Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Gidon Kremer

 
Artist: Gidon Kremer
 
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists
Gidon Kremer

Formal Connection With:

Giovanni Sollima
  • Active: '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Classical
  • Instrument: Violin
  • Representative Albums: "Eight Seasons," "Hommage A Piazzolla," "Silencio"

Biography

Violinist Gidon Kremer was born in Riga, Latvia on February 27, 1947; he began studying music at age four under the tutelage of his father and grandfather, both noted string players in their own right. Three years later he was accepted to the Riga Music School, and at 16 won first prize at the Latvian Republic. Following a tenure studying at the Moscow Conservatory under David Oistrakh, in 1967 Kremer took home top honors in the Queen Elizabeth Competition; he subsequently won first prize in Genoa's Paganini Competition and the International Tchaikovsky Competition as well. Throughout the course of the career that followed, Kremer explored both the classical canon and avant-garde material, working with a vast-ranging series of chamber partners including Martha Argerich, András Schiff, Keith Jarrett and Yo-Yo Ma. In 1981 he founded the Kremerata Musica, an annual chamber music festival in Lockenhaus, Austria; 16 years later he formed the Kremerata Baltica, a string orchestra assembling the finest young talent from the Baltic region. Kremer also assumed control of Yehudi Menuhin's Gstaad Summer Music Festival in 1996. His recordings include performances of the Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms violin concertos as well as more eclectic fare including 1998's Le Cinema, a collection of film music made in conjunction with pianist Oleg Maisenberg. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a word or phrase...
All Community Q&A Reference topics

 
Music Encyclopedia: Gidon Kremer
Top
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Music Encyclopedia

(b Riga, 27 Feb 1947). Latvian violinist. He studied in Riga and Moscow (under Oistrakh) where he won the 1970 Tchaikovsky competition; noted for his purity of tone and incisive technique, he has played many new works, by Bernstein, Shnitke and others, as well as showing a rare command of the concerto repertory and a sympathetic approach in chamber music.


 
Wikipedia: Gidon Kremer
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Gidon Kremer

Background information
Born February 27, 1947 (1947-02-27) (age 62)
Flag of the Soviet Union Riga, Latvian SSR
Genre(s) Classical
Occupation(s) violinist
Associated acts Kremerata Baltica
Notable instrument(s)
Violin
Nicolo Amati 1641
Guarneri del Gesù 1730
Baron Feititsch Stradivarius 1734

Gidon Kremer (Latvian: Gidons Krēmers) (born February 27, 1947) is a Latvian violinist and conductor. In 1980 he left the USSR and settled in Germany.

Contents

Biography

Kremer was born in Riga to parents of German-Jewish origin, his father being a Holocaust survivor.[1] He began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving instruction from his father and his grandfather, who were both professional violinists. He went on to study at the Riga School of Music and with David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1967, he won third prize at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels; then, in 1969, second prize at the Montreal International Violin Competition (shared with Oleh Krysa) followed by first prize at the Paganini Competition in Genoa; and finally first prize again in 1970 at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

Kremer's first concert in the West was in Germany in 1975, followed by appearances at the Salzburg Festival in 1976 and in New York City in 1977. In 1981, Kremer founded a chamber music festival in Lockenhaus, Austria, with a focus on new and unconventional programming; since 1992 the festival has been known as "Kremerata Musica" and in 1996 Kremer founded the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra, composed of young players from the Baltic region. He was also among the artistic directors of the festival "Art Projekt 92" in Munich and is director of the Musiksommer Gstaad festival in Switzerland. In 2008, he and Kremerata Baltica toured with the classical musical comedy duo Igudesman & Joo.

Kremer is known for his wide-ranging repertoire, extending from Antonio Vivaldi and J.S. Bach to contemporary composers. He has championed the work of composers such as Ástor Piazzolla, George Enescu, Philip Glass, Alfred Schnittke, Leonid Desyatnikov, Alexander Raskatov, Alexander Voustin, Lera Auerbach, Pēteris Vasks, Arvo Pärt, Roberto Carnevale and John Adams. Among the many composers who have dedicated works to him are Sofia Gubaidulina (Offertorium) and Luigi Nono (La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura). His partners in performance include Valery Afanassiev, Martha Argerich, Oleg Maisenberg, Mischa Maisky, Yuri Bashmet and Vadim Sakharov. He has a large discography on the Deutsche Grammophon label, for which he has recorded since 1978; he has also recorded for Philips Records, as well as Decca Records, ECM and Nonesuch Records. Kremer played the role of Paganini in Peter Schamoni's 1983 movie, Frühlingssinfonie.

Kremer has numbered in his collection of antique violins a Guarneri del Gesù violin made in 1730; and the Antonio Stradivari violin of 1734 often referred to by its sobriquet, Baron Feititsch-Heermann. His current violins are a Nicolo Amati violin dating from 1641 and a Jon van Kowenhoven.{{[2]

Honours and awards

References

  1. ^ Charlotte Higgins (22 November 2000). "Perfect isn't good enough". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4094468,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. 
  2. ^ cite web | author= | title=Gidon Kremer | url=http://www.kremerata-baltica.com/biokremer.htm | publisher=Kremerata Baltica | date= | accessdate=2007-08-28}}

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
Learn More
Gidon Kremer: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (1992 Music Film)
Kremer Plays Mozart (2002 Music Film)
The Many Musics of Gidon Kremer (Classical Album)

Help us answer these
Has anyone heard of an artist by the name of Eugene Kremer?
What is the value of a 1991 Sporting News Conlon Collection Ray Kremer card?
Is Mary Beth Roe of QVC related to Andrea Kremer the tv sports reporter?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gidon Kremer".  Read more

 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More