Elizabeth Wallfisch (née Hunt; born 28 January 1952) is an Australian

Baroque violin A Baroque violin is a violin set up in the manner of the baroque period of music. The term includes original instruments which have survived unmodified since the Baroque period, as well as later instruments adjusted to the baroque setup, and moder ...

ist.

Biography

Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Wallfisch debuted as a concert soloist at the age of 12 and took part in such competitions as the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Concerto Competition. She was educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak in Melbourne, leaving in 1969. She studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

under Frederick Grinke and was awarded, among other prizes, the President's Prize. At the age of 20 she won the Franco Gulli Senior Prize for violin, and was jointly awarded the Mozart Memorial Prize. In 1974, Wallfisch won the prize for most outstanding performance of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

in the Carl Flesch Competition. She began to perform with orchestras such as the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History Begin ...

and the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...

in England, establishing herself as a concert performer in the UK. She developed a reputation as a specialist

ist. Playing on a period instrument, Wallfisch has recorded and performed many Baroque works, well-known and obscure, from

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

's '' The Four Seasons'' to a collection of Telemann's Violin Concertos (6 CDs, CPO) to the

Pietro Locatelli Pietro Antonio Locatelli (3 September 1695 in Bergamo – 30 March 1764 in Amsterdam) was an Italian Baroque composer and violinist. Biography Bergamo Little is known about Locatelli's childhood. In his early youth, he was the third violinist a ...

Violin Concertos, Op. 3. In 1989, she co-founded The Locatelli Trio (since renamed Convivium), along with Richard Tunnicliffe (cello) and Paul Nicholson (harpsichord). This ensemble records and performs less well-known works from the Baroque, including violin sonatas by Locatelli, Corelli and Tartini. Wallfisch has led many diverse ensembles and orchestras around the world; these include the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and ...

, the

Hanover Band The Hanover Band is a British orchestra specialised in historically informed performance, founded in 1980 by its artistic director, Caroline Brown. The group's website explains the name thus: '' 'Hanover' signifies the Hanoverian period 1714-18 ...

and the Raglan Baroque Players. In her home country of Australia, she has led such ensembles as the

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is an Australian orchestra focused on chamber music based in Sydney. History The Australian Chamber Orchestra was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''T ...

and the

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (ABO) is an Australian period instrument orchestra specialising in the performance of baroque and classical music. Founders The orchestra's founder and artistic director is Paul Dyer. In 2013 Dyer was ...

. Academic positions, past and present, held by Wallfisch include Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, teaching at the

in London, and artist-in-residence at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Personal life

Wallfisch is married to the British cellist

Raphael Wallfisch Raphael Wallfisch (born 15 June 1953 in London) is an English cellist. Background Wallfisch was born into a family of distinguished musicians; his father was the pianist Peter Wallfisch and his mother is the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisc ...

. Their three children are producer of film scores and

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

-member

Benjamin Wallfisch Benjamin Mark Lasker Wallfisch (born 7 August 1979) is a British composer, conductor, and music producer known for his work on film scores. He has contributed to over 50 feature films since the mid-2000s, including notable works like ''Blade Ru ...

, cellist and baritone Simon Wallfisch, and singer-songwriter

Joanna Wallfisch Joanna Wallfisch (born 1985 in London) is a British-Australian singer-songwriter and jazz singer. Life and career Wallfisch grew up in London in a musical family. Her father Raphael Wallfisch is a British cellist, her mother Elizabeth Wallfisc ...

. Elizabeth Wallfisch is the granddaughter of the British conductor Albert Coates, daughter of British oboist Tamara Coates, twin sister of the late Australian-Canadian cellist Tanya Prochazka, and step-daughter of cellist Marianne Hunt.

Accolades

In 2021 she received the Telemann Prize by the city of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

References

External links

Hyperion Records: Elizabeth Wallfisch

Goldberg Magazine: Elizabeth Wallfisch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallfisch, Elizabeth 1952 births 20th-century Australian classical violinists Australian performers of early music Women performers of early music Living people Baroque-violin players Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music 21st-century Australian classical violinists 21st-century Australian musicians Australian women classical violinists 20th-century Australian women musicians 21st-century Australian women musicians People educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak Musicians from Melbourne