Ilya Kaler

Ilya Kaler is one of the most outstanding personalities of the violin today, with a career ranging from that of soloist and recording artist to chamber musician and professor. He is the only violinist in the world to win the Gold Medal at three of the world’s most prestigious international violin competitions: the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1986), the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki (1985), and the Paganini Competition in Genoa (1981).

Praised by Gramophone magazine as “the magician, bewitching our ears,” Kaler has earned rave reviews for his solo appearances with distinguished orchestras such as the Leningrad, Moscow, and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, the Montreal Symphony, the Danish and Berlin Radio Orchestras, the Moscow and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, and most major American orchestras. He has collaborated with a number of outstanding conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Dmitri Kitayenko, Mariss Jansons, and Jerzy Semkow. Kaler’s solo recitals have also taken him to five continents, where he received enthusiastic reviews.

His musical versatility extends to the symphony orchestra, as well, and he has appeared as guest Concertmaster with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore Symphonies, and on tour with the World Orchestra for Peace under Valery Gergiev. Kaler also held the Concertmaster position with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in New York.

As one of the most sought-after teachers in the world, Kaler was recently invited to join the violin faculty at the distinguished Cleveland Institute of Music. He has also held professorships at the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University School of Music and DePaul University School of Music. Kaler regularly serves as a jury member at international violin competitions, including the Tchaikovsky International Competition, the Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition, the Henri Marteau International Violin Competition, etc. Ilya Kaler records for Naxos Records and Ongaku Records.