British violinist Anthony Marwood is recognized throughout the world for his exceptional artistry, passionate intelligence and remarkable ability to draw a rich palette of sound from his instrument. His great versatility as an orchestral soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, and ensemble director has enthralled audiences and critics around the globe.
As soloist Marwood has worked with leading conductors including Valery Gergiev, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Marin Alsop, David Robertson and Ilan Volkov. In the 2011/12 season, Anthony Marwood will give debuts with the Sydney Symphony, the Sao Paulo Symphony, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Galicia and the Norrlands Orchestra in Sweden. He also appears with the BBC Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony and the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, amongst others.
Violin concertos that have been written for Anthony Marwood include Thomas Adès “Concentric Paths”, Sally Beamish’s 1995 concerto, televised on BBC4 and recorded for the BIS label; 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 the US premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the French premiere in Paris with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian premiere in St. Petersburg. Steven Mackey’s concerto for violin and electric guitar, “Four Iconoclastic Episodes”, will receive its UK premiere at Cadogan Hall in June 2012, with the ASMF and Marwood and Mackey as soloists.
A major part of Marwood’s career are engagements as soloist/director with leading chamber and symphony orchestras. Formerly Artistic Director of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, he has also formed strong relationships with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy and the Australian National Academy of Music.
Another facet of Marwood’s career is genre-bending presentations. 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 – was named one of the cultural highlights of the year by the Daily Telegraph. For several years Anthony enjoyed a fruitful and ground breaking collaboration with award-winning Indian classical dancer Mayuri Boonham, in which violinist and dancer move in seamless and illuminating choreography. They won special praise for their performances at the Place Theatre, South Bank and Royal Opera House.
In recital, Marwood and frequent collaborator pianist Aleksandar Madzar will make their US debut in New York this season and are working on the release of their first two “Wigmore Live” recordings of works by Schubert, Schumann and Brahms, the fruits of a memorable series of concerts in 10/11. Marwood recently toured a Stravinsky programme with Thomas Adès at the piano. In 2010, Marwood and Adès were joined by cellist Steven Isserlis in an acclaimed recital at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, and another collaborative concert with Steven Isserlis will take place at Wigmore Hall in November 2011. Also this season Marwood appears at chamber music festivals in Trondheim, Belgium and Delft and in concerts with Natalie Clein and Michael Collins. A further highlight will be the final series of concerts as violinist of the celebrated Florestan Trio, in a Beethoven cycle at the Wigmore Hall, London, in January 2012.
Anthony records for Hyperion Records for whom he has made more than 30 CDs, including much of the core trio repertoire with the Florestan Trio, and Stravinsky’s complete music for violin and piano with Thomas Adès, which has been praised for its “deftly characterized light and shade” (BBC Music Magazine) and “infinite subtleties” (The Times). His recording of the violin concertos by Peteris Vasks and Kurt Weill has been described as “gripping from start to finish”. EMI released the recording of the violin concerto by Thomas Adès in 2010 to widespread praise; it was named Gramophone Magazine’s Recording of the Month. Anthony’s next release will be the violin and double concertos by Benjamin Britten, with Lawrence Power and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ilan Volkov.
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 beautiful 1736 Carlo Bergonzi violin, kindly bought by a syndicate of purchasers.
