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Jaime Laredo

About this Artist

In his 40 years before the public, violinist/violist JAIME LAREDO has enraptured millions with passionate and polished performances. As a soloist, he has played with over 100 international orchestras, including the Boston and Chicago Symphonies, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the London Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic. He has performed in recital at the finest international music centres and festivals, and has collaborated with many eminent artists of the century, including Pablo Casals, Glenn Gould, Mstislav Rostropovich, Rudolf Serkin, and Isaac Stern. Laredo has recorded over 40 discs on ten labels. As an administrator, he directs New York’s “Chamber Music at the 92nd Street Y” series, one of the most important forums for chamber music performance in the country.

Laredo has also performed at the United Nations and at the White House, for Presidents Johnson and Carter. In his native Bolivia, he holds the status of national hero, with a stadium named for him in La Paz and a commemorative set of postage stamps issued in his name. Born in Cochabamba, Jaime Laredo began playing the violin at the age of five and gave a full recital at age eight. Three years later he made his orchestral debut with the San Francisco Symphony. Over the next few years he studied with Josef Gingold and Ivan Galamian at the Curtis Institute, and with conductor George Szell. In May 1959, at the age of 17, Laredo won first prize in the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels, becoming the youngest winner in the history of this prestigious competition.

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