Guest Artist Bio
Baiba Skride
Still in her twenties, Latvian-born violinist Baiba Skride has appeared with prestigious orchestras such as the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, the Orchestre de Paris and the London Philharmonic and the orchestras of Philadelphia, Houston and Detroit. At these concerts, she returns to the Oregon Symphony for the first time since her acclaimed November 2008 debut.
Other highlights of her 2010/11 season include Skride’s much-anticipated debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and concerts with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Skride also debuts this season with the Sydney Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Vancouver Symphony.
Skride has been recording for Sony Classical since 2004. Her discography was recently expanded with a Tchaikovsky CD, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons. She also released a first duo recording with her sister (featuring music of Schubert, Beethoven and Ravel) as well as a solo violin disc (Ysaye, Bartok, Bach) and two concerto discs (one featuring Mozart, Schubert and Michael Haydn, and the other encompassing music of Shostakovich and Janacek).
Skride was born into a musical Latvian family in Riga where she began her studies, transferring in 1995 to the Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Rostock. In 2001 she won the 1st prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. She plays the 1725 Stradivarius "Wilhelmj" violin, which is generously on loan to her from the Nippon Music Foundation. More information online: baibaskride.com