Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, and Caramoor International Music Festival, the Celebrity Series of Boston, New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Washington Performing Arts Society and the Louvre Recital Series in Paris. He is a regular participant at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music and Bard Music Festivals. At the opening night of Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in New York, Jackiw was the only young artist invited to perform, playing alongside such artists as Emanuel Ax, Renée Fleming, Evgeny Kissin, and James Levine. On disc, Jackiw is garnering acclaim for his debut album of the Brahms Violin Sonatas with pianist Max Levinson (Sony). Fanfare magazine proclaimed, “Jackiw is fantastic. …This is now the recording of Brahms’s violin sonatas to have.” Born in 1985 to physicist parents of Korean and German descent, Stefan Jackiw began playing the violin at the age of four. His teachers have included Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair, and Donald Weilerstein. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory. In 2002, the young artist was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. He makes his home in New York City.