Violinist Ray Chen to Join Danish National Symphony Orchestra for South Florida Tour

This February, Winner of both the International Yehudi Menuhin and Queen Elizabeth competitions, violinist Ray Chen will join the Danish National Symphony Orchestra as soloist in a tour of South Florida in a brilliant program which includes Chen playing the notorious Sibelius Violin Concerto; a landmark synthesis of technical virtuosity and considered one of the greatest concertos in the repertoire (complete program below.)

In 2014, Ray Chen released his latest recording for Sony Classical, an album fully dedicated to works by Mozart. The "delectable" (Baltimore Sun) album includes Mozart's Violin Concertos K216 in G Major and K218 in D Major, for which Ray Chen composed his own cadenzas, plus Violin Sonata K305 in A Major. On the recording, Chen is joined by the internationally renowned interpreter of Mozart's works Christoph Eschenbach, who not only conducts the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in the concertos, but also performs with Ray Chen on the piano for the sonata. Sample the album here.

A combination of technical brilliance and charisma puts Ray Chen among the most compelling young violinists today: "Chen's warmly communicative manner is something to be treasured," commented Gramophone magazine. He reaches out to the young generation via social media platforms, and is followed by over 700,000 people on SoundCloud. The support of Giorgio Armani, who styled the cover image for the album, a recent feature in Vogue magazine and his fashion/music/touring blog for Italy's prestigious publishing house, RCS Rizzoli, show the success of his efforts to break down barriers between classical music, fashion, and pop culture.

Ray Chen, born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, was invited to play solo with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. He studied under Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music, and won the Yehudi Menuhin Competition in 2008 and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2009. In 2012, he became the youngest soloist ever to perform in the televised concert for Nobel Prize laureates and the Swedish Royal Family. His Carnegie Hall debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic under Sakari Oramo and his sold-out Musikverein concert with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly received standing ovations, and last year he made his debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Ray Chen plays the 1702 "Lord Newlands" Stradivarius violin, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. For Ray Chen's complete concert calendar visit www.raychenviolin.com.

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