ISABEL VILLANUEVA

The Strad defines her as “an artist who takes risks”. Villanueva (Pamplona, 1988) is one of the most distinctive violinists today, with an international career spanning over fifteen years and more than twenty-five countries. She made her debut at the age of 18 with Bartók’s Viola Concerto together with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, embarking on a solid career as a soloist with orchestras and venues in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra of Estonia, Moscow Soloists, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, the State Symphony Orchestra of Istanbul and the Saint Petersburg State Academic Capella. She has worked with a wide repertoire, ranging from baroque to contemporary, under conductors including Michel Plasson, Paul Daniel and Jacek Kaspszyk. A firm defender of today’s music, she has performed in more than twenty premieres as a soloist, working with composers like Sofia Gubaidulina, Antón García-Abril and György Kurtág. Her last record for solo viola, Ritual (2023), was nominated for the ICMAs in 2024, and her album Bohèmes for viola and piano with François Dumont won the MIN prize for best album in 2018. The winner of accolades like El Ojo Crítico RTVE 2015 and the Madrid region cultural prize 2019, she combines her performing career with teaching in London, Barcelona and Geneva.