9.00pm, Wednesday 4 August 2010, Teatro Signorelli
Performing with Steven Isserlis (cello), Dénes Várjon (piano) and Orchestra della Toscana

Two performances at 2.30pm and 8.00pm, Thursday 5 August 2010, Teatro Signorelli

"Twin Spirits" performance portraying the love of Robert and Clara Schumann in words and music, featuring Sting and Trudie Styler as well as Joshua Bell (violin), Nina Kotova (cello), John Chest (baritone),Barrett Wissman (piano) , Natasha Paremski (piano) and Charles Dance (narrator).

We are delighted to welcome Joshua Bell back to the Tuscan Sun Festival for a fifth year, and after his sold out concert last year, we advise you to book early. 

Joshua Bell has captured the public’s attention like no other classical violinist of his time. His 2009-2010 season kicked off with the September world-wide Sony Classical release of At Home with Friends featuring Chris Botti,  Sting,  Josh Groban,  Kristin Chenoweth, Regina Spektor and others

Named the 2010 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, season highlights include performances at the Hollywood Bowl, Verbier, Tuscan Sun, Mostly Mozart, Salzburg, Tanglewood, Menuhin, Gstaad and Enescu festivals and a return to the  BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. U.S. dates include appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony and The National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.  Bell performs at the Huberman Festival with the Czestochowa Philharmonic and returns to Moscow  to perform with the Russian National Orchestra. 2010 will see Bell on a European and U.S. recital tour  which includes Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, and London’s Wigmore Hall; a performance for the World  Economic Forum, and dates in Paris, Budapest, Madrid, Athens, Zurich and Istanbul, and a tour to Asia with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Bell came to national attention at age 14 in his orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra.  A Carnegie Hall debut, the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and a recording contract further confirmed his presence.

Bell has recorded more than 35 CDs since his first recording at age 18, resulting in a richly varied catalogue. He received a Mercury Prize and Grammy Award for the Maw Violin Concerto, the Gramophone Award for the Barber and Walton Violin Concertos and Bloch’s Baal Shem and the Echo Klassik Award for his Sibelius/Goldmark concerto recording. He has collaborated with numerous artists and on film scores including the Oscar-winning soundtrack for The Red Violin.

Bell received his first violin at age four and by 12 he was serious about the instrument, thanks to the inspiration of violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold.

In 1989, Bell received an Artist Diploma from Indiana University.   In ’05 he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and he is the recipient of The Avery Fisher Prize.

Bell plays the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius.         www.joshuabell.com

Contact: Jane Covner jcovner@jagpr.com 818 905-5511