Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell is an American violinist known for his flawless technique, rich tone, and refined phrasing. He is also a prolific recording artist who appears on over 40 albums, and he serves as the music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1967, and he started learning to play the violin when he was just four years old. In the following year, he began violin lessons with Donna Bricht before studying with Mimi Zweig during his elementary school years. He was also interested in sports, and he competed in a national tennis tournament when he was ten years old. At the age of 12, he became a student of violinist Josef Gingold, who taught at Indiana University. While he was still attending Bloomington High School North, Bell also enrolled at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he continued his studies with Gingold. He made his debut at 14 years old with the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Muti. Bell graduated from high school in 1984, debuted at Carnegie Hall with the St. Louis Symphony in 1985, and in 1989, he completed his Artist Diploma at Indiana University. In the 1990s, he was in high demand as a soloist and recitalist, and he performed with many of the major orchestras and conductors around the world. He won a Grammy award in 1993 for his recording of Nicholas Maw’s Violin Concerto, and in 1998, he collaborated on John Corigliano’s soundtrack for The Red Violin, which received an Academy Award, a Grammy nomination, and several other nominations. He also collaborated on the album Short Trip Home, which featured the bluegrass-infused music of Edgar Meyer. He worked with non-classical artists such as Chick Corea and James Taylor, and he performed a popular series of recitals in London and France with Steven Isserlis, Pamela Frank, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Bell acquired the “Gibson ex Huberman” Stradivarius violin in 2001, and its turbulent history became the subject of the 2013 documentary The Return of the Violin. He conducted a social experiment in 2007, busking in subway stations of Washington D.C., which fueled discussions about human behavior for years thereafter. In a departure from his career as a violinist, he has served as music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields since 2011. Bell received an Academy Award nomination in 2013 for his collaboration with Scarlett Johansson on the song "Before My Time," which was used in the film Chasing Ice. His countless appearances on TV include The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle, and several Live from Lincoln Center and PBS specials. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he released the album At Home with Music, which featured well-known show pieces and a West Side Story Medley with his wife, soprano Larisa Martinez. Bell’s 2023 release Butterfly Lovers features the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao, and works by Sarasate, Massenet, and Saint-Saëns.
© RJ Lambert /TiVo
Discography
88 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Mendelssohn Piano Trios
Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Jeremy Denk
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 30 Aug 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Thomas de Hartmann Rediscovered
Joshua Bell, INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska, Matt Haimovitz, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies
Concertos - Released by PENTATONE on 16 Aug 2024
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Butterfly Lovers
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 30 Jun 2023
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Bruch : Scottish Fantasy - Violin Concerto No. 1
Violin Concertos - Released by Sony Classical on 22 Jun 2018
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Franck: Piano Quintet in F Minor, FWV 7 (Live from Verbier Festival / 2014)
Marc-André Hamelin, Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Nobuko Imai, Steven Isserlis
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 24 Jul 2020
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concertos - Released by Sony Classical on 26 Sep 2014
Gramophone Editor's ChoiceAvailable in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
At Home With Music (Live)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 14 Aug 2020
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends
Christmas Music - Released by Masterworks on 14 Oct 2013
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
For the Love of Brahms
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 30 Sep 2016
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
For the Love of Brahms
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 30 Sep 2016
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Bernstein: West Side Story Suite
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 14 May 2000
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Bernstein: West Side Story Suite
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 14 May 2000
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
My Funny Valentine
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 8 Sep 2023
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 7
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 12 Feb 2013
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
de Hartmann: Violin Concerto, Op. 66: III. Menuet fantasque (Tempo di Minuetto)
Joshua Bell, INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska, Matt Haimovitz, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies
Concertos - Released by PENTATONE on 19 Jul 2024
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
III. Vivace non troppo
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 26 Aug 2016
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Franck: Piano Quintet in F Minor, FWV 7 (Live from Verbier Festival / 2014)
Marc-André Hamelin, Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Nobuko Imai, Steven Isserlis
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 24 Jul 2020
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Romance of the Violin
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 17 Oct 2003
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Romance of the Violin
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 17 Oct 2003
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Concertos - Released by Sony Classical on 5 Sep 2008
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Concertos - Released by Sony Classical on 5 Sep 2008
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo