Gidon Kremer | |
|---|---|
 Kremer in 2008 | |
| Born | (1947-02-27)27 February 1947 (age 78) Riga,Latvian SSR,USSR |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Classical violinist |
| Organizations | |
| Children | Angie Kremer[1][2] |
| Awards | |
| Website | www |
Gidon Markusovich Kremer (Russian:Гидон Маркусович Кремер,Latvian:Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is aLatvianclassicalviolinist, artistic director, and founder ofKremerata Baltica.
Gidon Kremer was born inRiga. His father wasJewish and had survived theHolocaust. His mother had German-Swedish origins.[3] His maternal grandfatherKarl Brückner [de] was a well-known musicologist and violinist in Riga. He is married to the photographerAlexandra Kremer-Khomassouridze.
The boy began playing theviolin at the age of four, receiving instruction from his father and his grandfather, who were both professional violinists. He went on to study at theRiga School of Music, where his teacher was mainly Voldemar Sturestep (Voldemārs Stūresteps). From 1965, Kremer studied withDavid Oistrakh at theMoscow Conservatory. In 1967, he won third prize at theQueen Elisabeth Music Competition inBrussels. In 1969, he won second prize at the Montreal International Violin Competition (shared withOleh Krysa), followed by first prize at thePaganini Competition inGenoa, and first prize again in 1970 at theInternational Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
Kremer's first concert in the West was in Vienna'sMusikverein in 1970, where he played withThomas Schippers and theVienna Philharmonic. He debuted in Germany at the festivalBachwoche Ansbach and in the Berlin Philharmonie in 1975. and in London underAndré Previn in 1976, followed by appearances at theSalzburg Festival in 1976 and in New York City and in Japan in 1977.
In 1980, he left theUSSR and settled in Germany. In 1981, Kremer founded a chamber music festival inLockenhaus, Austria, with a focus on new and unconventional programming, serving as artistic director for 30 years until 2011.[4]
In 1997, Kremer founded theKremerata Balticachamber orchestra, composed of young players from theBaltic region.[3] He was also among the artistic directors of the festival "Art Projekt 92" inMunich and is director of theMusiksommerGstaad festival (1996/97) and Basel ("les musiques") in Switzerland. In 2007–2008, he and Kremerata Baltica toured with the classical musical comedy duoIgudesman & Joo. He also made regular appearances at theVerbier Festival until 2011, when he publicly criticised the perceived 'star culture' aspect of the festival and withdrew from the festival.[5]
He has performed works byAstor Piazzolla (in theHommage à Piazzolla recordings[6]),George Enescu,Alban Berg,Dmitri Shostakovich,Béla Bartók,Philip Glass,Alfred Schnittke,Victor Kissine,Mieczysław Weinberg,Arthur Lourié andJohn Adams. He also performed works byLeonid Desyatnikov,Alexander Raskatov,Alexander Vustin,Lera Auerbach,Pēteris Vasks,Arvo Pärt,Victoria Poleva,Valentyn Sylvestrov, andStevan Kovacs Tickmayer. Among the many composers who have dedicated works to him areSofia Gubaidulina (Offertorium),Luigi Nono (La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura),Alfred Schnittke,Giya Kancheli, andVictor Kissine.
His partners in performance includeValery Afanassiev,Martha Argerich,[7]Mikhail Pletnev,Oleg Maisenberg, Vadim Sakharov,Mischa Maisky,Yo-Yo Ma, Clemens Hagen, Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė,Yuri Bashmet,Kim Kashkashian,Thomas Zehetmair,Tatiana Grindenko, andPer Arne Glorvigen.
He has a large discography on theDeutsche Grammophon label, for which he has recorded since 1978. He has also recorded forPhilips Records, EMI,Decca Records,ECM[8] andNonesuch Records. Celebrating Kremer's 70th birthday (27 February 2017), on 14 October 2016Deutsche Grammophon released the box set "GIDON KREMER Complete Concerto Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon".[9]ECM Records marked the occasion with a new album of all of Mieczysław Weinberg's chamber symphonies,[10] released in January 2017, recorded together withKremerata Baltica.
In other media, Kremer played Paganini inPeter Schamoni's 1983 filmFrühlingssinfonie ("Spring Symphony") and was the music director of the filmLe joueur de violon byCharles Van Damme.[11]
Kremer is the author of four books on music, includingFragments of Childhood (Kindheitsplitter) andLetters to a Young Pianist (2013).
