Irvine Arditti

About Irvine Arditti

For several decades Irvine Arditti has been considered to be one of the most important performers in the new music world. In addition to his legendary career as first violinist of the Arditti Quartet, he has also premiered a large number of solo works.

Irvine Arditti was born in London in 1953 and began to study at the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 16. In 1976 he joined the London Symphony Orchestra and after two years, at the age of 25, became its co-leader. He left the orchestra in 1980 to devote more time to the Arditti Quartet, which he had founded as a student. He has performed with numerous prestigious orchestras and ensembles. His recordings of works by Elliott Carter, Julio Estrada, Brian Ferneyhough, and Franco Donatoni for solo violin as well as his recording of Luigi Nono's "La Lontananza" (Montaigne Auvidis) have won many awards. His recording of John Cage's "Freeman Etudes" for solo violin as part of his complete Cage Violin Music series for the American label Mode Records has made music history. In 2013 his book "The Techniques of Violin Playing" (together with Robert HP Platz) was published, and in 2023 his book "Collaborations" by Schott Music.