Rachel Podger
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Rachel Podger, “the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin,” (The Times) has established herself as a leading interpreter of the Baroque and Classical. She was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Music / Kohn Foundation Bach Prize in October 2015. Rachel was Gramophone Artist of the Year in 2018, Ambassador for REMA’s Early Music Day 2020, and is a Patron of the Continuo Foundation, an Ambassador for the Learned Society of Wales, and the Principal Guest Director for Tafelmusik. In 2023, Rachel won Opus Klassik’s ‘Solo Instrumental Award’ as well as BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Recording of the Year 2023’ and ‘Instrumental Award’ for her solo album Tutta Sola.
A creative programmer, she is the founder and Artistic Director of the Brecon Baroque Festival and her ensemble Brecon Baroque. Rachel continues to broaden her relationships with orchestras, ensembles and venues worldwide. As a soloist and chamber musician, highlights have included Kings Place Artist in Focus, the Austrian premiere of A Guardian Angel with VOCES8 at Vienna Konzerthaus, her debut with Scottish Chamber Orchestra, a return to Netherlands Bach Society, a Vivaldi tour with Arte dei Suonatori, and continued collaborations with Lucie Horsch and Fagiolini.
Rachel has won numerous awards including two Baroque Instrumental Gramophone Awards for Vivaldi La Stravaganza (2003) and Biber Rosary Sonatas (2016), the Diapason d’Or de l’année in the Baroque Ensemble category for her recording of the Vivaldi’s La Cetra Concertos (2012), two BBC Music Magazine awards in the instrumental category for Guardian Angel (2014) and the concerto category for the complete Vivaldi L’Estro Armonico Concertos (2016).
A dedicated educator, she holds the Micaela Comberti Chair for Baroque Violin (founded in 2008) at the Royal Academy of Music and the Jane Hodge Foundation International Chair in Baroque Violin at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Rachel is a regular guest professor at The Juilliard School in New York.
