Elmar Oliveira (born June 28, 1950) is an American

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist.

Early life

The son of Portuguese immigrants, Elmar Oliveira was born in Naugatuck,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Oliveira was nine when he began studying the violin with his brother John. At age 16 he appeared in a nationally-televised concert from

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of child prodigy performers hosted by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, as part of Bernstein's

Young People's Concerts The Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic are the longest-running series of family concerts of classical music in the world. Symphony concerts for young people in New York City (before 1924) On November 26, 1898, conductor F ...

series. He later studied with Ariana Bronne and Raphael Bronstein at the Hartt College of Music and the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

. In 1978 he won (ex aequo together with Ilya Grubert) the first prize at the Tchaikowsky Competition in Moscow.

Career

He was a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominee for his 1990 CD of the Barber Concerto with

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

and the Saint Louis Symphony. His recorded works for Artek, Angel, Sony Masterworks, Vox, Delos, IMP, Naxos, Ondine, Élan, and Melodiya range widely from works by

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

and

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 ...

to contemporary composers. His best-selling 1997 recording of the Rautavaara Violin Concerto with the

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(Ondine) won a Cannes Classical Award and has appeared on Gramophone’s "Editor’s Choice" and other best recordings lists around the world. In 1981, he was a soloist with the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. Oliveira is a Distinguished Artist in Residence at the

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Conservatory of Music in

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Violins

Elmar Oliveira performs on an instrument known as the "Stretton", made ca. 1729-30 by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu, and on several other violins by outstanding contemporary makers, including Michael Koeberling and John Young. Before purchasing the Stretton in 1994, Oliveira owned and performed with the 1697 Molitor Stradivarius, which he purchased in 1989.

Awards and honors

Oliveira has received

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from Manhattan School of Music and

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

. He received the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

, Portugal’s highest civilian honor. He has served on the juries of some of the most prestigious violin competitions, including the Montreal, Indianapolis, Naumburg, and Vianna da Motta. He remains the only American violinist to win the Gold Medal at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky International Competition, which he did in 1978. He is also the first violinist to receive the coveted Avery Fisher Prize in 1983, in addition to capturing First Prizes at the Naumburg International Competition and the G.B. Dealey Competition.

References

External links

* Elmar Oliveira's website, http://www.elmaroliveira.com/ * Answers.com biography, http://www.answers.com/topic/elmar-oliveira?cat=entertainment
Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliveira, Elmar American male violinists Living people 1950 births American people of Portuguese descent University of Hartford Hartt School alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition 21st-century American violinists