Julian Rachlin

“When one closed one’s eyes, he sounded like the old David Oistrakh or Leonid Kogan, [and in the second half] he dragged the orchestra into such an intense, explosive finale that others rarely achieve. If Rachlin continues like this, then Mariss Jansons – somewhere in conductors’ heaven – will have to add him to the rollcall of first-class soloists who became outstanding conductors.”

Die Presse (Vienna), 2026

“A world-class musician both at the podium and as a soloist, Julian Rachlin – joined by the brilliant Filarmonica della Scala – made this concert a standout event.”

Luzerner Zeitung, 2025

“At the heart of it all was the charismatic, uniquely gifted Rachlin. The Lithuanian-born conductor and violinist, raised in Vienna, was clearly not just doing a job at the podium; he visibly immersed himself in the music with genuine delight. Nothing was left to chance. With clear precision, he cued each musical entry, conducting from memory, his delicate hand gestures clearly delineating every nuance. Rachlin’s arms moved with ballet-like precision, complemented by his expressive facial gestures that emphasized every chord. Rachlin devoted himself fully to the dynamic capabilities of the exceptional Filarmonica della Scala. The expansive range of Beethoven’s music was explored to its fullest extent.”

Luzerner Zeitung, 2025

“Rachlin’s reading of Gubaidulina’s Offertorium was exquisite: austere, introspective, and intricately woven into the orchestra’s chamber-like texture.”

Bachtrack, 2025

“Under Mäkelä’s direction, Rachlin and the Concertgebouworkest performed Gubaidulina’s Offertorium with both technical brilliance and emotional depth. Rachlin’s interpretation stood out as strikingly poignant.”

Bachtrack, 2025

“Julian Rachlin dazzled as a virtuoso, idiosyncratic soloist. He infused the violin part with admirable all-or-nothing commitment and remarkable tonal flexibility.”

NRC Handelsblad, 2025

“Rachlin’s extraordinarily intense playing perfectly matched the spiritual core of the work.”

De Volksrant, 2025

“Julian Rachlin played as if it were a matter of life and death – supremely intense, yet strikingly clear and grounded.”

Het Parool, 2025

“Rachlin shone with a shimmering, weightless final solo that seemed to dissolve into silence.”

Kronen Zeitung, 2025

“This was a profoundly moving tribute: delivered with utmost precision and spiritual depth, with Rachlin on top form.”

Die Presse, 2025

“The closing evening of this year’s festival highlighted the exceptional talent and captivating presence of Julian Rachlin. The audience passionately celebrated the star conductor and violinist.”

Luzerner Zeitung, 2025

“In the first half of the concert, Julian Rachlin served as both conductor and soloist. As a violinist, he infused Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto with a rarely heard breeziness and buoyancy. Whereas many colleagues exploit this piece as a showcase for their violin prowess, Rachlin chose instead an approach defined by charm. Applying precise control and an appropriately spirited touch, he gave this typically weighty concerto a fresh, lean interpretation. Rachlin playfully moved through all registers, demonstrating technical brilliance without ever descending into mere showmanship.”

Luzerner Zeitung, 2025

“This was an extraordinary evening from Julian Rachlin, the London Philharmonic, and Klaus Mäkelä. Rachlin delivered a knockout concerto. His deliberate, careful phrasing at the very beginning set the tone for a performance in which nothing was thrown away, not even in the most frenzied episodes. In the long lines of the final movement Rachlin’s violin continued to sing out even as the orchestral sound swelled behind him; by the end he seemed unvanquishable.”

The Guardian, 2023

“From the opening notes, Rachlin conjured a golden sound from the orchestra, a quality not many guest conductors have achieved. Most try to impose their interpretation on Mozart’s music; with Rachlin, both the sound and energy seem to come from within, emerging organically, radiant and thrilling. The effect was captivating.”

Bachtrack, 2022

“Under Rachlin’s baton, Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ symphony offered an impressive demonstration of how a masterwork can be both powerful and elegant. In a clean, crisp rendering, Rachlin found lyricism, drama, and a compelling rhythm in the third movement that propelled the piece to a smart, sharp finish. The evening ended with enthusiastic applause from both sides of the podium, with the musicians just as charged as the audience. No surprise – the chemistry onstage was tangible.”

Bachtrack, 2022

“Rachlin is a wonder to watch and a thrill to hear. He brought electrifying precarity from one acrobatic solo to the next; his cadenza teased time itself. In the second movement, his reading – more of a telling – was lyrical and wonderfully expressive, wandering into sublime conversation with the woodwinds. In the vivacissimo of the Allegro, a thread of melody must stay intact while simultaneously catching fire: Rachlin lit it like a fuse. He made the final movement’s dance passages rapturous, Noseda bouncing on the podium, gathering building currents in his arms. He beautifully navigated the concerto’s famous hire-wire act and the sombre pre-departure solo. But it was his final sprint – the frenzy of those last two minutes – where the temperature of the room went up a couple of degrees, followed by a trio of ovations.”

The Washington Post, 2022

“Triple-threat Julian Rachlin – violinist, violist, and conductor – led the Chicago Symphony in two substantial Mozart works in an enticing programme that also featured early Beethoven and some lesser-known Tchaikovsky. In Mozart’s ‘Linz’ Symphony, Rachlin was a sensitive leader throughout, providing gentle inflections, and offering direction that was fitfully workmanlike yet never heavy-handed. The ponderous slow introduction had the requisite gravitas, and the Allegro spiritoso vigour to spare.”

Chicago Classical Review, 2022

“A performance marked by equal parts grace and zeal. The Lithuanian violinist played with bright, beaming tone that had just enough weight for Mendelssohn’s soaring lines. Crafted in long arcs, his first-movement melodies unspooled into double-stops and wide leaps, which he handled with aplomb. Rachlin’s cadenza also had a live-wire intensity. In the second movement, like silver thread, Rachlin’s melody spun its way around the soft harmonies played by the orchestra. The final movement was nimble, and Rachlin built momentum to a virtuosic coda where phrases seemed to dart in every direction.”

Boston Classical Review, 2019

“Rachlin lit up with virtuosic restraint, still more humanity pouring out of his violin…. Out of this world playing, ingenious in concept and execution.”

The Boston Musical Intelligencer, 2019

“Mr Rachlin is not only a violinist of international repute but also a well-regarded orchestral conductor. Whether directing an ensemble of five or ninety-five, Rachlin exerts a discernible influence on every performance he gives. Nobody does the job like Julian Rachlin.”

The Berkshire Edge, 2016

“Julian Rachlin has matured from a child prodigy into an artist of exceptional strength and individuality. Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto provided him with the ideal vehicle to demonstrate not only his virtuosity, but his intellectual rigour, passionate commitment, and deep empathy. In the first movement, his playing had all the creepy menace of a prophet’s soliloquy, with Gatti keeping the tension behind him at an almost unbearable pitch. The scherzo had a snarling quality, while the Passacaglia rose up like an implacable and massive fortress.”

Ottawa Citizen, 2016

“Rachlin eased his way into the opening movement with playing that was almost painful in its muted restraint, over the humid, brooding chords of the orchestra; the second movement then uncurled into some of the most biting fierce Shostakovich playing I can remember hearing. And when Rachlin got going into the final cadenza, he became a wild thing – a kind of inspired mad scientist in a monologue both profound and terrifying – until the orchestra finally chimed in with ferocious clashes of regretful understanding.”

Washington Post, 2016

“There was much energy and beauty in Julian Rachlin’s interpretation of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2, in which he delivered a distinctive exegesis of this familiar piece. Rachlin treated this score as a big-boned, established, quasi-Romantic warhorse. His playing in the outer movements was aggressive in the best sense of the word, commanding but flexible and mighty of tone. And Rachlin’s account of the slow middle movement was mesmeric, marked by elegance of phrasing and sweet, subtle lyricism.”

The Arts Fuse, 2015

“Perhaps the brightest light in New York’s serious musical life is the visiting orchestras series at Carnegie Hall. This evening’s performance of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No.1 by Julian Rachlin – its vision, its fury, and its technical transcendence – surpasses any other reading of the work, including the two formidable recordings of David Oistrakh. Maestro Gatti provided a sympathetic, dramatically compelling accompaniment brilliantly executed by the obviously inspired Orchestre National de France.”

Classical Voice, 2016

“Rachlin is the real thing, a virtuoso with heart and a champion’s bearing.”

The Los Angeles Times, 1994