Charlie Siem is one of the brightest young classical stars. Born in London to a Norwegian father and British mother, Charlie began to play the violin at the age of three after hearing a broadcast of Yehudi Menuhin playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Later Charlie studied with Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky and Maestro Shlomo Mintz.


Recently Charlie has appeared with orchestras including  the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra alongside conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Yuri Simonov, Ed Gardner and Libor Pesěk. In September 2012 he gave his Wigmore Hall debut in London with pianist Itamar Golan.


Charlie’s debut CD featuring violin sonatas by Grieg and Elgar was released in 2008. The recording was widely praised and was named “Recital CD of the Month” by the Strad magazine and received ☆☆☆☆☆ from BBC Music Magazine. Charlie subsequently signed to Warner Classics and Jazz and produced two critically acclaimed albums, one including spectacular virtuoso repertoire from the great violin masters Paganini, Sarasate, Wieniawski and Kreisler and the second with the London Symphony Orchestra released in August 2011. This album featuring Wieniawski’s 1st violin concerto became No.3 in the UK Specialist Classical Chart. Classic FM Magazine wrote: ”…one of the most exciting young violin talents around” and Classic FM made the album CD of the week in August 2011. The CD includes Ole Bull’s Cantabile doloroso e Rondo giocoso – the composer being one of Charlie’s own distant relatives.


Charlie’s latest performance activities includes concerts in Asia, Europe, Scandinavia and North America. Charlie is a great believer in giving back to worthwhile causes and is honoured to be an ambassador of the Princes Trust and Visiting Professor at Leeds College of Music, making Charlie the youngest Professor in the UK.


In addition Charlie has revived the age old violinistic tradition of composing virtuosic variations of popular themes which he has done alongside artists including Bryan Adams, Jamie Cullum and The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend.  Alongside his concert activities Charlie has been adopted by a number of brands such as Dior, Dunhill and presently by Armani as a result of his charismatic performances combined with a natural ease in front of the camera and audience.


Charlie Siem is playing the 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin, known as the d’Egville.


- See more at: http://www.charliesiem.com

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