Emil Chudnovsky, violin
Winner of top prizes from nine international competitions, Emil Israel Chudnovsky is a dazzling presence on the global music scene. He is the recipient of 1st Prize from the XI International Curci Violin Competition (Naples), 1st Prize from the Young Artists Competition of the National Federation of Music Clubs and, most recently, 1st prize from the Valsesia-Musica International Violin Competition (Milan). Twice a laureate of the “Premio Paganini” International Competition, he also holds 2nd Prize from the D’Angelo International Competition, as well as awards from the Rodolfo Lipizer, Szeryng and Enescu international competitions.
Recent activities include Mr. Chudnovsky’s debut recording with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, chamber music concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, New York City’s Merkin Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as festival appearances at Ohio’s Encore Summer Festival, The Newport Music Festival and Germany’s Henselt Festival. During the summer of 2011, he made his debut with Mexico’s Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco.
Mr. Chudnovsky began his public career at the age of eleven, with a solo performance on Uruguayan television and in concert with the Montevideo Chamber Orchestra. That same year, he was featured in a series of live radio broadcasts from the Mostly Mozart Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. Subsequently, he has performed to enthusiastic critical acclaim throughout the world, having toured extensively in Europe, Asia, North and South America. In the United States, he has played recital and orchestral performances in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Washington, DC. An enthusiastic collaborator, Mr. Chudnovsky founded “The Three Violinists,” together with multiple international competition prizewinners Andrew Haveron and Florin Croitoru. Designed to expand the appeal of classical music, the sold-out debut of this unique ensemble attracted extraordinary media attention.
An ardent exponent of the music of his own time, Mr. Chudnovsky has presented the world premieres of Oscar-nominee Marco Beltrami’s Suite for Violin and Cello and Benjamin Boyle’s Kreutzer Concert Fantasy, both written for him. At Carnegie Recital Hall, he gave the world premiere of Oleg Felzer’s Violin Sonata and the US premiere of Veniamin Basner’s Violin and Piano Sonata. He also played the first performances of the composers’ versions for violin and string orchestra of Mark Kopytman’s Dedication and Philip Lasser’s Vocalise, as well as premieres by young composers, including Marcus Barcham-Stevens, Matthew Halper and Inessa Zaretsky. Mr. Chudnovsky also serves on the faculty of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Mr. Chudnovsky released his debut solo CD, “So, What have You Done Lately?” in 2000, followed in 2002 with live recordings of Jerusalem performances of Bruch and Saint- Saëns violin concerti. His third CD, “The Golden Age,” was released in 2005, making him the first American violinist to record in China for a Chinese label (JB Records). 2009 sees the release of two CDs, encompassing the accompanied works of Ysaÿe with piano and with orchestra. In North America, Mr. Chudnovsky has been heard on NPR’s “Performance Today,” Boston’s WGBH and the CBC, while, abroad, broadcasts and telecasts have included the UK’s BBC3, Italy’s RAI TV, performances from Vienna’s Razumowsky Palace, Russian television and the Voice of America.
Emil Israel Chudnovky was born in Moscow to renowned violinist Nina Beilina and the late, eminent opera conductor, Maestro Israel Chudnovsky. Mother and son immigrated to the United States when he was five, where he began violin studies at the Mannes College of Music pre-college division. Having studied at The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, he holds degrees from the Mannes College of Music and Yale University.
Emil Israel Chudnovsky performs on a copy of the ex-Joachim del Gesu, created for him in July 2010 by Howard Needham.
February 17, 2013