Sophie Wedell divides her time between solo, chamber music and orchestral playing as a permanent member of the Orchestra of the 18th Century and is currently preparing her CD debut of 18th Century cantatas with solo violin. The CD will be released on July 1st with Brilliant Classics, you can support the crowdfunding campaign and pre-order it here: www.startnext.com/en/ensemble-arava.
Her recent performances of Schnittke‘s Moz-Art à la Haydn with her orchestra and maestro Hidemi Suzuki, a fusion of 20th-century music with period instruments, illustrate her enthusiasm for exploring the unlimited possibilities of the violin.
Sophies curiosity has led her to perform music ranging from the Baroque period to contemporary repertoire in renowned festivals and venues across Europe, such as the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, Resonanzen Festival Vienna, Heidelberger Frühling and ECLAT Festival.
Sophie strives to create engaging and personal concert experiences. This has earned her and her Ensemble Arava the first prize and audience prize at the International Competition for Concert Presentation 2017 in Frankfurt. The ensemble has furthermore been awarded a special prize at the International H.I.F. Biber Competition 2017 and is regularly invited to perform at festivals throughout Europe and Israel.
„Ever since I realized that I wanted to make music my profession, my dream has been to become a “universal violinist”. I didn’t want the label “modern” or “baroque” player, I just wanted to be a violinist, with everything that comes with it“.
„My first attempts on plain gut strings left me absolutely mesmerized by their sound. Such richness in colours and textures! It was as if the music became tangible, while at the same time sounding more intimate. The downsides, like frequent tuning, sensitivity to humidity and breaking, I happily embraced – after all, I am handling a material that has at one point been alive; it is only fair that it behaves as such“.
„The violin by Goffredo Cappa that I received from the Jumpstart Jr. Foundation has made for an incredible boost of inspiration. It keeps surprising me with its versatile sound and it is such an enormous help in expressing myself musically that I feel like I was given a true companion for the next years.“