Anne Akiko Meyers
Anne Akiko Meyers has been described as a ‘trailblazing violinist’, one who is constantly ‘charting her own course’. The New York Times is quoted as saying Meyers’ performances is ‘playing that flows from the heart’, ‘unspooled with impressive refinement, emotional freedom and tonal depth ….
molding her phrases like a singer’. Celebrated as one of the world’s premiere concert violinists, the renowned soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator has sought to reach wider audiences by premiering new works written for her and showcase under-performed or rarely heard works with a quest for experimentation and open dialogue.
This season, international dates include performances with the China National Symphony in Beijing and Shanghai Symphony in Shanghai, China, and performances with the Toronto Symphony. Recently, Meyers performed with the Osaka Philharmonic, U.K.’s Birmingham Symphony and returned to the BBC Scottish Symphony. Meyers recently collaborated with Wynton Marsalis, who wrote new cadenzas for Mozart’s G Major violin concerto and which she premiered with the Utah Symphony. Meyers will also tour with singing sensations, Il Divo, celebrating a special Christmas collaboration in Toronto, Atlantic City, Connecticut and Boston this December.
Meyers also toured Japan and performed Akira Miyoshi’s ‘En Passant’ and the Mendelssohn Concerto with the Japan Philharmonic at Suntory Hall and Bernstein’s ‘Serenade’ at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, celebrating what would have been Maestro Bernstein’s 90th birthday. In early 2009, Anne returned to South America and made appearances at the Cartagena Music Festival in Colombia.
Koch Records launched Meyers’ critically acclaimed album entitled ‘Smile’ with pianist,
Akira Eguchi. It features special arrangements of works like ‘Over the Rainbow’, Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Smile’ and Astor Piazzolla’s Tangos. Also included is a Meyers arrangement of ‘Moonlight Over the Ruined Castle’ by Rentaro Taki and ‘Sea in Spring’ by Michio Miyagi as well as the premiere of ‘Fantaisie’ by Olivier Messiaen, Arvo Part’s meditative ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’ and the Schubert Fantasy. Koch will release her next highly anticipated CD entitled, ‘The Seasons......Dreams’ in April 2010.
Meyers’ extensive discography can be found on the Avie, Camerata, Hyperion, Koch, Naxos, RCA Victor Red Seal, RPO, Sony BMG and the Warner Classics labels. Her debut disc, at the age of 18, included the Barber Violin Concerto and the Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 with Christopher Seaman and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. View her discography on Amazon and iTunes.
Meyers has been a regular guest at some of the most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, Suntory Hall and the Sydney Opera House. She has been the featured soloist with the Boston Symphony, London's Philharmonia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Minnesota Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo's NHK Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vienna Symphony and the Warsaw Philharmonic.
She has premiered a number of works by composers such as David Baker, Mason Bates, John Corigliano, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Jennifer Higdon, Olivier Messiaen, Akira Miyoshi, Arvo Part, Manuel Ponce, Somei Satoh, and Joseph Schwantner.
Meyers has numerous television credits including an A&E Network telecast from the Casals Festival with the Montreal Symphony, a PBS broadcast with the Boston Pops Orchestra and John Williams and her appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson and the "Emmy Award Show" attracted national attention. She was also featured in a performance with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Holland that attracted an audience of 10,000 and was globally broadcast live on the Internet. This is viewable on YouTube.
Meyers also performed in front of 750,000 people in Sydney, Australia's Harbour, celebrating their 250th Bicentennial and has performed for dignitaries including the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Meyers has been featured in numerous print and television commercials including Anne Klein’s “Women of Substance” fashion campaign that appeared in magazines around the world and was photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
Starting her studies at age 4, she first performed with a local orchestra at the age of 7, then burst into prominence at age 11, when she twice performed on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Johnny Carson and appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The following year she made her New York Philharmonic debut with Zubin Mehta conducting. She was soon performing throughout the United States, Japan, Australia and Europe and by the time her debut disc of the Barber and Bruch violin concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was released at age 18, she was recognized as one of the stars of her generation.
Meyers was born in San Diego, California and grew up in the Los Angeles area before heading to New York. She studied with Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, Josef Gingold at Indiana University, and Felix Galimir, Masao Kawasaki and Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School. At age 23, she was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, the only artist to be the sole recipient of this annual prize.
This fall, she joins the faculty as Professor of Violin at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. Recently, she was the first violinist to be named Regent’s Lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Meyers has given masterclasses around the world, was a panelist at the Juilliard hosted Starling-DeLay Symposium and is an adjudicator for competitions.
Anne performs on the “Royal Spanish” Antonio Stradivarius violin, dated 1730, that once belonged to the King of Spain.
