Francisco Fullana, Violinist
Spanish violinist Francisco Fullana, winner of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, has received international praise as a “rising star” (BBC Music Magazine), an “amazing talent” (maestro Gustavo Dudamel), and “a paragon of delicacy” (San Francisco’s Classical Voice). His playing has been described as “explosive” (Gramophone), “electric and virtuosic” (The Strad). This year will find Mr. Fullana in debuts as a soloist with the Castilla y Leon, Norwalk Symphonies and Santa Fe Pro Musica, Buffalo Philharmonic and return performances with the Alabama, Balearic Islands, and Extremadura Symphonies and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Among the many chamber music engagements on his upcoming schedule, Francisco is a member of The Bowers Program (formerly Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two). His active performing schedule has included the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Bayerische Philharmonie under the baton of the late Sir Colin Davis, the Sibelius Concerto with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, and the Brahms Concerto led by Señor Dudamel at Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar Hall.
Mr. Fullana was honored in 2015 with the Pro Musicis International Award, and in the same year awarded First Prize in the Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition in Japan, along with all four special prizes including the Audience and Orchestra awards. He won First Prize in the 2014 Johannes Brahms International Violin Competition in Austria, while his other awards include First Prizes at the Julio Cardona International Violin Competition and the Pablo Sarasate Competition. Mr. Fullana has taken part in the Marlboro Music Festival and “Musicians from Marlboro” tours. He has joined in prominent chamber series, including Music@Menlo, the Da Camera Society, Perlman Music Program, and Yellow Barn, alongside members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Pacifica, Takacs and Cleveland Quartets, while performing with such renowned artists as Viviane Hagner, Nobuko Imai, Charles Neidich, and Mitsuko Uchida, among many others.
Born into a family of educators, Francisco first studied with Bernat Pomar in his hometown of Palma de Mallorca, later graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, where he matriculated under the tutelage of Manuel Guillén. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, studying with Donald Weilerstein and Masao Kawasaki, and is also an Artist Diploma graduate from the USC Thornton School of Music, where he worked with the renowned violinist Midori.
He currently performs on the 1735 “Mary Portman” ex-Kreisler Guarneri del Gesù violin, kindly on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Mr. Fullana performs at CCCMF 2023 on October 12 and 13
