American violinist (born 1967)
Musical artist
Joshua David Bell
(born December 9, 1967) is an American
violinist
and conductor. He is currently music director of the
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Bell was born in
Bloomington, Indiana
, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and
Alan P. Bell
,
[1]
a psychologist and professor at
Indiana University
(IU), and former
Kinsey researcher
.
[2]
[3]
His father is of Scottish descent and his mother is
Jewish
(her father was born in
Mandatory Palestine
and her mother was from
Minsk
).
[4]
Bell began playing the violin at age four after his mother discovered that he had taken rubber bands from around the house and stretched them across the handles of his nine dresser drawers to pluck out music he had heard her play on the piano. His parents got a scaled-to-size violin for him when he was five and started giving him lessons. Bell took to the instrument but had an otherwise normal Indiana childhood, playing video games and excelling at sports, especially tennis and bowling. He placed in a national tennis tournament at age ten.
[5]
Bell's first violin teacher was Donna Bricht, widow of
Indiana University
music faculty member
Walter Bricht
.
[6]
His second was Mimi Zweig, and his third the violinist and pedagog
Josef Gingold
, who accepted Bell as a student after his parents assured him that they were not interested in pushing their son to be a star but simply wanted him to have the best teacher for his abilities. By age 12, Bell was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to Gingold's inspiration.
[
citation needed
]
At age 14, Bell appeared as a soloist with the
Philadelphia Orchestra
under
Riccardo Muti
. He studied violin at the Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music
and graduated from
Bloomington High School North
in 1984.
[7]
In 1989 Bell received an Artist Diploma in violin performance from Indiana University. IU also honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award two years after his graduation. He has been named an "Indiana Living Legend"
[8]
and received the Indiana Governor's Arts Award.
[9]
Career
[
edit
]
Bell made his
Carnegie Hall
debut in 1985, at age 17, with the
St. Louis Symphony
. In 1990, at age 22, he went on the
American Russian Young Artists Orchestra
's first tour of Russia.
[10]
[11]
He has since performed with many of the world's major orchestras and conductors. As well as the standard concerto repertoire, he has performed new works.
Nicholas Maw
's violin concerto is dedicated to Bell, who premiered it in 1993 and won a
Grammy Award
for his recording. He performed the solo part on
John Corigliano
's Oscar-winning soundtrack to the film
The Red Violin
and was featured in
Ladies in Lavender
. He also appeared in the movie
Music of the Heart
, with other violinists.
[
citation needed
]
Bell's instrument is the
Gibson ex Huberman
, a
Stradivarius
made in 1713 during what is known as
Stradivari
's "Golden Era". The violin was stolen twice from its previous owner,
Bronisław Huberman
; the final time, the thief confessed to the act on his deathbed.
[12]
Bell had played the violin; its owner at the time, violinist
Norbert Brainin
, jokingly told him that it could be his for $4 million. On August 3, 2001, Bell was in London to perform at
The Proms
; before the concert he was approached by
J & A Beare
. He learned that the violin was in London and about to be sold to a German industrialist to become part of a collection. Bell played the violin at the Proms that same evening.
[13]
He later sold his previous violin, the
Tom Taylor Stradivarius
,
[14]
for a little more than $2 million and bought the Gibson ex Huberman for a little under the $4 million asking price. The 2013 documentary
The Return of the Violin
tells the story of the instrument's theft, return, and subsequent acquisition by Bell.
[15]
Bell's first recording with the Gibson ex Huberman was
Romance of the Violin
for
Sony Classical Records
in 2003.
Bell served as artistic partner for the
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
from 2004 until 2007, and as a visiting professor at the
Royal Academy of Music
in London. He also serves on the artists' selection committee for the
Kennedy Center Honors
and is an adjunct associate professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
[16]
Bell won the
Avery Fisher Prize
on April 10, 2007, at
Lincoln Center
in New York City. The prize is given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement.
[17]
On May 3, 2007, Indiana University's
Jacobs School of Music
announced that Bell had joined the faculty as a senior lecturer.
[18]
In 2008, Bell received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
.
[19]
[20]
[21]
Bell collaborated with
Hans Zimmer
by providing violin solos for the
soundtrack
of the 2009 film
Angels & Demons
, based on
Dan Brown
's 2000
novel of the same name
.
[
citation needed
]
In May 2011, the
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
(ASMF) named Bell its music director.
[22]
[23]
He has recorded commercially with the ASMF for the Sony Classical label.
[24]
In July 2017, the ASMF announced a three-year extension of his contract, through 2020.
[25]
Bell and the orchestra won the
2017 Helpmann Award
for Best Individual Classical Music Performance.
[26]
In April 2024, the ASMF announced an additional extension of Bell's contract as its music director through August 2028.
[27]
In 2013, Bell accompanied
Scarlett Johansson
in the song "Before My Time". Written by
J. Ralph
for the documentary
Chasing Ice
, it received a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Original Song
.
[28]
Bell played himself in three episodes of
Mozart in the Jungle
in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
[29]
In 2016, he had a cameo in the penultimate musical episode of
Royal Pains
.
[30]
He also appeared as himself in episode 8 ("Quacktice Makes Perfect") of the 2017
Netflix
original series
Julie's Greenroom
.
[
citation needed
]
Washington Post
experiment
[
edit
]
In an experiment initiated by
The Washington Post
columnist
Gene Weingarten
, Bell donned a baseball cap and played as an incognito
busker
at the Metro subway station
L'Enfant Plaza
in Washington, D.C., on January 12, 2007. The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, seven stopped to listen to him, and one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the one who recognized him).
[12]
Three days earlier, he earned considerably more playing the same repertoire at a concert. Weingarten won the 2008
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
for his article on the experiment.
[31]
[32]
The Washington Post
posted the video on YouTube
[33]
and a feature-length documentary,
Find Your Way: A Busker's Documentary
, chronicled Bell's experience.
[34]
A somewhat inaccurate retelling of the story went viral.
[35]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Bell has three sisters.
[1]
He and his former partner, Lisa Matricardi, have three sons: Josef (born 2007),
[36]
[37]
and twins Benjamin and Samuel (born 2010).
[38]
[39]
On October 5, 2019, Bell married opera singer
Larisa Martinez
at their home in
Mount Kisco, New York
.
[40]
[41]
They also live in the
Gramercy Park
neighborhood of
Manhattan
.
[42]
Selected discography
[
edit
]
Year
|
Album
|
Billboard
Classical
|
Billboard
200
|
1988
|
Bruch
&
Mendelssohn
Violin Concertos
, London Records
|
?
|
?
|
1989
|
Faure
/
Debussy
/
Franck
Violin Sonatas
with
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
, Decca Records
|
?
|
?
|
1989
|
Saint-Saens:
Violin concerto N°3,
Lalo
,
Symphonie Espagnole
|
|
|
1990
|
Presenting Joshua Bell
, Polygram Records
|
?
|
?
|
1991
|
Chausson
Concerto,
Ravel
Piano Trio
, London Records
|
?
|
?
|
1992
|
Saint-Saens
:
Violin Concerto No. 3
/
Chausson
:
Poeme
, London Records
|
?
|
?
|
1995
|
Prokofiev
: Violin Concertos & Sonatas
, London Records
|
?
|
?
|
1995
|
Brahms
/
Schumann
Violin Concertos
, London Records
|
?
|
?
|
1996
|
The
Kreisler
Album
, London Records
|
?
|
?
|
1997
|
Barber
/
Walton
/
Bloch
Violin Concertos
, Decca Records
|
?
|
?
|
1997
|
Shostakovich
Piano Trio No. 2
, London Records
|
?
|
?
|
1999
|
Maw
Violin Concertos
, Sony Classical
|
?
|
?
|
1999
|
Gershwin
Fantasy
, Sony Classical
|
?
|
?
|
2000
|
Sibelius
&
Goldmark
: Violin Concertos
, Sony Classical
|
?
|
?
|
2000
|
Short Trip Home
, with
Edgar Meyer
,
Sam Bush
,
Mike Marshall
, Sony Classical
|
7
|
?
|
2001
|
Bernstein
West Side Story
Suite
, Sony Classical
|
3
|
?
|
2002
|
Beethoven
&
Mendelssohn
: Violin Concertos
, Sony Classical
|
18
|
?
|
2004
|
Romance of the Violin
, Sony Classical
|
1
|
176
|
2005
|
Tchaikovsky
:
Violin Concerto, Op. 35
; Melodie; Danse Russe from
Swan Lake
(Act III)
, Sony Classical
|
2
|
?
|
2005
|
OST Duft von Lavendel, Sony Classical
|
|
|
2005
|
Romance of the Violin, Sony Classical
|
|
|
2006
|
Voice of the Violin
, Sony Classical
|
1
|
?
|
2007
|
Corigliano
The Red Violin
, Sony
|
1
|
?
|
2007
|
The Essential Joshua Bell
, Sony BMG Masterworks
|
19
|
?
|
2008
|
Vivaldi
:
The Four Seasons
,
Sony BMG Masterworks
|
1
|
134
|
2009
|
Bruch, Mendelssohn, Mozart Violin Concertos (reissues)
, Decca
|
9
|
?
|
2009
|
The Best of Joshua Bell
, Sony Masterworks
|
12
|
?
|
2009
|
At Home with Friends
, Sony Masterworks
with
Chris Botti
,
Kristin Chenoweth
,
Regina Spektor
,
Anoushka Shankar
, Frankie Moreno, and
Sting
[43]
|
1
|
118
|
2012
|
French Impressions
, Sony Classical
|
1
|
139
|
2013
|
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos.
4
&
7
,
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
, Sony Masterworks
|
1
|
?
|
2013
|
Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends, Sony Classical
|
|
|
2014
|
Bach
, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sony Classical
|
?
|
?
|
2016
|
For the Love of Brahms
,
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
, Classical
|
?
|
?
|
2017
|
Joshua Bell ? The Classical Collection, Sony Classical
|
|
|
2017
|
Brigitte Klassik zum Genießen: Joshua Bell, Sony Classical
|
|
|
2018
|
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46 / Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26, Sony Classical
|
2020
|
At Home With Music
[44]
|
Soundtrack albums
[
edit
]
- Chasing Ice
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
, 2012
- The Flowers of War
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
, 2012: Joshua Bell, solo violin
- Angels & Demons
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
, 2009
- Defiance
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
, 2008
- Ladies in Lavender
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
, 2005: Joshua Bell, solo violin
- Iris
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
, 2001: Joshua Bell, solo violin
- The Red Violin
, 1998: Joshua Bell, solo violin
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Carmel McCoubrey (May 24, 2002).
"Alan P. Bell, 70, Researcher Of Influences on Homosexuality"
. Retrieved
April 12,
2024
.
- ^
Robinson, George (October 12, 2006).
"Violinist Joshua Bell walks in the footsteps of masters"
.
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
. Retrieved
October 13,
2006
.
- ^
Joshua Bell to return home for benefit performance
.
Indiana University
Media Relations. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- ^
Warren Boroson (January 20, 2012).
"Q&A with Joshua Bell"
. Jewish Standard
. Retrieved
November 16,
2019
.
- ^
The Univee, yearbook, 1978?9
- ^
"Music: The Teacher, The Lesson".
Bloomington Herald-Times
, January 15, 1989.
- ^
BHSN Yearbook, 1984.
- ^
Hadley, Donita (July 16, 2000). "Bell's Musical Journey".
The Times-Mail (Bedford, Indiana)
. p. 37.
- ^
Szatmary, Peter (April 21, 2003). "Arts awards go to Bell, others".
The Indianapolis Star
. p. 35.
- ^
Roger Webster, "Auction Helps Create Music In Two Countries,"
15 Minutes Magazine
, December 2002
- ^
15th Anniversary of the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (ARYO) "Dacha on the Green"
- ^
a
b
Gene Weingarten,
"Pearls Before Breakfast"
The Washington Post
, April 8, 2007, Page W10.
Archived
June 21, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Joshua Bell (January 26, 2017).
"Joshua Bell: Here's the story behind my very famous, once-stolen violin"
.
Tampa Bay Times
. Retrieved
August 5,
2017
.
- ^
"Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, c. 1732, the 'Tom Taylor'"
Archived
February 7, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
, accessed October 2, 2013
- ^
Andrew Druckenbrod (April 11, 2013).
"Joshua Bell treasures the Stradivarius at center of 'Return of the Violin'
"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Retrieved
August 5,
2017
.
- ^
E-strings for the future musician
.
BBC
News, July 18, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- ^
Violinist Bell wins $75,000 Fisher Prize
.
CNN
News, April 8, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2007.
- ^
"Joshua Bell to join IU Jacobs School of Music faculty"
(Press release). Indiana University. May 3, 2007
. Retrieved
April 12,
2024
.
- ^
"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement"
.
www.achievement.org
.
American Academy of Achievement
.
- ^
"2008 Summit Highlights Photo"
. 2008.
Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell receives the Golden Plate Award from Awards Council member Dr. Benjamin S. Carson.
- ^
"2009 Summit Highlights Photo"
. 2009.
Golden Plate Awards Council member and virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell performs the "Meditation" by Massenet.
- ^
James Inverne (May 27, 2011).
"Joshua Bell is the new music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields"
. Retrieved
May 29,
2011
.
- ^
"Joshua Bell Named Music Director of Academy of St. Martin in the Fields"
by Rory Williams,
Strings Magazine
(May 27, 2011
- ^
Melissa Block (February 15, 2013).
"From Bow To Baton: Violinist Joshua Bell Conducts Beethoven"
.
National Public Radio ? All Things Considered
. Retrieved
August 5,
2017
.
- ^
"Academy of St Martin in the Fields Music Director Joshua Bell renews contract for a further three years"
(PDF)
(Press release). Academy of St Martin in the Fields. July 27, 2017
. Retrieved
August 2,
2017
.
- ^
Hannah Francis (July 24, 2017).
"Helpmann Awards 2017 winners: Kosky's
Saul
and Belvoir's
The Drover's Wife
dominate"
. Retrieved
April 12,
2024
.
- ^
"Joshua Bell extends tenure as Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields"
(Press release). IMG Artists. April 12, 2024
. Retrieved
April 12,
2024
.
- ^
Carlson, Erin (February 20, 2013).
"Oscars 2013: Best Song Contender J. Ralph on Scarlett Johansson's 'World-Class' Singing Voice"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
July 12,
2013
.
- ^
"Joshua Bell"
. IMDb.com
. Retrieved
September 29,
2016
.
- ^
"Grammy Winning Violinist Joshua Bell Guest-Stars on TV's Royal Pains"
.
Jacobs School of Music
. Archived from
the original
on September 18, 2020
. Retrieved
June 20,
2016
.
- ^
Howard Kurtz
(April 8, 2008).
"
The Post
Wins 6 Pulitzer Prizes"
.
The Washington Post
. p. A01
. Retrieved
February 24,
2009
.
- ^
Barbara and David P. Mikkelson. "Bell Curved"
Snopes
; January 6, 2009
- ^
Video:
"Stop and Hear the Music"
. The Washington Post. April 10, 2007.
Archived
from the original on December 12, 2021
. Retrieved
February 17,
2012
.
- ^
Find Your Way: A Busker's Documentary
at
IMDb
- ^
"Gene Weingarten: Setting the record straight on the Joshua Bell experiment"
.
The Washington Post
. October 14, 2014.
Archived
from the original on March 22, 2023.
- ^
"Joshua Bell: The lad with the strad grows up"
by Peter Culshaw,
The Daily Telegraph
, February 19, 2009.
- ^
"A touring Joshua Bell sustained by thoughts of home"
by Greg Stepanich,
The Miami Herald
, January 20, 2011.
- ^
"Joshua Bell Tells All"
by Charles Donelan,
Santa Barbara Independent
, February 14, 2013
- ^
Kerry Clawson (February 21, 2020).
"Violinist Bell, Academy to bring energy to Akron"
.
Akron Beacon Journal
. Retrieved
January 28,
2021
.
- ^
"The music man: Josh Bell at mid-career"
by
Anne Midgette
,
The Washington Post
, February 6, 2017.
- ^
2019-10-08T10:13:00+01:00.
"Joshua Bell gets married"
.
The Strad
. Retrieved
October 11,
2019
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Boroson, Warren.
"Q&A with Joshua Bell"
.
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com
. Retrieved
September 11,
2023
.
- ^
At Home with Friends
at
AllMusic
- ^
"Joshua Bell: At Home with Music | PBS"
.
PBS
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Academics
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|