The versatile British violinist Elisabeth Perry is widely acclaimed for her contributions to all facets of the musical metier. Applauded for her virtuosity in the standard repertoire, an avid proponent of contemporary music, a committed chamber musician, dedicated pedagogue and an internationally renowned concertmaster, Ms Perry has reaped unanimous praise for her ability to convey urgency while emphasising the distinctive lyrical and dramatic qualities in a large repertoire.
Ms Perry showed great musical talent at an early age. She was privileged to join the first class of pupils at Yehudi Menuhin's school in 1963. At the age of 14 Perry shared centre stage with Lord Menuhin in a memorable Royal Albert hall concert and subsequently recorded the Bach double concerto with him for Teldec. Perry has been a welcome guest soloist with Britain's leading orchestras including the LSO, Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra. Generous grants allowed her to continue her studies at the Juilliard School in the famed classes of Dorothy Delay and Oscar Shumsky. Making her mark in the United States, Perry won New York's prestigious Concert Artists Guild Competition and was invited to play Bartók's second violin concerto in Chicago's Orchestra hall.
A passion for contemporary music and a commitment to expanding the violin repertoire led to many acclaimed premieres. Perry was the first to champion Alfred Schnittke's Quasi Una Sonata performing its US premiere at Lincoln Center.
Critically acclaimed recordings bear testimony to her premieres of works by Michael Nyman and Andrew Poppy and her American Heritage series CD recording of Leon Kirschner's Duo for violin and piano was released in 1984.
Renowned for her leadership skills in the orchestral sphere, Ms Perry served as concertmaster of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss from 1985 to 1999. Since 1991 she holds the position of concertmaster in the Radio Chamber Orchestra and since 2013 she holds that same position with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
Spoken language: English