British violinist Anthony Marwood is internationally renowned as a charismatic and versatile soloist, director and creative collaborator, having won worldwide critical acclaim for his formidable technique and exceptional artistry.
During the autumn of 2012, Marwood toured Australia and New Zealand, performing with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony, and at the Australian National Academy of Music. He was joined by Aleksandar Madzar for an 11-concert recital tour presented by Musica Viva, as well as appearing at the Huntington Music Festival. European highlights this season include the Austrian premiere of Steven Mackey’s violin concerto Beautiful Passing with the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Wien, a debut tour with Amsterdam Sinfonietta as soloist/director, performances of Brahms’ Double Concerto with the Aurora Orchestra, of the Britten Double Concerto with Lawrence Power and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Beethoven Concerto with the London Mozart Players under Gerard Korsten and a tour as soloist/director with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Engagements in North America in 2013 include a recital with Aleksandar Madzar for the Chamber Music Society of Detroit and concerts as soloist/director with the Vancouver Symphony, Les Violons du Roy and the St Louis Symphony.
Further ahead he looks forward to a series of concerts with clarinettist Martin Frost and pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin in San Francisco, Boston, New York and London, a new concerto from Samuel Carl Adams with the Berkeley Symphony, his debuts with the Iceland Symphony and Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and a re-invitation to the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
As soloist Marwood has collaborated with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Andrew Davis, Marin Alsop, David Robertson, Douglas Boyd and Ilan Volkov. Violin concertos that have been written for Anthony Marwood include Thomas Adès “Concentric Paths”, Sally Beamish’s 1995 concerto, and a concerto by Ross Harris, premiered with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The Adès concerto was first performed by him in Berlin and at the BBC Proms, with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by the composer, before giving many national premieres around the globe. EMI released the recording of the Adès concerto in 2010 to widespread praise; it was named Gramophone Magazine’s Recording of the Month.
Another facet of Marwood’s career is genre-bending presentations, such as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields’ fully-staged production of Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale”, in which Marwood acted the role of the Soldier and played the violin part. He also enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with award-winning Indian classical dancer Mayuri Boonham.
He was the violinist of the acclaimed Florestan Trio until their final concerts in January 2012.
Anthony Marwood's recent CD releases include Schumann’s late works for violin and orchestra, for Hyperion Records, with Douglas Boyd and the BBC Scottish Symphony, and Britten's Violin Concerto and double concerto (with Lawrence Power), which received widespread critical acclaim. His first duo recording of the violin sonatas by Brahms, for the award-winning Wigmore Live label, has been described as a new “benchmark recording” by the BBC Music Magazine. A second disc, of sonatas by Schumann, will be released in May 2013. In total Anthony has recorded more than 30 CDs for Hyperion Records, including much of the core trio repertoire with the Florestan Trio, and Stravinsky’s complete music for violin and piano with Thomas Adès. His recording of the violin concertos by Peteris Vasks and Kurt Weill has been described as “gripping from start to finish”.
The Royal Philharmonic Society named Anthony Marwood ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ in 2006. He is the co-Artistic Director of the Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival and teaches annually at the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont. He plays a 1736 Carlo Bergonzi violin, kindly bought by a syndicate of purchasers.
