Martin BEAVER

• 4th prize, Violon 1993
  
• Jury, Violon 2009
  

The violinist Martin Beaver was named First Violin of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet in May 2002 and has performed with the quartet in the major capitals of the world. Orchestral appearances include the San Francisco Symphony, the National Orchestra of Belgium, and the Montreal Symphony and under the batons of Zukerman, Leppard, and Dutoit. He has given recitals in Toronto, Chicago, Washington, D.C., London, Tokyo, and other cities and is a regular guest at chamber festivals such as the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, and the Miyazaki International Music Festival. A laureate of the 1993 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also took top prizes at the international violin competitions of Indianapolis and Montreal. He has recorded for the René Gailly, Naim Audio, Naxos, and Harmonia Mundi labels. He served recently on the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of Music and is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music.

Martin Beaver est depuis 2002 le premier violon du Tokyo String Quartet, avec lequel il s’est produit en concert dans les plus grandes villes du monde. Il a par ailleurs joué avec l’Orchestre symphonique de San Francisco, l’Orchestre National de Belgique et le Symphonique de Montréal, sous la baguette de Pinchas Zukerman, Raymond Leppard et Charles Dutoit. Ses récitals l’ont mené à Toronto, Chicago, Washington, Londres et Tokyo, et il est régulièrement invité lors de festivals de musique de chambre comme ceux de Seattle et Ottawa, ou le Festival International de Miyazaki. Lauréat du Concours Reine Elisabeth en 1993, il a aussi remporté des prix aux concours internationaux de Indianapolis et Montréal, et a réalisé divers enregistrements pour René Gailly, Naim Audio, Naxos et Harmonia Mundi. Actuellement artiste en résidence à la Yale School of Music, Martin Beaver a entre autres été professeur au Peabody Conservatory of Music.

Recognized as one of Canada’s leading violinists, Martin Beaver has been praised by audiences and critics alike for his thrilling performances. In great demand as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher, he has quickly risen to prominence as an artist of great versatility and integrity.

Mr. Beaver has appeared with orchestras around the globe such as the San Francisco Symphony, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Portuguese Radio Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Orquesta Banco Mayo of Argentina, the OFUNAM in Mexico City and all major Canadian orchestras in a wide variety of repertoire. Appearances with the Toronto Symphony include Bach's Concerto for two violins with Pinchas Zukerman. He has collaborated with such eminent conductors as Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Leon Fleisher, Raymond Leppard and Charles Dutoit.

He has delighted audiences in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Honolulu, Brussels, London,Tokyo and Osaka. Equally at home in chamber music, he has appeared at Ravinia (Rising Stars Series), Concerts Under the Dome (Chicago), Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Guelph Spring Festival, Festival of the Sound, Scotia Festival, Music at Speedside, OstBelgien Festival (Belgium) and Music in Blair Atholl (Scotland). He has been a guest artist with the “Reizend Muziekgezelschap” in Amsterdam and the Boston Chamber Music Society. Mr. Beaver has made recordings for the René Gailly, Naim Audio, Naxos, SM5000 and Musica Viva labels.

Martin Beaver is a founding member of two Canadian ensembles, the Toronto String Quartet and Triskelion. The Toronto String Quartet is one of the Ensembles-in-Residence at Music Toronto, where Mr. Beaver also serves as Artistic Advisor. Triskelions recording of J.S. Bach;s Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio by D. Sitkovetsky for CBC;s Musica Viva Label was released in 1999 to critical and public acclaim. In 2002 he joined the renowned Tokyo String Quartet.

In 1993, he received the Canada Council's prestigious Virginia P. Moore Award ("most promising young classical artist") and a Silver Medal at the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Belgium. He won top prizes at the 1991 Montreal International Music Competition and the 1990 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
In October 1998, Mr. Beaver was chosen as recipient of the generous loan of a 1729 Guarnerius del Gesù violin, theex-Heath; from the Canada Council for the Arts; Instrument Bank and an Anonymous Donor.

Mr. Beaver studied with Victor Danchenko, Henryk Szeryng and Josef Gingold. A dedicated teacher, he has served on the faculties of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is currently on the faculty at the Steinhardt School at New York University. Mr. Beaver is in great demand for masterclasses throughout Canada, the United States and Japan.