jack liebeck, violin
“His playing is virtually flawless in its technical ease, scintillating articulateness and purity of tone.” (Gramophone)
Possessing flawless technical mastery and a “beguiling silvery tone” (BBC Music Magazine), violinist Jack Liebeck’s playing embraces the worlds of elegant chamber-chic Mozart through to the impassioned mastery required to frame Brett Dean The Lost Art of Letter Writing. Jack’s fascination with all things scientific has included performing the world premiere of Dario Marianelli Voyager Violin Concerto and collaborations with Professor Brian Cox; he programmes his own annual festival Oxford May Music around the themes of music, science and the arts. A professional photographer, he loves film and can be heard in the soundtracks of The Theory of Everything, Jane Eyre and Anna Karenina. Jack is a dedicated educator holding a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music – tips include “sing your way to string perfection” (The Strad). Jack is also a member of Trio Dali “virtuosic brio…this is a group to watch” (The Australian).
A renowned soloist and chamber musician, Jack has performed with all the major British orchestras under conductors such as Andrew Litton, Leonard Slatkin, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Sir Mark Elder, and further afield with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic (under Sakari Oramo), Swedish Radio (Daniel Harding), Oslo Philharmonic (Jukka Pekka Saraste), Belgian National, Polish Radio Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Moscow State Symphony, St Louis Symphony (David Robertson), Indianapolis Symphony (Douglas Boyd), Melbourne Symphony (Jakub Hrůša) among many others.
Collaborators throughout his career include superb artists such as Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Angela Hewitt, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piers Lane, Julius Drake, Bengt Forsberg, Michael Collins, Ashley Wass and Katya Apekisheva.
Jack released his debut album, Works for Violin & Piano with Katya Apekisheva, in 2002 on Quartz to critical acclaim (Telegraph CD of the Week and nominated for a Classical Brit Award). His next two recordings were for Sony Classics. Dvorak, won Jack the 2010 Classical Brit Award – Young Artist of the Year and his Brahms Violin Sonatas with pianist Katya Apekisheva was received with critical acclaim. “His tone is sweet and effortlessly expressive, his lyrical spans marked by many a tastefully judged portamento.” (Strad Magazine)
In 2014 Jack began his recording relationship with Hyperion Records with releases of Kreisler Violin Music with pianist Katya Apekisheva. His Bruch concerto series with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins has received wide critical acclaim “delightful mix of charm and bucolic spirit through Liebeck’s remarkable artistry and imagination” (The Telegraph) while his last in the series, Violin Concerto No 2, was released in early 2017.
Jack plays the ‘Ex-Wilhelmj’ J.B. Guadagnini dated 1785 and is generously loaned a Joseph Henry bow by Kathron Sturrock in the memory of her late husband Professor David Bennett.