Spain
Leila Josefowicz’s passionate advocacy of contemporary music for the violin is reflected in her diverse programmes and enthusiasm for performing new works. A favourite of living composers, Josefowicz has premiered many concertos, including those by John Adams, Luca Francesconi, Colin Matthews, Matthias Pintscher, Juri Reinvere, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, all written especially for her.
Josefowicz’s 2026/27 season includes National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Opéra de Paris, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, and the world premiere of Charlotte Bray’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo. She will tour Spain with Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and the Netherlands with Munich Chamber Orchestra. Josefowicz will be the Hallé’s Featured Artist in the 2026/27 season, performing the violin concertos by Thomas Adès and Ligeti, featuring her own highly acclaimed cadenza in the Ligeti concerto.
Highlights of Leila Josefowicz’s past seasons include appearances with Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York, Los Angeles, London, and Munich philharmonics; Cleveland, Minnesota and Philadelphia orchestras; Chicago, London, San Francisco, Houston, Pittsburgh, City of Birmingham and KBS symphony orchestras; Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Across these engagements, she has worked with conductors including Paavo Järvi, Hannu Lintu, Cristian Măcelaru, Franz Welser-Möst, Tarmo Peltokoski, Thomas Søndergård, Dalia Stasevska and John Storgårds.
A champion of modern and contemporary music, Josefowicz enjoyed a close working relationship with the late Oliver Knussen, performing various concerti, including his violin concerto, together over 30 times. Other premieres have included John Adams’ Scheherazade.2 with New York Philharmonic, Luca Francesconi’s Duende – The Dark Notes with Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Matthias Pintscher’s Assonanza with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
Together with John Novacek, with whom she has enjoyed a close collaboration since 1985, Josefowicz has performed recitals at world-renowned venues such as New York’s Zankel Hall and Park Avenue Armory, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, as well as in Reykjavik, Trento, Bilbao and Chicago. During the summer of 2026, they embarked on a highly successful duo tour to seven cities across Australia, giving recitals featuring works by Debussy, Szymanowski, Bray and Stravinsky.
Josefowicz has released several recordings, notably for Deutsche Grammophon, Philips/Universal and Warner Classics and was featured on Touch Press’s acclaimed iPad app, The Orchestra. Her latest recordings, released in 2026, feature Thomas Adès’s Violin Concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Thomas Søndergård, and Francesconi’s Duende – The Dark Notes with the Filarmonica della Scala and Brad Lubman. She has previously received nominations for Grammy Awards for her recordings of Adam’s Scheherazade.2 with St Louis Symphony conducted by David Robertson, and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer.
In recognition of her outstanding achievement and excellence in music, she won the 2018 Avery Fisher Prize and was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2008, joining prominent scientists, writers and musicians who have made unique contributions to contemporary life.
