About this Artist

“A player of rare expressive energy and disarming informality, of whimsy and theatrical ambition”

- Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times, June 2018

Moldovan-born violinist and “one of the most distinctive voices in the violin world,” Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s unique approach shows itself in her diverse repertoire ranging from Baroque and Classical works played on gut strings, to new commissions and re-interpretations of modern masterpieces.

2018/19 is another exciting season for Patricia as she continues to collaborate with leading conductors and orchestras. The season begins with her debut with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Kent Nagano, followed by performances with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Berliner Philharmoniker under Kirill Petrenko, and a European tour with Kammerorchester Basel, conducted by renowned composer Heinz Holliger. Further ahead, she will join the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, to give her unique interpretation of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. In the U.S., Kopatchinskaja will make another important debut, giving concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra performing Eötvös’ Seven. Under the inimitable baton of Teodor Currentzis, she will perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Musica Aeterna, a piece she recorded with the ensemble and released on Sony in 2016. They will also tour to Japan with dates in Tokyo and Osaka.

On the recital platform, Kopatchinskaja partners regularly with artists such as Anthony Romaniuk, Jay Campbell and Sol Gabetta, appearing at leading venues such as the Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. With pianist Polina Leschenko, she released Deux in 2018 for Alpha, which the duo toured to summer festivals including Mecklenburg – Vorpommern, Engadin, and Gstaad. The 2018/19 season will see the duo make their debut on tours to the U.S. and Japan, including performances in Washington, San Francisco, Nagoya, and Tokyo.

With the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kopatchinskaja has held the position of Artistic Partner since 2014 and was awarded a Grammy® in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category 2018 for Death and the Maiden recorded with the Orchestra and released on Alpha Classics. Other accolades include the prestigious Swiss Grand Prize for Music, which recognises exceptional talent and innovation, awarded by the Federal Office of Culture for Switzerland in 2017.

Last season began with the world premiere of her new project, Dies Irae, at the Lucerne Festival where she was “artiste étoile.” Following the success of Bye Bye Beethoven with Mahler Chamber Orchestra in 2016, the second staged project was conceptualised using a theme from the Latin Requiem Mass and features music by composers such as Scelsi, Biber, and Ustwolskaja. The project was given its North American premiere as part of Kopatchinskaja’s position as Music Director at the 2018 Ojai Music Festival. Other highlights included performances at the Salzburger Festspiele featuring pieces by Ustwolskaja and Hartmann.

A prolific recording artist, the last few seasons have seen a number of releases on Alpha Classics including an album of Kancheli’s music with Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica and a disc of duos entitled TAKE TWO. Kopatchinskaja has recorded Schumann’s Violin Concerto and Fantasy with WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Heinz Holliger for Audite and a selection of concertos by Bartók, Ligeti, and Peter Eötvös for Naïve, which claimed a Gramophone Recording of the Year Award in 2013 and a 2014 Grammy nomination.