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小提琴／夏漢

「美國當代最傑出小提琴家」--《時代雜誌》

吉爾·夏漢是當代最傑出的小提琴家之一：他的技巧高超、無從挑剔，性格溫暖、寬宏大度，再再強化了他身為美國小提琴大師的美名。夏漢曾獲葛萊美獎的殊榮，也被《音樂美國》雜誌選為「年度器樂演奏家」，他受邀至世界各地與傑出樂團及指揮家合作演出協奏曲，定期演出獨奏會，並且登上全球最棒的音樂廳與音樂節舞台演出。

夏漢一直被認為是作曲家康果爾德最佳的詮釋者之一，而夏漢就在祖賓·梅塔的指揮下與柏林愛樂演奏康果爾德的協奏曲，揭開2015-16年樂季的序幕。夏漢先前在史蒂凡·德內夫的指揮下錄製了約翰·威廉斯的協奏曲唱片，本樂季中，他將與史蒂凡·德內夫及波士頓交響樂團再度演出該曲，除此之外，他還與洛杉磯愛樂及杜達美演奏巴哈；與巴黎管弦樂團演奏布拉姆斯；與聖卡洛劇院管弦樂團、新世界交響樂團、蘇城市立交響樂團，以及納許維爾交響樂團合作演出柴可夫斯基；他在蒙特婁交響樂團擔任駐團音樂家時，以及與新加坡交響樂團至歐洲巡迴演出時，則演出孟德爾頌的音樂。夏漢長久以來致力於探索「1930年代小提琴協奏曲」這個主題，目前已經進入了第八季，他將與芝加哥交響樂團（卡內基廳）以及費城管弦樂團（金梅爾表演藝術中心）演出巴爾托克第二號小提琴協奏曲；與國立里昂管弦樂團以及羅馬國立聖西西里亞學院管弦樂團演出巴伯；與騎士室內樂團在北美洲巡迴演出普羅柯菲夫的第二號小提琴協奏曲，以慶祝《1930年代小提琴協奏曲，第二集》的唱片發行。這張唱片由夏漢自創的「金絲雀唱片公司」發行，這是「1930年代小提琴協奏曲」主題的第二張唱片，他與騎士室內樂團合作錄製普羅柯菲夫，並與斯圖加特廣播交響樂團錄製巴爾托克。夏漢與世宗室內樂團合作征服歐洲各大首都，並在北卡羅萊納大學教堂山分校擔任駐校音樂家，此外，他還與攝影師兼錄像藝術家大衛·麥可列克進行特別的多媒體合作計畫，在倫敦的威格摩爾廳與北美各大音樂廳演奏巴哈的無伴奏小提琴奏鳴曲與組曲全集。

夏漢在西雅圖交響樂團去年樂季的開幕之夜活動大出風頭，之後便在邁可·提爾森的指揮下，與舊金山交響樂團在卡內基廳及其他音樂廳巡迴演出普羅柯菲夫的第二號小提琴協奏曲，以慶祝該樂團成立20週年紀念。他的「1930年代小提琴協奏曲」計畫中演出了普羅柯菲夫的第二號小提琴協奏曲，並與費城管弦樂團合作演奏貝爾格，以及與柏林廣播交響樂團及倫敦交響樂團合作演奏布瑞頓。除了與聖地牙哥交響樂團首演大衛·布魯斯的新協奏曲之外，他還與雪梨交響樂團及達拉斯交響樂團合作演出巴哈；在東京、加拿大與盧森堡演出孟德爾頌，並在好萊塢露天劇場與杜達美及洛杉磯愛樂演出孟德爾頌。金絲雀唱片公司發行了他的巴哈無伴奏小提琴奏鳴曲與組曲全集之後，夏漢就在芝加哥交響樂廳、洛杉磯迪士尼音樂廳及美國其他音樂廳，與大衛·麥可列克合作演出巴哈無伴奏獨奏會。

夏漢已經錄製超過20張的協奏曲與獨奏唱片，並在美國與海外的銷售排行榜履創佳績。同時，他的唱片也獲獎無數，包括數座葛萊美獎、法國唱片大獎、金音叉獎，以及留聲機雜誌編輯大獎。他最近的作品都由他2004年創立的金絲雀唱片公司發行，包括《1930年代小提琴協奏曲，第一集》，這張唱片是與紐約愛樂、波士頓交響樂團、BBC交響樂團、薩克森德勒斯登國立樂團，以及世宗室內樂團現場演奏錄製而成；與世宗室內樂團錄製發行海頓小提琴協奏曲以及孟德爾頌的八重奏；與阿德蕾·安東妮、江口玲、里昂交響樂團合作錄製《薩拉沙泰─小提琴名曲名演》；與芝加哥交響樂團及大衛·辛曼錄製艾爾噶的小提琴協奏曲；與新加坡交響樂團錄製梁祝小提琴協奏曲&柴可夫斯基；與鋼琴家葉芬·布朗夫曼及大提琴家特魯爾斯·莫克錄製柴可夫斯基A小調鋼琴三重奏；與妹妹鋼琴家奧莉·夏漢錄製《普羅柯菲夫專輯》與《莫札特在巴黎》；與江口玲及大提琴家史密斯錄製《佛瑞音樂簿》；與奧莉·夏漢錄製《希伯來旋律》，其中包括多爾曼為夏漢所寫的奏鳴曲世界首錄。多爾曼的奏鳴曲是夏漢委託的數首新作品之一，夏漢也為作曲家威廉·波康、大衛·布魯斯、朱里安·米隆與盛宗亮的作品進行首演。

夏漢於1971年出生於美國伊利諾州香檳─厄巴納，他隨著父母搬回以色列，並在七歲時師從魯賓音樂學院的山謬·伯恩斯坦學習小提琴，並獲得美國─以色列文化基金會的年度獎學金。1981年時，在耶路撒冷師事陶博的夏漢便與耶路撒冷交響樂團及以色列愛樂首度登台演出。同年他便開始在科羅拉多州的亞斯本師從迪蕾與埃勒曼。夏漢1982年在以色列贏得克萊蒙特大賽冠軍後，取得獎學金進入茱麗亞音樂院，師事迪蕾與姜康。他也曾就讀於哥倫比亞大學。

夏漢在1990年獲得艾維里費雪職業大獎，並於2008年獲頒美國古典樂壇最高榮譽的費雪獎。夏漢2012年被《音樂美國》雜誌選為「年度器樂演奏家」，並評論他的演出充滿了「獨特的人文精神」。夏漢演奏的是1699年製史特拉第瓦里名琴「波利內公爵夫人」，並與同為小提琴家的妻子阿德蕾·安東妮及三個孩子定居紐約。

Violin: Gil Shaham

“The outstanding American violinist of his generation.” – Time

Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time: his flawless technique combined with his inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit has solidified his renown as an American master. The Grammy Award-winner, also named Musical America’s “Instrumentalist of the Year,” is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors, and regularly gives recitals and appears with ensembles on the world’s great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.

Long recognized as one of its finest exponents, it is with Korngold’s concerto that Shaham launches the 2015-16 season at the Berlin Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. Besides reprising John Williams’s concerto with Stéphane Denève and the Boston Symphony, where he previously recorded the concerto under the composer’s direction, he performs Bach with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel; Brahms with the Orchestre de Paris; Tchaikovsky with the Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo and the New World, Sioux City, and Nashville Symphonies; and Mendelssohn during a Montreal Symphony residency and on a European tour with the Singapore Symphony. Shaham’s longterm exploration of “Violin Concertos of the 1930s” enters an eighth season with performances of Bartók’s Second with the Chicago Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kimmel Center, Barber with the Orchestre National de Lyon and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Prokofiev’s Second on an extensive North American tour with The Knights to celebrate the release of Violin Concertos of the 1930s, Vol. 2. Issued on the violinist’s own Canary Classics label, this marks the project’s second title, and pairs his recordings of Prokofiev with The Knights and of Bartók with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony. As well as undertaking a tour of European capitals with Sejong and a residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Shaham continues touring to London’s Wigmore Hall and key North American venues with accounts of Bach’s complete unaccompanied sonatas and partitas in a special multimedia collaboration with photographer and video artist David Michalek.

Last season, Shaham headlined the Seattle Symphony’s opening-night gala, before joining the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson for Prokofiev’s Second at Carnegie Hall and other stops on the orchestra’s 20th-anniversary tour. The Prokofiev was one of the works showcased in the “Violin Concertos of the 1930s” project, which also took him to the Philadelphia Orchestra for Berg and to the Berlin Radio Symphony and London Symphony Orchestra for Britten. Besides premiering David Bruce’s new concerto with the San Diego Symphony, the violinist’s orchestral highlights included Bach with the Sydney and Dallas Symphonies and Mendelssohn in Tokyo, Canada, Luxembourg, and with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. After Canary Classics released his interpretation of Bach’s complete solo sonatas and partitas on disc, Shaham gave unaccompanied Bach recitals at Chicago’s Symphony Center, L.A.’s Disney Hall, and other U.S. venues, in company with David Michalek.

The violinist already has more than two dozen concerto and solo CDs to his name, including bestsellers that have ascended the record charts in the U.S. and abroad. These recordings have earned prestigious awards, including multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. His recent recordings are issued on the Canary Classics label, which he founded in 2004. They comprise 1930s Violin Concertos (Vol. 1), recorded live with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, BBC Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, and Sejong; Haydn Violin Concertos and Mendelssohn’s Octet with the Sejong Soloists; Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works with Adele Anthony, Akira Eguchi, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León; Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and David Zinman; The Butterfly Lovers and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Singapore Symphony; Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A with Yefim Bronfman and cellist Truls Mork; The Prokofiev Album and Mozart in Paris, both with his sister, pianist Orli Shaham; The Fauré Album with Akira Eguchi and cellist Brinton Smith; and Nigunim: Hebrew Melodies, also recorded with Orli Shaham, which features the world premiere recording of a sonata written for the violinist by Avner Dorman. Dorman’s sonata is one of several new works commissioned for the violinist, who has also premiered and championed pieces by composers including William Bolcom, David Bruce, Julian Milone, and Bright Sheng.

Shaham was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1971. He moved with his parents to Israel, where he began violin studies with Samuel Bernstein of the Rubin Academy of Music at the age of seven, receiving annual scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981, while studying with Haim Taub in Jerusalem, he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic. That same year he began his studies with Dorothy DeLay and Jens Ellermann at Aspen. In 1982, after taking first prize in Israel’s Claremont Competition, he became a scholarship student at Juilliard, where he worked with DeLay and Hyo Kang. He also studied at Columbia University.

Gil Shaham was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, and in 2008 he received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. In 2012, he was named “Instrumentalist of the Year” by Musical America, which cited the “special kind of humanism” with which his performances are imbued. He plays the 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius, and lives in New York City with his wife, violinist Adele Anthony, and their three children.