Rodney Friend MBE (born in Bradford, 1939) is an English violinist. Born in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, Friend's father was a local tailor. At the age of 12 he won a scholarship to 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 ...

after Sir Reginald Thatcher, the then principal of the R.A.M, heard Friend perform for the first time. Friend also studied subsequently at the Royal Manchester College of Music. At the Royal Academy of Music, Friend studied under the tutelage of Frederick Grinke. He later studied with Endre Wolf,

Menuhin Menuhin or Menuchin is the surname of: *Hephzibah Menuhin (1920–1981), American-Jewish concert pianist * Joel Ryce-Menuhin (1933–1998), Jungian psychologist * Linda Menuhin (born 1950), Iraqi-born Israeli journalist, editor, and blogger ...

and Szeryng. In 1964 Friend became the youngest ever leader/concertmaster of the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

, working closely with Bernard Haitink, Barenboim, Solti and Giulini. In 1975, he was invited by the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

to be their Concertmaster, playing concerts and recording worldwide with Bernstein, Boulez and Mehta. In 1979, he was a soloist with the

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. ...

, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. In 1991 he formed the Solomon Trio with whom he toured Europe extensively. In 2008 the first two volumes of his books The Orchestral Violinist were published. Friend is at present an artistic director at Cambridge International String Academy at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. He plays a violin made by

Giuseppe Guarneri Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his i ...

dated 1696. He was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to music. In 2019, he published a workbook, The Violin in 5ths — Developing Intonation and Sound, in which he detailed a teaching method regarding intonation and sound that he has developed and perfected over decades of experience working with many virtuosos including

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...

and

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, List of violists, violist, and Conducting, conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the ...

In popular culture

In 1972 whilst leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra Rodney performed with the orchestra during their recording sessions for the Peddlers' album ''Suite London'' released on Philips records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friend, Rodney English classical violinists Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Concertmasters Musicians from Bradford 1939 births Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century British classical violinists 21st-century English violinists 21st-century English male musicians Concertmasters of the New York Philharmonic English male classical violinists Alumni of the Royal Manchester College of Music