Jack Liebeck

British/German violinist, director and festival director Jack Liebeck, possesses “flawless technical mastery” and a “beguiling silvery tone” (BBC Music Magazine). Jack is the Royal Academy of Music’s first Émile Sauret Professor of Violin and new Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. “A diverse and interesting program, giving voice to many of the festival artists, this was a terrific offering for this year’s Australian Festival of Chamber Music.” (Limelight Magazine) Jack’s playing embraces the worlds of elegant chamber-chic Mozart through to the impassioned mastery required to frame Brett Dean The Lost Art of Letter Writing. His fascination with all things scientific has included performing the world premiere of Dario Marianelli’s Voyager Violin Concerto and A Brief History of Time with Professor Brian Cox and Benjamin Northey commissioned by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from regular collaborator and composer Paul Dean in commemoration of Professor Stephen Hawking; A Brief History of Time received its world premiere in November 2019.

In the 25 years since his debut with the Hallé, Jack has worked with major international conductors and orchestras including Andrew Litton, Leonard Slatkin, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Sir Mark Elder, Sakari Oramo, Vasily Petrenko, Brett Dean (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic), Daniel Harding (Swedish Radio), Jukka Pekka Saraste (Oslo Philharmonic), David Robertson (St Louis Symphony), Jakub Hrůša and many orchestras across the world including Belgian National, Queensland Symphony, Moscow State Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Indianapolis Symphony and all of UK orchestras. Upcoming and recent orchestral appearances include Queensland Symphony with Elena Schwarz, Uppsala with Rebecca Miller, Philharmonia with Santtu-Matias Rouvali, BBC Philharmonic, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Bournemouth Symphony with Jamie Phillips, BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Jac Van Steen, and Opera North with David Greed. Recital touring includes performances across Europe, USA and Australasia for festivals and venues such as Wigmore Hall, Savannah Music Festival, Arts and Lettres, Vevey, Inons Festival (CA), Sydney International Piano Competition, Leeds International Piano Competition and his own Australian Festival of Chamber Music.

Upcoming recording releases include a new vocal arrangement of The Lark Ascending with VOCES8 commemorating Vaughan Williams’ 150###sup/sup### anniversary, Christopher Tin’s The Lost Birds with VOCES8, Vaughan Williams Concerto with London Choral Sinfonia, Strauss Morgen with Carolyn Sampson, and sonata arrangements by Royal Academy of Music professor Timothy Jones of William Alwyn and Doreen Carwithen’s movie scores with Daniel Grimwood. Recent recordings include Schoenberg and Brahms violin concertos with BBC Symphony Orchestra which was Concerto Choice Album of the Year for BBC Music Magazine; "Stellar Brahms and an expressive Schoenberg: Jack Liebeck responds with astonishing command, allowing the music’s expression to speak with a real degree of freedom, even fantasy” (BBC Music Magazine) alongside Ysaÿe Six Sonatas both on Orchid Classics "...in every track Liebeck excels in capturing the fury, poetry, madness and dazzle of Ysaÿe’s haunting music. This is an exceptional release.” (The Times 5*)

Other recordings and collaborations include the world premiere recording of Stuart Hancock’s violin concerto released on Orchid Classics, two chamber discs for Albion Records (Holst and Vaughan Williams with Mary Bevan and Vaughan Williams Folk Songs vol.1 with Nicky Spence and Mary Bevan), Braun’s From the Shtetl with London Chamber Orchestra, The Mozart Question with Michael Morpurgo and the London Philharmonic, Classic FM’s, The Glorious Garden (poetry by Alan Titchmarsh, narrated by Alan with music by Debbie Wiseman), a collaboration with Alexis Ffrench on his new release ‘Truth’, a project with Opera North, and as BBC Music Magazine’s cover disc in celebration of Paganini, The Virtuoso Violin. He can also be heard in the soundtracks of The Theory of Everything, Jane Eyre and Anna Karenina.

As the first Émile Sauret Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music he works as an ambassador helping to recruit future talent both at home and internationally as well as nurturing the next generation of violinists in his class. Jack has a developing relationship with digital teaching app NomadPlay, a unique opportunity for individuals to play alongside renowned musicians and orchestras. He has written and curated pieces for Strad Magazine, guest edited Classical Music Magazine, and presented BBC Radio 3’s Inside Music. Jack is also a member of the Salieca Piano Trio and directs his own ensemble of regular collaborators, ‘Jack Liebeck and Friends’.

Jack plays the ‘Ex-Wilhelmj’ J.B. Guadagnini dated 1785 and is generously loaned a Joseph Henry bow by Kathron Sturrock in the memory of her late husband Professor David Bennett. Jack Liebeck is managed worldwide by Percius. www.percius.co.uk