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The Swedish violinist, Cecilia Zilliacus, studied at Kungsholmens Gymnasium in Stockholm, and at Kungliga Musikhögskolan in Stockholm. Her career took off in 1997, when she won both the Royal Swedish Academy of Music’s prestigious competition, the Soloist Prize, and the Nordic Soloist Biennial in Trondheim, Norway. She was also named Artist in Residence at Swedish national radio for the year 1997-1998. In the 2001-2002 season, she was Sweden’s representative in the international Rising Star project, a cooperative venture between some of the world’s leading concert houses.
Cecilia Zilliacus is one of Sweden’s most accomplished violinists, working across the Nordic countries and Europe. Her versatile repertoire of solo and chamber music works has led her to cooperate with a vast number of composers and orchestras. As a soloist, she has performed with most Swedish symphony orchestras as well as many Nordic and European orchestras, such as BBC Wales, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. Among the conductors she has worked with are Andrey Boreyko, Baldur Brönniman, Olari Elts, Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, Daniel Harding, Okko Kamu, Eri Klas, Susanna Mälkki, Joseph Swensen, Arvo Volmer and Benjamin Wallfisch.
Cecilia Zilliacus regularly performs with musicians and composers active on the international scene, such as Bengt Forsberg, Martin Fröst, Håvard Gimse, Philippe Graffin, Svante Henryson, Martti Rousi, Paavali Jumppanen, Christian Poltèra, Roland Pöntinen, Sven-David Sandström and Torleif Thedéen. She is also a driving force in the prize-winning Swedish string trio ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen. Through the trio, Zilliacus plays an important part in bringing Nordic and European composers and musicians to Sweden as guests in the trio’s chamber music series at the Stockholm Concert House.
Cecilia Zilliacus' interest in newly written pieces and contemporary music has generated several compositions written specifically for her. During 2013 and 2014, Cecilia Zilliacus has, together with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Norrbotten NEO, premiered violin concertos by Anders Nilsson and Fredrik Hedelin. In October 2015, she premiered Violin Concerto Nr 2 by Mika Pelo, in Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, together with conductor Christian Lindberg.
Cecilia Zilliacus has recorded a number of albums, several of which have won Swedish Grammies. During 2014, she recorded Carl Nielsen's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, together with Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and conductor Daniel Blendulf, as well as his solo works and sonatas together with pianist Bengt Forsberg. Two cd:s from dB Productions, that both recieved great reviews - among other, Editor´s Choice from Gramophone. In 2016, another cd on the BIS label, with music by J.S. Bach, Svante Henryson and Sven-David Sandström will come out.
From the summer of 2015 Cecilia Zilliacus is artistic director of Katrina Chamber Music Festival on Åland. She lives in Stockholm with her husband and two children. She is an associate professor at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Zilliacus’ violin is a N. Gagliano provided by the Järnåker Foundation. |
