Julian Rachlin is Music Director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. He also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and as Principal Artistic Partner of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. With a career spanning more than thirty years, Rachlin has taken his multifaceted interests across the globe as a conductor, soloist, chamber musician, teacher and artistic director. His critically acclaimed recordings have been released by Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical and Warner Classics.
Rachlin is a much sought-after symphonic guest conductor worldwide. Highlights of recent seasons include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a violinist, he has shared the stage with the world's most prestigious orchestras and conductors. Recent highlights include appearances with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Klaus Mäkelä, Philharmonia Orchestra with Santtu-Matias Rouvali, National Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda, Munich Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra with Zubin Metha, St.Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra with Yuri Termirkanov, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, RAI National Symphony Orchestra with Andres Orozco-Estrada, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orcheste Symphonique de Montréal and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck.
A strong proponent of expanding the relevance of classical music within today’s cultural framework, Mr. Rachlin’s projects with living composers and cross-media collaborations have brought together artists from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds and genres. He has worked closely with, and premiered works of, Krzysztof Penderecki, Giya Kancheli, Vangelis and Lera Auerbach. In 2000, he joined Mstislav Rostropovich in the premiere of Penderecki’s Sextet and Penderecki later wrote and dedicated the Concerto Doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra as well as the Ciaccona for Violin and Viola to Mr. Rachlin. He had appeared in films, collaborated with digital instillation artists, and has worked with noted personalities, such as John Malkovich, Sir Roger Moore, and Gerard Depardieu.
Rachlin’s renowned music festivals reflect his joie de vivre and passion for bringing great artists and international audiences together in a celebration of music and art. He frequently collaborates with longtime musical partners, Martha Argerich, Evgeny Kissin, Denis Matsuev, Janine Jansen and Mischa Maisky. His untiring work and dedication for his "Julian Rachlin & Friends" festival in Dubrovnik, Croatia that ran for over a decade, has been recognized worldwide. Julian Rachlin has also been appointed artistic director of the HERBSTGOLD-Festival at the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt at the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt , Austria, since 2021.
Dedicated to educating and supporting young talent, Mr. Rachlin founded the Julian Rachlin and Friends Foundation ("The Julian Rachlin & Friends Circle") to help nurture the careers of extraordinary young musicians. Since 1999, Mr. Rachlin has served as a faculty member and professor at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien (MUK).
Mr. Rachlin is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing his work in the field of classical music, including as an Accademia Musicale Chigiana Siena Prize laureate and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund. In 2013, Mr. Rachlin performed alongside Zubin Mehta and the Bavarian State Orchestra at the historic "Peace for Kashmir” concert at the Mugal-era Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar, Kashmir, the first ever performance by a Western orchestra in that region.
Born in Lithuania, Rachlin emigrated to Vienna with his family at the age of three, where he studied violin under the renowned Boris Kuschnir at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien and received private lessons from Pinchas Zukerman in New York City. Mr. Rachlin also completed conducting studies with Maestro Mariss Jansons, Sophie Rachlin and was mentored by Maestro Daniele Gatti.
Rachlin plays a 1704 ex-Liebig Stradivarius and a 1785 Lorenzo Storioni viola, courtesy of Dkfm Angelika Prokopp Privatstiftung.
