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Anne Akiko Meyers | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1970-05-15)May 15, 1970 (age 55) San Diego, California, United States |
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation | Violinist |
| Instrument | Violin |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | Apple Music,E1,Sony,RCA Victor Red Seal,Avie |
| Website | anneakikomeyers |
Anne Akiko Meyers (born May 15, 1970, in San Diego[1]) is aGrammy Award winner,[2] and one of the world's most esteemed and celebrated violinists. Renowned as a muse and champion of today's leading composers, she has commissioned, premiered, and recorded a significant body of contemporary violin repertoire. Described byThe Strad as “the Wonder Woman of commissioning",[3] Meyers has premiered works by leading composers such asArturo Márquez,Arvo Pärt,John Corigliano,Eric Whitacre,Mason Bates,Billy Childs,Wynton Marsalis,Morten Lauridsen,Michael Daugherty,Einojuhani Rautavaara, andPhilip Glass, among others. Since her teens, Anne has performed around the world as soloist with leading orchestras, in recital, and recorded more than 40 releases, which have become staples of classical music radio and streaming platforms.
In 2025, Meyers released three albums that underscore her deep engagement with contemporary music:Blue Electra,[4]Beloved,[5] andPhilip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 1.[6] The Glass album includes a performance withGustavo Dudamel and theLos Angeles Philharmonic, the world-premiere recording ofNew Chaconne written for her, andEchorus.Beloved features world premieres byBilly Childs,Eric Whitacre, andOla Gjeilo with theLos Angeles Master Chorale, andBlue Electra centers onMichael Daugherty’sEarhart-inspired violin concerto. These projects earned her theGramophone magazine July 2025 cover story, which described her "relentless quest for discovery” as a defining feature of her career, most notably through “her bold commissioning of works from composers who captivate her".[7]
Her 2023 albumFandango, recorded live with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, won two Latin Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album and Best Contemporary Composition,[8] and also received two GRAMMY nominations.[9]
Meyers was the top-selling classical instrumentalist onBillboard’s traditional classical chart in 2014.[10] She appeared on NPR'sTiny Desk Concert series in 2023,[11] served as Artistic Director of the 2024 Laguna Beach Music Festival,[12] and was inducted into the 2024 Asian Hall of Fame.[13]
The daughter of an artist and a college president, Meyers was born inCalifornia. Her mother is of Japanese descent, and her father American. She was raised in Southern California, studied with Shirley Helmick, and then with Alice andEleonore Schoenfeld at the preparatory division of theUniversity of Southern California'sThornton School of Music in Los Angeles. In 1980, the Thornton School of Music and its preparatory division ended their relationship, and the preparatory division moved locations and was renamed theColburn School.
She then studied withJosef Gingold atIndiana University, and withDorothy DeLay,Felix Galimir, and Masao Kawasaki at theJuilliard School inNew York City. She graduated from Juilliard at age 20 and began touring internationally and recording.[14]
Described as achild prodigy after her debut with a local community orchestra at the age of 7, she subsequently performed with theLos Angeles Philharmonic, twice onThe Tonight Show with Johnny Carson at age 11,[15] theEmmy Award Show and theNew York Philharmonic at age 12.[14]
When she was 16, Meyers signed withICM Artists and began touring and recording. She recorded her first album in London at theAbbey Road Studios, featuring theBarber andBruch Concertos with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra. After signing anRCA Victor Red Seal contract at the age of 21, she recorded an extensive discography.[citation needed]
Meyers has lifetime use of the 1741Vieuxtemps Guarneri "del Gesu".[16] She previously toured with a 1730Stradivarius violin called the "Royal Spanish",[17] and a 1697 Stradivarius called the "Molitor Stradivarius".[18] In her recording of Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043, she plays both parts—one part on the Royal Spanish and the other on the Molitor.[19]
Meyers has performed as guest soloist with thePhiladelphia Orchestra,Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,Vienna Symphony, andOrchestre de Paris.[20] She also has played solo recitals inCarnegie Hall, theHollywood Bowl, andLincoln Center.[21]
Meyers collaborated with the singerMichael Bolton.[22] She was also the special guest violinist inIl Divo's Christmas Tour 2009[23] and toured with jazz and pop trumpeterChris Botti in 2010.[24] On September 11, 2015,Naïve Classiques released "Passacaglia" Works for violin and orchestra byArvo Pärt withMDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra (Kristjan Jarvi conducting), in celebration of Pärt's 80th birthday.
The Engagements written by novelistJ. Courtney Sullivan is loosely based on Meyers's career; it was one ofPeople Magazine's Top 10 Books of the Year in 2014.[25] Meyers also played the violinist character, Violetta, inCrumpet the Trumpet by children's book author and illustrator, Kristine Papillon.[26] Meyers' recording ofEinojuhani Rautavaara'sFantasia was the only classical instrumental work included by NPR in their list of 100 best songs of 2017.[27]
Meyers appeared onNPR'sTiny Desk Concert series on September 7, 2023.[28]
In 2024, she served as Artistic Director of the Laguna Beach Music Festival, a multi-day series of classical and contemporary concerts, community engagement programs, and dynamic special events.[29]
Works written expressly for Meyers include theSomei Satoh Violin Concerto, recorded live withTetsuji Honna and theTokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 2002, andAngelfire byJoseph Schwantner, premiered live in 2002 at theKennedy Center conducted byMarin Alsop and recorded in 2004 withAndrew Litton and theDallas Symphony Orchestra.[30]
Meyers asked the jazz starWynton Marsalis to writecadenzas for her inMozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, which she premiered with theUtah Symphony Orchestra in 2009.[31] Meyers commissionedMason Bates to write his first violin concerto, and she performed in the world premiere withLeonard Slatkin and thePittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in December 2012.[32] It was later recorded with theLondon Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin and released on Meyers' 2014 album,The American Masters.[33] She has performed the work with theChicago Symphony Orchestra,Detroit Symphony Orchestra,Orchestre National de Lyon, andNew Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
On September 30, 2014, Meyers releasedThe American Masters, which includes two world premieres: Mason Bates's Violin Concerto and theLullaby for Natalie byJohn Corigliano, written for the birth of her first-born daughter, Natalie. The album also includes Samuel Barber'sViolin Concerto.[34][35]
Meyers appeared in a nationwide PBS broadcast special aired in fall 2015 featuring the world premiere ofSamuel Jones' Violin Concerto with theAll-Star Orchestra led byGerard Schwarz.[36] The performance was also part of aNaxos Records DVD.[37]
In September 2015, Meyers releasedSerenade: The Love Album, her 34th album, featuringLeonard Bernstein's epicSerenade. Meyers commissioned seven arrangers includingAdam Schoenberg, Brad Dechter,J.A.C. Redford, andSteven Mercurio to arrange ten love-inspired works from classic movies and the American Songbook. The seven arrangers were chosen to resemble the seven philosophers ofPlato's Symposium, which Bernstein'sSerenade is based on. The album was recorded with theLondon Symphony Orchestra withKeith Lockhart conducting.[38]
Meyers performed the posthumous world premiere ofFantasia by Einojuhani Rautavaara, written for her, with theKansas City Symphony conducted byMichael Stern in March 2017. Meyers met Rautavaara at his home in December 2015 to play the work for him. He died in July 2016 before its first public performance nearly a year later.[39]
Adam Schoenberg's first violin concerto,Orchard in Fog, written for Meyers, was premiered by her with theSan Diego Symphony and conductor Sameer Patel in February 2018.[40] The Violin Channel live-streamed the performance.[41]
In May 2020, Meyers released the world premiere recording ofArvo Pärt'sEstonian Lullaby for violin and piano, which was dedicated to her. She also released an accompanying animated watercolor video, produced in collaboration with Skazka Studios.[42]
In July 2021, Meyers premieredJohn Corigliano's new cadenzas toBeethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 at theBrevard Music Center with conductorKeith Lockhart.[43]
In August 2021, Meyers gave the world premiere ofArturo Marquez's violin concerto,Fandango, at theHollywood Bowl with theLos Angeles Philharmonic and conductorGustavo Dudamel.[44] She went on to perform the work atCarnegie Hall[45] and at the 10,000-seatAuditorio Nacional[46] inMexico City in October 2022 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, and to champion the work with many other orchestras across the country.
In November 2022, Meyers premieredBlue Electra byMichael Daugherty – a work written for Meyers and dedicated toAmelia Earhart – with theNational Symphony Orchestra led byGianandrea Noseda at theKennedy Center,[47] which was broadcast bymedici.tv.[48]
On November 18 and 19, 2023, she gave the world premiere ofBilly Childs'In the Arms of the Beloved alongside theLos Angeles Master Chorale, theBilly Childs Jazz-Chamber Ensemble, and theLyris Quartet.[49]
Blue Electra was released on April 11, 2025, on Naxos,[50] featuring Meyers[51] performing with theAlbany Symphony under the direction ofDavid Alan Miller.[52]
Her follow-up album,Beloved, released on May 9, 2025, on Platoon, presents world-premiere recordings of works byBilly Childs,Eric Whitacre, andOla Gjeilo with theLos Angeles Master Chorale.[53]
On June 13, 2025, Meyers releasedPhilip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 1 on Platoon, featuring a performance with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic,[54] the world-premiere recording ofNew Chaconne, composed for her byGlass, andEchorus, performed with violinistAubree Oliverson. In its review,Gramophone noted: “Meyers's violin announces itself confidently and assertively, setting the tone for the rest of the movement...Meyers's performance is imbued with expressive weight and power: Glass carved in the image of Mendelssohn and Bruch.”[55]
Air – The Bach Album debuted at No. 1 on the USBillboard charts on its release on February 14, 2012. It featured "Bach Double" played on two different Stradivarius violins.[56][57]
Meyers' performance ofThe Vivaldi Four Seasons Album debuted at No. 1 on the USBillboard charts when released on February 14, 2014.[58]In 2014, she was the top-selling classical instrumentalist onBillboard's traditional classical charts.[59]
Her albumFandango won two Latin GRAMMY Awards – Best Classical Album and Best Classical Contemporary Composition – at the 25th Latin GRAMMY Awards in Miami.[60] The album features the live world premiere[61] ofArturo Márquez's new concerto for violin and orchestra by the same name, written for Meyers, recorded with theL.A. Philharmonic and conductorGustavo Dudamel.[62] The project also earned Meyers two GRAMMY nominations.
In 1993 at the age of 23, Meyers received theAvery Fisher Career Grant, which is awarded byLincoln Center for the Performing Arts to up to five promising young artists each year.[63][64]
In 2006, she served as a panelist, recitalist, and teacher at the Juilliard School's Starling-DeLay Symposium. In May 2008,UCLA invited her to be the Regent's Lecturer in violin.[65]
In late 2009, Meyers joined the Butler School of Music atUniversity of Texas at Austin as Distinguished Artist and Professor of Violin.[66]
In September 2015, she was honored with a Luminary Award by thePasadena Symphony for her long-standing support of that orchestra.[67]
In December 2022, Meyers was named a new trustee ofThe Juilliard School alongside singer-songwriterJon Batiste.[68]
In 2023, Meyers received an honorary doctorate from theColburn School.[69]
Meyers was inducted into the 2024 Asian Hall of Fame.[70] She also serves on the board of the Dudamel Foundation.[71]
Meyers lives with her husband and two daughters in Pacific Palisades, California[72] outside of Los Angeles.[73]
After being directly affected by thePacific Palisades fires and subsequent evacuations, Meyers commissioned a commemorative piece byEric Whitacre, titled “The Pacific Has No Memory”, which honors the community in the aftermath of the devastation. In 2026, Classical Voice North America described her tribute performance of the work as emotionally powerful and ‘a master class … delivering emotional truth,’ noting her role in organizing and performing a commemorative concert after the Pacific Palisades fire.[74]
The following releases feature Meyers on violin.[75][76]
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Eric WhitacreThe Pacific Has No Memory world premiere recording withOrpheus Chamber Orchestra | Avie Records |
| 2025 | Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 1 withLos Angeles Philharmonic andGustavo Dudamel | Platoon |
| 2025 | Beloved world-premiere recordings of works byBilly Childs,Eric Whitacre, andOla Gjeilo with theLos Angeles Master Chorale. | Platoon |
| 2025 | Blue Electra with theAlbany Symphony andDavid Alan Miller | Naxos |
| 2023 | Fandango withLos Angeles Philharmonic andGustavo Dudamel | Platoon |
| 2022/2023 | Mysterium withLos Angeles Master Chorale andGrant Gershon[77][78] | Avie Records |
| 2022 | Shining Night withJason Vieaux andFabio Bidini[79] | Avie Records |
| 2020 | Estonian Lullaby with Reiko Uchida[80] | Avie Records |
| 2018 | Mirror in Mirror withPhilharmonia Orchestra,Kristjan Järvi, andAkira Eguchi[81] | Avie Records |
| 2018 | Special release of Bernstein'sSerenade (A live performance with theBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted byIlan Volkov)[82] | BBC Music Magazine |
| 2017 | Fantasia: The Fantasy Album withKristjan Järvi and thePhilharmonia Orchestra[83] | Avie Records |
| 2016 | Fantasia byEinojuhani Rautavaara (single) withKristjan Järvi and thePhilharmonia Orchestra[84][85] | eOne |
| 2016 | Anne Akiko Meyers: The Complete RCA Recordings[86] | RCA Red Seal |
| 2015 | Serenade: The Love Album with theLondon Symphony Orchestra &Keith Lockhart | eOne |
| 2015 | The Kristjan Järvi Sound Project –Arvo Pärt: Passacaglia withMDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra &Kristjan Jarvi | Naïve Records |
| 2015 | All-Star Orchestra: Program 12: Mozart and a World Premiere withGerard Schwarz | Naxos Records |
| 2014 | The Four Seasons: The Vivaldi Album | eOne |
| 2014 | The American Masters:Barber,Corigliano,Bates with theLondon Symphony Orchestra &Leonard Slatkin | eOne |
| 2012 | Air – The Bach Album with theEnglish Chamber Orchestra | eOne |
| 2011 | Pride fromGems withMichael Bolton | Mointaigne /Legacy /Sony |
| 2010 | Seasons...Dreams with pianist Reiko Uchida and harpistEmmanuel Ceysson | eOne |
| 2009 | Smile withAkira Eguchi | Koch International Classics |
| 2006 | Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Live from Japan | |
| 2006 | Jennifer Higdon Piano Trio. Live from the Vilar Center, Vail | Naxos |
| 2005 | Angelfire byJoseph Schwantner, 'Fantasy' for amplified violin and orchestra withAndrew Litton andDallas Symphony Orchestra | Hyperion |
| 2003 | East Meets West (Japanese/French album) with Li Jian | Avie Records |
| 2002 | Kisetsu: Works BySomei Satoh 3 (Violin Concerto written for Meyers). Live with theTokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra | Camerata Tokyo |
| 2001 | Romantic Violin | RCA Red Seal |
| 2000 | Violin for Relaxation | Sony Classical |
| 1999 | UltraSound Music for the Unborn Child | Sony Classical |
| 1997 | Franz Schubert in Performance from NPR | National Public Radio |
| 1996 | Classical Ecstasy | RCA Red Seal |
| 1995 | Sergei Prokofiev Violin Concertos with theFrankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra &Dmitri Kitayenko | RCA Red Seal |
| 1995 | The American Album | RCA Red Seal |
| 1994 | Salut d'Amour | RCA Red Seal |
| 1993 | Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and other works with thePhilharmonia Orchestra &Andrew Litton | RCA Red Seal |
| 1992 | Franck andStrauss Sonatas for Violin and Piano withRohan de Silva | RCA Red Seal |
| 1991 | Lalo: Symphonie espagnole;Bruch: Scottish Fantasy with theRPO &Jesus Lopez-Cobos | RCA Red Seal |
| 1989 | Saint-Saëns,Fauré: Violin Sonatas | Canyon Classics |
| 1988 | Barber/Bruch Violin Concertos with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra andChristopher Seaman | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
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