The New York Times“A staggering debut.
After lifting his bow above the strings of his instrument repeatedly, like a tennis player bouncing the ball before a serve, he softly let out into the work’s opening solo, resisting its invitation for a vibrato-heavy, singing line and opting instead for something lighter and more objective, befitting the transparency of the score.
Modest at first, he was nevertheless an immediately commanding presence. Part of it was his pop star look, including platform boots and a mane of long, wavy hair with a topknot. But he was also charismatic in his adventurous rubato later in the Allegro moderato; in his simply lovely and smartly shaped melodies in the second movement; and in his folk freedom and crunchy chords in the Spanish-inflected finale. His encore — Paganini’s showy Caprice No. 24, made showier in an arrangement by Aleksandar Sedlar and Radulovic — was a dose of old-fashioned fun, with the kind of virtuosic, at times laugh-out-loud showmanship that has had audiences cheering for centuries.”
Serbian-French violinist Nemanja Radulović champions the power of music to bring people together with his unique energy and candor, thrilling virtuosity, depth of expression, and adventurous programming. Winner of the 2024 OPUS KLASSIK Award for Concerto Recording of the Year (Beethoven: Violin Concerto & Kreutzer Sonata), Radulović describes the concert stage as a “second home.” His daring approach—marked by risk-taking and spontaneity—transforms each performance into a compelling blend of tradition and bold experimentation.
Radulović begins the 2024/2025 season with a return to the BBC Proms with Jamie Martín and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, following his celebrated 2019 Proms debut with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Karabits, featuring a Barber Violin Concerto praised for its “lyric delicacy and last-movement super-virtuosity” (The Times). He embarks on a season-long residency as Featured Artist of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, where he will perform Khachaturian and Shostakovich violin concerti with Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, as well as play/direct a chamber music program with Philharmonia musicians. In North America, Radulović debuts with Pittsburgh Symphony and Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, and returns to Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Recent highlights include engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Munich Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony, Vienna Radio Symphony and Sydney Symphony, along with sold-out performances with his ensemble Double Sens at La Folle Journée de Nantes and Chorégies d’Orange, and Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Berlin Philharmonie.
Radulović’s recordings, including his critically acclaimed Beethoven album (2023) and newly released second Bach album (2024) with Double Sens, reflect his restless curiosity and desire to explore. Signed exclusively to Warner Classics in 2021, Radulović’s debut album on the label, ROOTS, represents a beguiling sonic journey inspired by his many influences. His previous album, Baïka, one of nine successful recordings with Deutsche Grammophon and Universal Music Group, was declared “a fiery whirlwind of an album” by BBC Music Magazine, which awarded it five stars and the coveted Critics’ Choice Award. Gramophone Magazine praised Baïka’s “imaginative pairings,” noting that “Radulović dispatches [the Khachaturian Violin Concerto] with energy and firepower,” and that “with Radulović as narrator, this is an album with entrancing tales to tell.” Winner of the 2015 Echo Klassik Award for Newcomer of the Year, Radulović seeks to broaden the boundaries of classical music.
Radulović maintains an equal passion for the intimacy of chamber music and is an increasingly active recitalist on the international stage. He has performed at distinguished venues such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonie, Salle Pleyel, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Athens Megaron, Suntory Hall, Teatro Colón, and Melbourne Recital Centre.
Radulović regularly undertakes a play/direct role with Double Sens, which was recently celebrated for their unprecedented musical film Unique, featuring selections by Bach, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and a new arrangement by frequent collaborator Aleksandar Sedlar of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, filmed and recorded live at the famed Neolithic site in Carnac, France. In December 2024, Radulović and Double Sens will embark on a European tour with concerts across France, Germany, Austria, and Estonia, followed by return performances in Japan in early 2025.
Born in Serbia in 1985, Nemanja Radulović studied at the Faculty of Arts and Music in Belgrade, Hochschule für Musik Saar, Stauffer Academy with Salvatore Accardo, and the Conservatoire de Paris with Patrice Fontanarosa.
NOVEMBER 2024