Driven by his strikingly uncompromising artistic vision, Gidon Kremer has established a worldwide reputation as one of the most original and compelling artists of his generation.
His repertoire encompasses the great classical works as well as music by leading twentieth- and twenty-first-century composers. He has championed the works of Russian and Eastern European composers and performed numerous important new compositions, several of which have been dedicated to him. His name is closely associated with composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, Giya Kancheli, Sofia Gubaidulina, Valentin Silvestrov, Luigi Nono, Edison Denisov, Aribert Reimann, Pēteris Vasks, John Adams, Victor Kissine, Michael Nyman, Philip Glass, Leonid Desyatnikov, and Astor Piazzolla, whose works he performs in ways that remain faithful to tradition while highlighting their freshness and originality. It is fair to say that no other soloist of comparable international stature has done more to promote contemporary composers and new music for violin.
Gidon Kremer has made more than 200 recordings, many of which have received prestigious international awards in recognition of his exceptional interpretative artistry. His long list of honours includes the Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis, the Bundesverdienstkreuz, Moscow’s Triumph Prize, the UNESCO Prize, the “Una Vita Nella Musica – Artur Rubinstein” Prize, and the Praemium Imperiale, received in 2016 and widely considered the Nobel Prize of the musical world.
In 1997, Gidon Kremer founded the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica to foster talented young musicians from the Baltic region. The ensemble tours extensively and has recorded more than forty albums for labels including Nonesuch, Deutsche Grammophon, ECM, Sony, EMI, and Alpha.
Gidon Kremer’s commitment to the “discovery” of the composer Mieczysław Weinberg, to whose revival he has devoted particular attention over the past fifteen years, deserves special mention. He has recorded nine albums featuring Weinberg’s works, released by labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Accentus Music, and ECM, contributing significantly to the international recognition of this composer’s music.