Wishing a very happy seventieth birthday to the extraordinary violinist Gidon Kremer!

Gidon Kremer (Michael Benabib photo)

Gidon Kremer (Michael Benabib photo)

A frequent and favorite soloist in Chicago, the Ravinia Festival, and on tour, Kremer has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, as follows:

November 26, 28, and 29, 1980, in Orchestra Hall
BERG Violin Concerto
Varujan Kojian, conductor

March 26, 27, and 28, 1992, in Orchestra Hall
SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 2 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 129
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

January 13, 14, and 15, 1994, in Orchestra Hall
BERG Violin Concerto
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

August 12, 1994, at the Ravinia Festival
GLASS Violin Concerto
Riccardo Chailly, conductor

May 15, 16, 17, and 20, 1997, in Orchestra Hall
June 4 and 5, 1997, at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany
REIMANN Violin Concerto (world premiere)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Gidon Kremer (Alberts Linarts photo)

Gidon Kremer (Alberts Linarts photo)

October 21, 22, 23, adn 24, 1998, in Orchestra Hall
KANCHELI Lament (Music of Mourning in Memory of Luigi Nono)
Katharina Kammerloher, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

May 5, 6, and 7, 2005, in Orchestra Hall
SCHNITTKE Concerto grosso No. 6
SCHNITTKE Concerto grosso No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Kremer also has performed in Orchestra Hall on several other occasions, as a soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and the Staatskapelle Berlin with Daniel Barenboim. As a chamber musician, he has appeared many times with his ensemble Kremerata Baltica, most recently on February 1, 2017.

Happy, happy birthday!