LIVIU PRUNARU
B i o g r a p h y
Violinist Liviu Prunaru has won the top prizes and gained international recognition at the
most prestigious International Violin Competitions in the world. Mr. Prunaru was the 1997
Gold Medallist of the Dong-A International Violin Competition in Korea, Silver Medallist
of the 1998 Indianapolis International Violin Competition in the USA, Silver (2nd Grand
Prize) Medallist at the 1993 Queen Elizabeth in Brussels, Gold Medallist at the 1991 Rodolfo
Lipizer International Violin Competition in Italy, and Gold Medallist at the R. Molinari Violin
Competition in Switzerland, among many others.
Mr. Prunaru made his New York City debut with the Juilliard Symphony in Lincoln
Center’s Alice Tully Hall after capturing the 1st grand prize in the Juilliard Mendelssohn
Competition. Also in 1999, Mr. Prunaru won the 1st grand prize at the E. Nakamichi
Wieniawski Violin Concerto Competition resulting in performances with the Aspen Young
Artists Orchestra.
Mr. Prunaru has been featured as a soloist with: Concertgebouw Amsterdam,
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, Belgium National
Orchestra, Westdeutsche Sinfonia, Athens Philharmonic Orchestra, Bari Symphony
Orchestra, Bucharest Radio-Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Mayo of Buenos Aires,
Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Meridian Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, the
Juilliard Symphony, and the Puchon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea among many others.
Mr. Prunaru has collaborated with many renowned conductors including Lord Yehudi
Menuhin, Fabio Luisi, Emmanuel Krivine, Arthur Arnold, Alexandru Lascae, Georges
Octors, Dmitri Lyss, Alexander Dimitriev, Peter Oundjian, Yuri Simonov, Andrew Litton,
Peter Braschkat, Cristian Mandeal, Lukas Vis, Horia Andreescu, Mario Benzecry, Park Eun
Seong amongst many others. Mr. Prunaru performs frequently as a soloist and in recital in all
major cities in the world.
Mr. Prunaru has performed at many prestigious Festivals including Aspen (US),
Menuhin (CH), Enescu (RO), Brussels, Buenos Aires, Wallonie, Flanders, Evian, Athens,
Incontri in Terra di Siena, Ascoli, and Salzburg Festivals.
Mr. Prunaru has recorded many CDs with Camerata Lysy, as well as his own debut
CD featuring works by Strauss, Brahms, Gluck, de Falla, Saint-Saens, and Sarasate with
pianist Luc Devos, which is released by Pavane Records.
Born in Craiova, Romania, Mr. Prunaru began his violin studies at the age of 6 with
Professor Oprisan. His teachers: Mr.Berbec, Ms. Mihaela Mailat, Ms.Adriana Carpen and
Ms.Cornelia Bonzetti, guided him through his early years. During this period he won seven
national competitions and 1st prize at the International Kocian competition of Czechoslovakia.
Then in 1990, Mr. Prunaru was invited by violinist and Maestro Alberto Lysy to study with
him at the renowned Menuhin Academy of Gstaad, Switzerland, where he worked among
great artists like Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Igor Oistrakh, Ruggiero Ricci, Nikita Magaloff, Jean-
Pierre Rampal, Peter-Lukas Graf, and Pierre Amoyal.
Mr. Prunaru completed his professional studies with Miss Dorothy DeLay in New
York, where he also actively participated in Master Classes with Itzhak Perlman.
The Swiss record company Claves released all three violin concertos by Saint-Saens
where violinist Liviu Prunaru is accompanied by the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris and the
distinguished conductor Lawrence Foster.
3 more recordings came out in 2005, Beethoven's Integral violin and piano Sonatas,
with Dana Protopopescu, Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Virtuosy from Lviv, conductor Serhyi
Burko and Dvorak's violin concerto with David Angus, conductor and Symfonie Orkester of
Flanders.
The 2011-2012 musical season will include tours, recitals, concerts and Master
classes in US, Korea, Japan, China, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Austria,
France, Germany, UK, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Argentina, Spain, Italy,
Portugal and Romania.
In September 2006, after 14 years of teaching at the Menuhin Academy, Liviu
Prunaru became concert master of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam which
received, in 2008, for the first time, the title of the best orchestra in the world!
October 2010 makes another turn in Prunaru’s musical life with when he accepts to
become the musical director of International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland and
therefore to continue the tradition of his beloved Masters Yehudi Menuhin and Alberto Lysy!
Besides teaching and being a concert master, Liviu Prunaru has a very active solo
career. He is very often invited to be soloist from Asia ( Japan, Taiwan, Korea) to both
Americas (he’ll perform soon in Argentina, at the Teatro Colon and Indianapolis) passing
through the whole Europe. In parallel, he gives many recitals and records almost every
year. The last addition to his discotheque includes the Integral of Grieg Sonatas for violin
and piano, a live recording of a project released in Romania called the Duel of the Violins
(Stradivari VS Guarneri) and the last recording, a chamber music project including the Octets
by Svendsen and Bruch in the company of his beloved colleagues, former students of the
Menuhin Academy, who reunite every year under the name “THARICE” to give concerts and
make recordings!
He is playing on a Stradivari dated 1694, graciously offered by the Concertgebouw’s board of sponsors.