World-Renowned Violin Star Leila Josefowicz Performs with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra

Internationally acclaimed violinist Leila Josefowicz returns to Lithuania this autumn. Described by the Los Angeles Times as an artist whose “virtuosity rides waves of joyful energy,” the Canadian-born, U.S.-based violinist will appear with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra under the baton of distinguished American conductor Jonathan Stockhammer. The concert will take place on 22 October at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic.

The Los Angeles Times has also praised Josefowicz by noting that “her virtuosity is extraordinary, but even more astonishing is the power of her expression.” A child prodigy, she began studying the violin at the age of three and entered the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia when she was just thirteen.

At sixteen, she made her debut at Carnegie Hall with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner. Soon afterwards, she signed an exclusive recording contract with Philips Classics, launching an international career that has taken her to the world’s leading concert halls.

Today, Leila Josefowicz is one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage, regularly performing with many of the world’s finest orchestras across Europe, North America, and Asia. She has appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the orchestras of the London, Dresden, Oslo, Helsinki, and Elbphilharmonie concert halls, as well as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and numerous other prestigious ensembles.

She has collaborated with many of today’s leading conductors, including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo Järvi, Susanna Mälkki, Louis Langrée, Hannu Lintu, John Storgårds, Matthias Pintscher, Cristian Măcelaru, Thomas Søndergård, Dalia Stasevska, and composer-conductor John Adams.

Her 2025–2026 season was particularly notable, featuring the world premiere of Jüri Reinvere’s Concerto for Violin, Harp and Orchestra with The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, alongside performances with the New York Philharmonic, the orchestras of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zurich, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

Alongside the great violin concertos of the classical repertoire, contemporary music occupies a central place in Josefowicz’s artistic life. She is widely recognized as one of today’s foremost interpreters of new music, championing works by living composers and frequently incorporating them into her concert programmes. Composers such as John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Thomas Adès, Luca Francesconi, and Colin Matthews have written and dedicated works specifically for her.

Her extensive repertoire also includes the great violin concertos of Brahms, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvořák, Sibelius, Bruch, Bartók, and Berg, alongside J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin and the virtuosic works of Niccolò Paganini and Henryk Wieniawski.

The concert will be conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer, one of today’s most versatile and charismatic conductors. Celebrated for his interpretative sensitivity and theatrical instinct, Stockhammer is equally at home in the classical repertoire and contemporary music.

He regularly conducts leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Hamburg, Oslo Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and many other internationally renowned ensembles.

Stockhammer is also a frequent guest at major European festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, the Venice Biennale, and Wien Modern, where contemporary composers value him as an exceptionally insightful and creative interpreter capable of bringing new music vividly to life.