Wednesday 5th April 16.40
Biography:
Renowned for her unique artistry and compelling insight into music from the Baroque to the present day, Jennifer Pike has firmly established herself as one of today’s most exciting instrumentalists.
She made her concerto debut with the Hallé Orchestra aged 11, and her international career was launched the following year when she won the BBC Young Musician and became the youngest major prize winner in the Menuhin International Violin Competition.
Appearing as soloist in the world’s top concert halls, she has performed with eminent conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Jirí Belohlávek, Sir Mark Elder, Juanjo Mena, Andris Nelsons, Sir Roger Norrington, Alondra de la Parra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leif Segerstam, Tugan Sokhiev, Mark Wigglesworth and Vladimir Fedoseyev.
Her broad repertoire has included performances of Dvořák with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Sibelius with Tokyo Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic and Oslo Philharmonic, Mozart with Rheinische Philharmonie, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Singapore Symphony, Brahms with the Nagoya Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky with the Tchaikovsky SO of Moscow, Hallgrímsson with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and The Lark Ascending at New York’s Carnegie Hall. She also appears regularly with all the BBC orchestras as well as the Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. As a guest director her credits include the BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata and English Chamber Orchestra.
Equally sought after as a recitalist and chamber musician, Jennifer Pike has collaborated worldwide with artists including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Nikolaj Znaider, Nicolas Altstaedt, Maxim Rysanov, Igor Levit, Martin Roscoe and Mahan Esfahani. She has curated concert series at LSO St Luke’s for BBC Radio 3 and the Wigmore Hall where she celebrated her Polish heritage with three recitals of Polish music, including several UK and world premieres. A disc of Polish works for violin followed in January 2019, released on Chandos, and was richly rewarded by the press, and its sequel, released in November 2021 was reviewed as “revelatory”, “magical”, “dazzlingly playful” and “just as ravishing as its predecessor”.
Her critically-acclaimed discography on Chandos includes the Sibelius, Rózsa and Mendelssohn concertos, the Chausson Concert, Brahms and Schumann sonatas, Debussy, Ravel and Franck sonatas and the complete violin and piano works of Janáček. Her disc of Elgar and Vaughan Williams violin sonatas was described as “an irresistible release”, received five-star reviews from major publications and won Limelight Magazine’s Recording of the Year award in the Chamber category.
Jennifer Pike is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and Foundation for Children and the Arts, and patron of the Lord Mayor’s City Music Foundation. In October 2020, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to classical music. She plays a 1708 violin by Matteo Goffriller.
