Isabelle van Keulen
“Isabelle van Keulen played Elgar’s violin concerto with far more energy and brightness than is often heard, but didn’t sacrifice any of its heart. Her taut musical intelligence and vivid sound combined with a fine instinct for the tender, searching quality of this music…absolutely magical.” The Guardian

A violinist and violist of the highest calibre, Isabelle van Keulen has an established reputation on the worlds’ concert platforms. Her engaging personality and extraordinary musical vitality have made her one of the most sought after and charismatic musicians of her generation.

Isabelle van Keulen has appeared with such orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Vienna Radio Symphony, Tonhalle Zürich, NHK Symphony Tokyo, London Philharmonic, The Philharmonia, the Hallé Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony. Conductors with whom she works include Thomas Dausgaard, Mark Elder, Valery Gergiev, Neeme and Paavo Järvi, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Roger Norrington, John Storgårds, Joseph Swensen, Osmo Vänskä, Ilan Volkov, Hugh Wolff and David Zinman.

Isabelle van Keulen is firmly committed to contemporary music and works by many living composers are integral to her repertoire. Her most recent collaboration has been again with Erki-Sven Tüür whose Double Concerto for Violin and Clarinet “Noesis” received its’ world premiere with the Detroit Symphony and Neeme Järvi, performed by Isabelle van Keulen and Michael Collins, its dedicatees. “Noesis” received its’ European premiere in January 2006 with co-commissioning partner, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Paavo Järvi, followed by performances with the Helsinki Philharmonic.

Isabelle van Keulen begins the 2006/07 season giving the German premiere of the Tüür Double concerto with Michael Collins with the MDR Leipzig under John Storgårds and the Dutch premiere follows with the Netherlands Philharmonic and Claus Peter Flor. She is also soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Stockholm, Helsinki, and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestras and the Berlin Sinfonie Orchester. She tours in Spain with the BBC Scottish Symphony under the direction of Music Director, Ilan Volkov, and further afield is soloist with the Toronto and Singapore Symphony orchestras. In Summer 2006 Isabelle van Keulen performed as Director-Soloist with the London Mozart Players at the opening concert of the BBC Proms debut series in London’s Cadogan Hall. She regularly works in this capacity with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Chamber music is central to Isabelle van Keulen’s music making; she was Founder and Director of the Delft International Music Festival in Holland between 1996-2006 collaborating with such distinguished friends and colleagues as Leif Ove Andsnes, Michael Collins, Håkan Hardenberger, Gidon Kremer, Heinrich Schiff and Thomas Adès. This season she collaborates with Michael Collins, Imogen Cooper, Peter Jablonski in London’s Wigmore Hall, and, with her long established duo partner, Ronald Brautigam, alongside recitals in Spain, Germany and Holland they embark on a further recording project of works by Elgar, Grieg and Sibelius for Challenge Records.

Isabelle van Keulen has an extensive discography: most recently her recording for ECM Records of Erki-Sven Tüür’s violin concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Paavo Järvi has met with much acclaim. She has recorded works of Haydn, Mozart, Vieuxtemps, Saint-Saens and the complete Stravinsky duo repertoire with Olli Mustonen for Philips Classics, Lutoslawski Chain 2, Schnittke Viola Concerto, Dutilleux "L’arbre des songes", the complete works of Bruch for violin, viola and orchestra and several duo recital recordings with Ronald Brautigam for Koch-Schwann, and the Mendelssohn concertos for BIS Records.

Born in Holland, Isabelle van Keulen first studied at the Sweelinck Conservatoire in Amsterdam and then with Sandor Vegh at the Salzburg Mozarteum.