Jonathan Carney

Jonathan Carney is well known to Baltimore audiences as concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a post that he has held since 2002. Hailed as one of the great concertmasters of his generation, he comes from a unique musical background: All six members of his family graduated from The Juilliard School in New York.

After completing his Juilliard studies with Ivan Galamian and Christine Dethier, Mr. Carney was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to continue his studies at the Royal College of Music in London. He made successful tours of the Americas, Europe, and the Far East as both concertmaster and soloist with numerous international ensembles, including the orchestras of Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Helsinki. Then Vladimir Ashkenazy invited him to become concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a post that he held from 1991 until 2002. He also directed the Royal Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble.

From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Carney was also concertmaster of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, performing the Bruch, Mozart, Brahms, Janacek, and Nielsen concertos; the Bottesini Grand Duo; and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, broadcast live by the BBC from London’s Barbican Hall.

Mr. Carney has appeared as a soloist throughout Europe, working with such conductors as Daniele Gatti, Yakov Kreizberg, and Yuri Temirkanov, and making an extensive South American tour with Yehudi Menuhin. Other recent engagements include the BBC Philharmonic, the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, and a U.S. and U.K. tour with pianist Kathron Sturrock, culminating in a critically acclaimed London recital. This season includes European tours with violinist sister Laurie, performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Basque National Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony, and the continental premiere of the Britten Double Concerto with Gatti and the Royal Philharmonic. An avid exponent of 20th Century music, Mr. Carney plays solo works by Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Janacek, Hindemith, Glass, Cage, Takemitsu, Maxwell Davies, Britten, William Bolcom, and John Corigliano.

Mr. Carney has recorded for CBS Masterworks, Decca, ASV, Naxos, and Tring International. Among his recordings are Brahms, Beethoven, and Franck sonatas; Beethoven trios; Mozart Concerti Nos. 3 and 5 and the Sinfonia Concertante; Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons; The Lark Ascending; virtuoso works of Sarasate and Kreisler; solo works by John Cage and Bruno Moderna; music of Ned Rorem and John McCabe with the Fibonacci Sequence and Kathron Sturrock; an award-winning recording of the Nielsen Concerto with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; and Mr. Carney conducting Michael Nyman’s The Piano Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic. A chamber music review in The Strad stated that “their playing is…refreshingly imaginative….Their reading of the Kreutzer Sonata is so perceptive, detailed and of such natural musicality that criticism is almost disarmed.”

Mr. Carney plays a 1687 Stradivarius, the Mercur-Avery.

Artist biography from 2017.