Harriet Mackenzie – violin
“Searing Intensity... A performance full of panache.... captivating” -The Strad
Harriet Mackenzie is an internationally renowned concerto soloist and has performed across five continents. Her recordings include concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Nova and the English Symphony Orchestra and these have received international acclaim, including Five Stars in The Times (Richard Morrison); ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone Magazine, cited for Harriet’s “superbly responsive playing … faultless technique and unfailing insight” and nominated for 'Recording of The Year' in Music Web International: "There is a completeness, a confidence, an honesty and a consistent lyrical beauty that has moved me again and again. These qualities all emerge in Harriet Mackenzie’s utterly magisterial performance... Harriet Mackenzie’s commitment to these composers and these works is obvious, her performances are riveting. She needs to be making more records for sure." (Richard Hanlon). Her recording frequently top the recordings of the year lists: her recording of the Wall of Water violin concerto was chosen by Guy Rickards as one of his top three recordings of 2015 in Gramophone Magazine; her recording of Christopher Gunning's concerto was chosen by Norman Lebrecht as one of his top recordings of 2016. She has recorded on the NMC, Discovery, Nimbus and Dutton labels. Live broadcasts include BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and Hungarian National Radio. As well as performing all the standard repertoire, Harriet is an ambassador for contemporary music and is aware that she is creating a legacy with new works. She has performed many world premieres with music specifically written for her, including Robert Fokkens’ violin concerto (premiered Southbank Centre, London) and Graham Coatman’s violin concerto, (premiered Swaledale Festival) and Deborah Prichard's 'Wall of Water' violin concerto with the English Symphony Orchestra, inspired by the paintings of Maggi Hambling (premiered LSO St Luke's) and Julian Joseph's concerto (premiered Salisbury International Festival). She has performed concertos and recitals in prestigious halls such as the Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Budapest Marble Hall, Purcell Room, Manchester Bridgewater Hall, and Kyiv Hall of Marble Columns. In 2015, she was honoured to to perform Janacek's The Fiddler's Child for the 80th birthday celebrations of conductor Diego Masson. A multi-faceted virtuoso, she is also fascinated by world music styles and composes and improvises in many different styles. In 2016 she directed and performed Piazzolla's 'Four Seasons of Buenos Aires' in the Auditorio National Madrid with the London-Vienna Kammerorkester which has lead to many more performances directing and to the formation of her own string orchestra the 'Celoniatus Ensemble' named after her 1730 Italian violin.
In addition to her solo work she is a lover of chamber music and is a founder member of the innovative trio Kosmos Ensemble, violin duo Retorica, Karolos Ensemble and also performs with pianists Peter Donohoe, Anna Tilbrook, Danny Driver and guitarist Morgan Szymanski.
Harriet graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with First Class honours, M.Mus and DipRAM. In 2015, she was awarded the Richard Carne Fellowship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music. Also in 2015 she was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for her outstanding contribution to music.In 2022 Harriet was honoured to be Associate Artist for Salisbury International Festival. www.harrietmackenzie.com, @harrietviolin, facebook.com/harriet.mackenzie.9
