Philippe Quint

A two-time Grammy Award nominee, violinist Philippe Quint has emerged in recent years as one of the few soloists to combine a remarkable degree of lyricism, poetry and impeccable virtuosity. He has gripped the eyes and ears of audiences in Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa, Europe and the U.S. with what The Times (London) describes as his "bravura technique, and unflagging energy." Quint's big break came with his 2001 debut album, a recording of William Schuman's Violin Concerto (Naxos), which was singled out as an Editor's Choice by Gramophone and garnered two Grammy nominations. The disc catapulted Quint into the top tier of soloists, in demand worldwide. Moreover, it thoroughly established his unique identity as a champion of American composers. Since then, he has appeared with major orchestras under the batons of such noted conductors as Kurt Masur, Carl St. Clair, Marin Alsop, Andrew Litton, Jorge Mester, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Klauspeter Seibel, Steven Sloane, Marco Parisotto, and Daniel Hege. Recent and upcoming highlights of his 2010-2011 season include performances with the Berlin Komische Oper Orchestra for their New Year's concerts with Carl St. Clair, Chicago Symphony, San Diego Symphony with Bramwell Tovey, Leipzig's Gewandhaus with Steven Sloane, a tour of Germany with Nordwestdeutsche Symphoniker, and an 18-concert U.S. tour with the Cape Town Philharmonic. In addition to his demanding musical career, Philippe Quint has recently begun exploring film and theater roles. In 2010 he completed filming of Downtown Express, a new film from multiple Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director David Grubin, produced by Michael Hausman (Brokeback Mountain, Gangs of New York, Amadeus), and co-starring singer-songwriter Nellie McKay. Though there is a long tradition of performers appearing on the big screen as themselves or famous violinists of the past, Quint's role in Downtown Express marks the first time that a classical musician has been featured as the lead in an American independent film. To prepare for the role and further his understanding of the craft, Quint spent three years training intensely with legendary producer and acting instructor Sondra Lee. Downtown Express chronicles the life of Russian classical violinist Sasha (Quint) who has recently come to New York to study at Juilliard, and who, defying his cellist father (played by Michael Cumpsty), becomes part of the experimental and raucous Downtown music scene of the city. Sparks fly when Sasha meets and begins performing with Ramona (McKay), a multi-talented singer-songwriter. Philippe Quint studied at Moscow's Special Music School for the Gifted with the famed Russian violinist Andrei Korsakov, and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine, performing Wieniawski's Concerto No. 2. After emigrating to the United States, he earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Juilliard. His distinguished pedagogues included Dorothy Delay, Cho-Liang Lin, Masao Kawasaki, and Felix Galimir. He also studied and participated in master classes with Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Arnold Steinhardt. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed, "Here is a fiddle virtuoso whose many awards are fully justified by the brilliance of his playing." Among his many honors, Quint has amassed top prizes at the Juilliard Competition ('98), Spain's Pablo de Sarasate International Violin Competition ('97), where he also received the Special Audience Prize, and the Salon de Virtuosi Award ('97). He has been a Career Grant recipient of the Bagby Foundation since 2002. In addition to his recording of the Schumann Concerto, Quint's formidable discography includes a large variety of rediscovered treasures along with popular works from standard repertoire. His recording of Korngold's Violin Concerto (2009), which was ranked in the top 20 on Billboard's Classical Chart in its first week of sales, was also nominated for two Grammy Awards. Other critically acclaimed recordings include the world premiere recording of John Corigliano's Red Violin Caprices, Ned Rorem's Concerto, Miklos Rozsa's Complete Works for Violin and Piano with William Wolfram, Bernstein's Serenade, and De Beriot's Concertos. His most recent release from August 2010 is a unique compilation of works by Paganini arranged by Fritz Kreisler, which BBC Music Magazine called "truly phenomenal." Quint's recordings have received multiple "Editor's Choice" selections in Gramophone, The Strad, Strings, and the Daily Telegraph. His live performances and interviews have been broadcast on CBS, CNN, ABC, BBC, NBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, as well as multiple appearances on NPR, WNYC and WQXR. Quint has been consistently re-engaged both domestically and internationally; recent performances include appearances as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Detroit, Indianapolis, New Jersey, Minnesota, Bournemouth, Houston, the Weimar Staatskapelle, Orchestra Cote du Basque, Orchestra de Pamplona, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has given solo recitals and chamber music performances at the Mostly Mozart, Caramoor, Ravinia, Aspen, Lincoln Center, and Chautauqua festivals, at Lukas Foss's Hamptons Music Festival, at the Kravis Center, UC Davis Presents, Rome Chamber Festival and at the National Gallery in Washington. In 2004, Quint was the featured soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in the world premiere of Lera Auerbach's Concerto No. 1, which was written for him and dedicated to him. In addition to his work as a soloist, Quint is Founder and Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Series at Mexico Festival in Mexico City, and collaborates with cellist Zuill Bailey and pianist Navah Perlman in a trio. He recently formed the Quint Quintet - a group dedicated to exploring music of Astor Piazzolla and Argentine Tango. Philippe Quint plays the 1708 "Ruby" Antonio Stradivari violin on loan to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society.