Baiba Skride, violin
Making her Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut is violinist Baiba Skride, first-prize winner of the 2001 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Born into a musical family in Riga, Latvia in 1981, she received her first violin lessons in Riga at the age of four and, in 1995, transferred to the Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Rostock, Germany. She still studies there with Professor Petru Munteanu. Prior to her success in Brussels, Baiba Skride had already been awarded the first prize at several international competitions, such as the International Competition for Violin at Kloster Schöntal in 1995, the Jeunesse Musicales International Music Competition in Bucharest in 1997 and the Lipizer International Violin Competition in Gorizia in 2000.

Last season saw Baiba Skride making her highly successful U.S. debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Gilbert Varga, and her Berlin debut with the Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, as part of its “Debt im Deutschlandradio” series. She gave performances with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Hans Graf, the Philharmonia Orchestra under Paul Daniel, Russian National Orchestra under Paavo Berglund, Orchestre National de Belgique under Mikko Franck and the Latvian National Orchestra under Olari Elts. In addition, Baiba Skride gave recitals in Paris, Beijing and Tokyo as well as Rheingau Music Festival and Kissinger Sommer. She also appeared at the Delft Chamber Music Festival in summer 2002 at the invitation of Isabelle van Keulen as well as at the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival and Oslo Chamber Music Festival.

Highlights of Baiba Skride’s 2003-2004 season include concerts with the Munich Philharmonic under Mikko Franck, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop and the Dresden Philharmonic under Paavo Berglund as well as a tour of Germany with the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Orchestra under Hartmut Haenchen. In the United States, she will work with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. She also returns to Tokyo for a recital and a concert at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. In the summer of 2004, Baiba Skride makes her debut at the Salzburg Festival with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg under Hubert Soudant.

Baiba Skride is a committed chamber musician whose future engagements include recitals with pianist Lauma Skride in Germany, and also her recital debuts at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and the Bath International Festival next season. She will return to both the Rheingau Musik Festival and Delft International Chamber Music Festival. In addition to duo recitals, she regularly appears in trio concerts with her sisters, violist Linda Skride and pianist Lauma Skride.

Baiba Skride plays the Stradivarius “Huggins” violin (1708), which is generously on loan to her from the Nippon Music Foundation.