Andrés Cárdenes
Violin
Soloist
Recognized worldwide as a musical phenomenon, Grammy-nominated Andrés Cárdenes parlays his myriad talents into one of classical music’s most versatile careers. A ferocious, passionate and personally charismatic artist, Cuban-born Cárdenes has garnered international acclaim from critics and audiences alike for his compelling solo violin, conducting, viola, chamber music, concertmaster and recorded performances.
Since capturing the Second Prize in the 1982 Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition in Moscow, Mr. Cárdenes has appeared as soloist with over one hundred orchestras on four continents, including those of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Moscow, Bavarian Radio, Helsinki, Shanghai, Caracas and Barcelona. He has collaborated with many of today’s greatest conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir André Previn, Leonard Slatkin,, Gerard Schwarz, David Zinman and Manfred Honeck.
Mr. Cárdenes is in growing demand as a conductor. His appearances with the Bavarian Radio, Neue Philarmonie Westfallen, San Diego Symphony, Sinfonica de Venezuela, Orquesta Fundacíon Beethoven (Santiago, Chile) and the OFUNAM Orchestra of Mexico City have received rave reviews. Headlines proclaimed “Cárdenes conducts Pittsburgh Symphony with epic mastery” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) after stepping in for an ailing Robert Spano. Mr. Cárdenes has served as Artistic Director and Leader of the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra from its inception in 1999 through 2009.
This year and next Mr. Cárdenes continues his project to record many standard and contemporary concerti. Released in 2009 are recordings of concerti by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Barber and David Stock on the Artek and Albany labels. Plans to record Bartok’s Second Violin Concerto and the new version of the Viola Concerto are slated for 2010, along with other sonata recordings with pianist Ian Hobson. A recording of the complete works for violin by Leonardo Balada on Naxos, the complete Sonatas by Hindemith on Artek, and the Beethoven Violin Concerto on Zephyr, will be released in the spring of 2011. Cárdenes’ discography includes over two dozen recordings of concerti, sonatas, short works, orchestral and chamber music on the Ocean, Naxos, Sony, Arabesque, RCA, ProArte, Telarc, Artek, Melodya and Enharmonic labels.
Mr, Cardenes has twice served as President of the Jury of the Stradivarius International Violin Competition and will be on the jury of the 2011 Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition in Moscow.
The year 2010 marked the 35th anniversary of Mr. Cárdenes’ renowned teaching and pedagogical career, which began as an assistant to his teacher and mentor Josef Gingold at Indiana University. Today, Mr. Cárdenes continues Professor Gingold’s legacy and discipline while holding the title of Distinguished Professor of Violin Studies and the Dorothy Richard Starling/Alexander Speyer Jr. Endowed Chair at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music. In addition, Cárdenes gives Master Classes regularly at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the Manhattan School, Cleveland Institute, The Curtis Institute, and at virtually every major university and conservatory in the United States.
In 2008, Cárdenes and his wife Monique Mead were appointed Music Directors of Strings Music Festival Orchestra. He is the violinist of the Diaz Trio and the Carnegie Mellon Piano Trio.
A Cultural Ambassador for UNICEF from 1980-1991 and an indefatigable spokesperson for the arts, Mr. Cárdenes has received numerous awards for his teaching, performances, recordings and humanitarian efforts, most notably from the cities of Los Angeles and Shanghai and the Mexican Red Cross. He was named Pittsburgh Magazine’s 1997 Classical Artist of the Year and received the 2001 “Shalom” Award from Kollell’s International Jewish Center for promoting world harmony and peace through music.
Mr. Cárdenes was appointed Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra by Maestro Lorin Maazel in 1989 and departed after the 2010 season to concentrate on his conducting, solo and chamber music careers. He is married to violinist and music educator Monique Mead. They have a daughter, Isabel-Annik, and a son, Marco Valentin.
* Exclusive Management: Andrés Cárdenes is managed by American International Artists, Inc. Cynthia B. Herbst, President. (cynthia@aiArtists.com).
