Benjamin Beilman
violin
Born in 1989, American violinist Benjamin Beilman is winning plaudits across the globe for his compelling and impassioned performances, his deep rich tone and searing lyricism. The New York Times has praised his “handsome technique, burnished sound, and quiet confidence [which] showed why he has come so far so fast”. Reviewing his latest recording, The Strad said “Beilman imbues every idea with a scorching expressive imperativeness... soaring aloft with ear-ringingly pure intonation... then lacerating our sensitivities with hectoring explosions of sound.”
Highlights of Beilman’s 18/19 season in Europe include debuts at the Philharmonie in Cologne with Ensemble Resonanz, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic in Pécs and Budapest and the Brucknerorchester Linz, as well as his return to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In recital and chamber music, engagements include his return to the Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Hall (Amsterdam), Schloss Elmau, performances at the Grands Interprètes series in Geneva and the Meisterkonzerte in Dresden, as well as appearances at Moritzburg and Koblenz festivals. Further afield Beilman makes his debut with the Nagoya Philharmonic and Tasmanian Symphony orchestras, and he will play-direct the Vancouver Symphony. In the US, highlights include Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with Richard Egarr and the Cincinnati Symphony, performances at the Kennedy Centre, Lincoln Centre and Spivey Hall, and an all-Mozart programme at Philadelphia’s Perelman Theatre and Carnegie Hall with Jeremy Denk.
In past seasons, Beilman has performed with many major orchestras worldwide – in Europe these have included the Rotterdam Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Chamber, Scottish Chamber, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. In 2018, he made his Australian concerto debut with the Sydney Symphony, performing the Australian premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto, and his Chinese concerto debut with the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra. In the US Beilman has performed with San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, Oregon Symphony, amongst others and several times with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including a performance at Carnegie Hall.
In recital and chamber music, Beilman has performed in halls such as Stockholm Concert Hall, Louvre (Paris), Philharmonie (Berlin) and at festivals including Verbier, Aix-en-Provence Easter, Colmar, Prague Dvorak and Robeco Summer Concerts, and in Japan he performs regularly in Tokyo’s Chanel Concerts. In the US Beilman performs regularly at Carnegie Hall and is a frequent guest artist at festivals such as Music@Menlo, Marlboro, Seattle Chamber Music; in early 2018 Beilman premiered a new work dedicated to the political activist Angela Davis written by Frederic Rzewski and commissioned by Music Accord, which he has performed across the US and in Europe at the Heidelberg Spring Festival.
Beilman came to worldwide attention following his First Prize wins in the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions – where he was also recipient of a People’s Choice Award – and the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition. He went on to receive prestigious accolades including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, a London Music Masters Award and an exclusive recording contract with Warner Classics. Beilman released his first disc for the label in 2016, titled Spectrum and featuring works by Stravinsky, Janáček and Schubert. In its review of the album, All Music Guide wrote, “This is a young violinist to watch, one who has already mastered many styles and is working toward breakthroughs of his own.”
Beilman studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago, Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. He plays the “Engleman” Stradivarius from 1709 generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
