Rachel Podger

Baroque violin / Director

http://www.rachelpodger.com

Rachel Podger, “the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin” (The Times), has established herself as a leading interpreter of the Baroque and Classical music periods. She was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize in October 2015 and Gramophone Artist of the Year 2018. A creative programmer, she is the founder and Artistic Director of Brecon Baroque Festival and her ensemble Brecon Baroque.

Rachel Podger performs Bach Cello Suite No.1 in G (trans. into D) at the Gramophone Awards 2018:

After an exciting year including an innovative new collaboration, A Guardian Angel, with vocal ensemble VOCES8, performances at The Lincoln Center, La Seine Musicale and Edinburgh International Festival; and acclaimed album releases including Vivaldi Le Quattro Stagioni and J.S. Bach Cello Suites transposed for the violin, Rachel is one of the Artists in Residence at the renowned Wigmore Hall throughout the 2019/2020 season featuring all-Bach performances as a soloist, and with Brecon Baroque and Kristian Bezuidenhout. Alongside this, Rachel and Christopher Glynn join forces for the first time in recordings and performances of the Beethoven sonatas, and the world premiere recording and performances of three previously unfinished Mozart sonatas which have been completed by Professor Timothy Jones. Further treats include Bach Dynasty with Brecon Baroque and mezzo-soprano Ciara Hendrick, tours of A Guardian Angel with VOCES8, and return collaborations with orchestras such as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Tapiola Sinfonietta. 

James MacMillan’s ‘Domine non secundum peccata nostra’ from ‘A Guardian Angel’ with VOCES8

Rachel is a dedicated educator and holds an honorary position at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She also has a relationship with The Juilliard School in New York.