leila josefowicz joins mannes school of music as felix galimir fellow in violin performance and leadership

December 13, 2021, New York - Mannes School of Music at The New School’s College of Performing Arts (CoPA) is honored to announce the appointment of Leila Josefowicz to the Mannes faculty, serving as the Felix Galimir Fellow in Violin Performance and Leadership.

“I have followed Leila’s career for quite some time now and have developed a deep admiration for who she is as a human being and artist. Leila’s commitment to contemporary music is a perfect fit for Mannes and it is extra special to appoint such a wonderful violinist, who joins a violin faculty that we are all very proud of. I would imagine David Mannes, himself a violinist, would be very happy right now. It is particularly touching to honor Leila’s mentor and friend, Felix Galimir, and I am sure that Leila will continue the tradition of artistry, education, and humanity that Felix Galimir was known for,” said Richard Kessler, Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes.

As the Felix Galimir Fellow, Josefowicz will mentor and teach major lessons in violin, lead workshops, and be free to develop innovative projects that compliment and draw from her vibrant career as a violin soloist. This coming February Josefowicz will perform a private recital at Mannes for students, staff, and colleagues.

“It is a huge honor for me to be named the Felix Galimir Fellow. I’m deeply moved and thank Mannes. Of all my teachers in my mid to late teens, I would say that Felix spoke straight to me and helped me develop my musical tastes and aesthetic sound, urging me towards the 20th and 21st centuries. He was extremely forward thinking, and in my opinion prioritized great characterization in musical playing above all. This is still my first priority. I am so thankful for his influence. With him in my mind always, and still seeing the twinkle in his eye, I am extremely inspired and proud to be part of the Mannes family,” said Josefowicz. 

The Felix Galimir Fellow was established to recognize and honor the beloved Felix Galimir, who taught violin and chamber music at Mannes for 27 years and established Mannes as a home for the Galimir String Quartet. Josefowicz remembers with great fondness and appreciation the mentorship and deep influence that Galimir had on her, during her studies at The Curtis Institute of Music and the Marlboro Festival.

About Leila Josefowicz

Leila Josefowicz’s passionate advocacy of contemporary music for the violin is reflected in her diverse programs and enthusiasm for performing new works. In recognition of her outstanding achievement and excellence in music, she won the 2018 Avery Fisher Prize and was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2008, joining prominent scientists, writers and musicians who have made unique contributions to contemporary life.

A favorite of living composers, Josefowicz has premiered many concertos, including those by Colin Matthews, Steven Mackey and Esa-Pekka Salonen, all written specially for her. This season, Josefowicz will give the world premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s Assonanza II for Violin and Chamber Orchestra by Matthias Pintscher, with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and then in Europe with Musikkollegium Winterthur, both under the baton of the composer. Other recent premieres include John Adams’ Scheherazade.2 (Dramatic Symphony for Violin and Orchestra) in 2015 with the New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert, and Luca Francesconi’s Duende – The Dark Notes in 2014 with Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Susanna Mälkki. Josefowicz enjoyed a close working relationship with the late Oliver Knussen, performing various concerti, including his violin concerto, together over 30 times. 

Following summer performances in the US at Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Grand Teton Music Festival, Josefowicz’s season begins with a return to Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, working with their incoming Music Director Nicholas Collon. Josefowicz will work again with regular collaborators Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and NAC Orchestra Ottawa, as well as returning to Europe for engagements with Oslo Philharmonic, Dresdner Philharmonie, Concertgebouworkest and Budapest Festival Orchestra, working with Hannu Lintu, Dalia Stasevska, John Storgards, Susanna Mälkki and Esa-Pekka Salonen. 

Highlights of recent seasons, Josefowicz include working with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Boston, Chicago, The Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, where she worked with conductors at the highest level, including Susanna Mälkki, Matthias Pintscher and John Adams.

Josefowicz has participated in several important projects during the pandemic including the MetLiveArts Spring 2021 series premiering a new work La Linea Evocativa by Matthias Pintscher written especially for her and performed alongside Bach’s Partita No.2 in D Minor, staged among masterpieces by Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko; as well as a collaboration with Violin Channel during their Virtual Concert series performing works of Mahler and Sibelius as well as Reflection by Oliver Knussen and the Sonata of Bernd Alois Zimmermann with John Novacek.

Alongside Novacek, with whom she has enjoyed a close collaboration since 1985, Josefowicz has performed recitals at world-renowned venues such as New York’s Zankel Hall and Park Avenue Armory, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress and London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as in Reykjavik, Chicago, San Francisco and Santa Barbara. This season Josefowicz gives solo performances at Wigmore Hall and The Phillips Collection in Washington DC.

Josefowicz has released several recordings, notably for Deutsche Grammophon, Philips/Universal and Warner Classics and was featured on Touch Press’s acclaimed iPad app, ‘The Orchestra’. Her latest recording, released in 2019, features Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Violin Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu. She has previously received nominations for Grammy Awards for her recordings of Scheherazade.2 with the St Louis Symphony conducted by David Robertson, and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer.