Simone Lamsma

Hailed for her “brilliant… polished, expressive and intense” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) and “absolutely stunning” (Chicago Tribune) playing, Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma is respected by critics, peers and audiences as one of classical music’s most striking and captivating musical personalities.

With an extensive repertoire of over 60 Violin Concertos, Simone’s recent seasons have seen her perform with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Notable recent highlights include her debut with the Chicago Symphony, described by the Chicago Tribune as “piercingly beautiful”.

Past seasons also marked several premières of new works by Simone, among which the world première of a violin concerto by Matijs de Roo during the ZaterdagMatinee series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and a successful performance of the French première of Michel van der Aa’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestre National de Lyon.

A dedicated chamber musician, recent recital appearances include Simone’s highly anticipated debuts in London’s Wigmore Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall in March 2017 with pianist Robert Kulek.

In 2017 Simone’s most recent recording featuring Shostakovich’s first violin concerto and Gubaidulina’s ‘In Tempus praesens’ with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic under James Gaffigan and Reinbert de Leeuw was released on Challenge Classics and received high accolades from the press, as did her previous Mendelssohn, Janáček and Schumann  CD with pianist Robert Kulek.

In addition to her many prizes and distinctions, Simone was awarded the national Dutch VSCD Classical Music Prize in the category ‘New Generation Musicians’ in 2010, awarded by the Association of Dutch Theatres and Concert Halls to artists that have made remarkable and valuable contributions to the Dutch classical music scene.

Simone began studying the violin at the age of 5 and moved to the UK aged 11 to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Professor Hu Kun. At the age of 14 Simone made her professional solo debut with the North Netherlands Orchestra performing Paganini’s 1st Violin Concerto, her debut highly praised by the press. She continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Professor Hu Kun and Professor Maurice Hasson, where she graduated aged 19 with first class honours and several prestigious awards. In 2011, she was made an Associate of the RAM, an honour given to those students who have made significant and distinguished contributions to their field.

Simone plays the “Mlynarski” Stradivarius (1718), on generous loan to her by an anonymous benefactor.