2007-2008 International Artist Series Biographies

Joshua Bell

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Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell was presented the 2007 Avery Fisher Prize by actress Glenn Close at the Stanley Kaplan Penthouse at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on April 10, 2007. 

Said Bell: “I’ll never forget when Avery Fisher called me in my home in Indiana 20 years ago to tell me that I had been chosen to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant.  It was the highlight of my career at the time and now I’ve been blessed with another-- with the coveted Avery Fisher Prize.  I have watched with admiration as my musical heroes have received this award over the years, and now to have my name added beside those of Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Emanuel Ax is a great honor.”
 
Just days before on April 3rd, SONY BMG Masterworks released The Essential Joshua Bell, a two-disc collection of excerpts from the violinist’s greatest recordings, bringing a new dimension to the critically acclaimed, best-selling Essential series that celebrates the greatest names in recorded music. Bell himself assisted in choosing the repertoire for this release, featuring his favorite tracks, making it the definitive Joshua Bell collection.
 
Grammy® Award winner Joshua Bell has been captivating audiences worldwide for over two decades since coming to national attention at age 14 with his highly acclaimed orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Named Billboard Magazine’s “2004 Classical Artist of the Year” and a Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame inductee, Joshua joined Sony Classical, a SONY BMG Masterworks label in 1996.  His latest recording, Voice of the Violin, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Charts, and his recording of the Red Violin Concerto will be released September 4th.
 
His recordings of West Side Story Suite and the Nicholas Maw Violin Concerto received Grammy Awards, and the Sibelius & Goldmark violin concertos captured the Echo Klassik Award.  Best known for his work on The Red Violin which won the Oscar for Best Original Score, Joshua plays the 1713 “Gibson ex Huberman” Stradivarius.  Bell holds an artist diploma in violin performance from Indiana University. He has been named an “Indiana Living Legend” and received the Indiana Governor’s Arts Award.   The only U.S. musician to be singled out by the World Economic Forum, he was named one of 250 Young Global Leaders in 2007.  Bell currently serves on the artist committee of the Kennedy Center Honors.