Francisco Fullana:

Spanish-born violinist Francisco Fullana, winner of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, has been hailed as an “amazing talent” (Gustavo Dudamel) and “frighteningly awesome” (Buffalo News). His solo violin album Bach’s Long Shadow, was named BBC Music Magazine’s Instrumental Choice of the Month. Its five star review stated: ‘Fullana manages to combine Itzhak Perlman’s warmth with the aristocratic poise of Henryk Szeryng’.

A native of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands of Spain, Francisco is making a name for himself as both a performer, fearless leader, and a founder of innovative educational residencies. As a soloist, he has performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Bayerische Philharmonie led by the late Sir Colin Davis, the Sibelius Concerto with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, and the Brahms Violin Concerto in Bolivar’s National Hall under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. His versatility as a performer, both with and without conductor, has brought him to perform with numerous ensembles across the artistic spectrum: from major orchestras such as the City of Birmingham, Charlotte, SWR Deutsche Philharmonie, Pacific and Buffalo Symphony Orchestras, the chamber orchestras of Saint Paul and Philadelphia, to the baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire and the new music driven Metropolis Ensemble. Francisco has worked under the batons of Hans Graf, Pablo Mielgo, José Luis Gómez, Alondra de la Parra, Christoph Poppen, Jeannette Sorrell, Keitaro Harada and Joshua Weilerstein, among many others.

Fullana is one of the first international solo violinists to fully embrace and absorb the baroque language of historical performance. His passion for the gut strings has blossomed into fruitful collaborations with Baroque groups all over the world. He was recently the Artist-in-Residence with the Grammy-winning ensemble Apollo’s Fire, performing 18 concerto performances on tour, including stops at Carnegie Hall and Severance Hall among many others. They released Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on Avie Records to great success: the album debuted at #2 of the Billboard Charts and was named Top Ten Album Of the Year by the Sunday Times. BBC Music Magazine’s review stated: ‘Francisco Fullana reveals Vivaldi’s poetry with effortless refinement.’ 

Francisco’s love for conductor-less leading and program curating has led to his new roles starting in the 24/25 season both as Artist-in-Residence of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia at Kimmel Center and Artistic Advisor and Curator at The Orchestra of San Antonio. Highlights of his upcoming concerto engagements include debuts with The Florida Orchestra, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Recife, and Łódź Symphonies, as well as returns with the Tucson and Balearic Islands Symphonies among others. In recital, he will make his debuts at the Heidelberg, Darmstadt, Dresden festivals, as well as L’Auditori and Beirut Winds and a 6 city recital tour of Ireland with pianist Alba Ventura. They recently released their newest album Spanish Light on Orchid Classics to critical acclaim. 

Francisco’s passion for working with youth orchestras through the Fortissimo Youth Initiative has been a constant for years, and was on full display in 2022 at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Perelman Hall, where he performed Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole with the Grammy-award winning New York Youth Symphony. He recently completed his latest Fortissimo residency with the JONDE Spanish National Symphony, a country wide summer tour performing Saint-Saëns 3rd Violin Concerto under the Spanish conductor Pablo Gónzalez. 

Active as a chamber musician, Francisco is a performing artist at NYC’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and has participated in the Marlboro Music Festival, the Musicians from Marlboro tours, the Perlman Music Program, the Da Camera Society, and the LaJolla, Moab, Music@Menlo, Mainly Mozart, Music in the Vineyards, and Newport music festivals. He recently formed a musical duo with guitar extraordinaire Jason Vieaux, touring the United States through 2024-25. His musical collaborators have included Viviane Hagner, Nobuko Imai, Mitsuko Uchida, and members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Takács, and Cleveland quartets. Francisco’s Spanish roots are also often explored in collaboration with Hispanic artists such as guitarist Pablo Sainz-Villegas and bandoneonist JP Jofre. Their recital for The Violin Channel’s Vanguard Concerts at Merkin Hall was recently released worldwide on all major streaming platforms. 

Born into a family of educators, Francisco is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, where he matriculated under the tutelage of Manuel Guillén. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School following studies with Donald Weilerstein and Masao Kawasaki, and holds an Artist Diploma from the USC Thornton School of Music, where he worked with the renowned violinist Midori.

Francisco was honored with the 2023 Darioush and Shahpar Khaledi Prize from the Festival Napa Valley. He is the First Prizewinner of international violin competitions such as the Johannes Brahms and Julio Cardona Competitions, as well Japan’s Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition. Fullana is also a recipient of the Pro Musicis International Award and the Pablo Sarasate National Competition.

Francisco is a committed innovator, leading new institutions of musical education for young people. He is a co-founder of San Antonio’s Classical Music Summer Institute. As of 2025, Francisco will start his newly appointed role of Artistic Director of the San Antonio’s 210 Festival, and will continue his efforts to foster the new generations of young musicians on both sides of the Atlantic through the Fortissimo Youth Initiative. 

Francisco Fullana performs on the 1735 “Mary Portman” ex-Kreisler Guarneri del Gesù violin, kindly on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

• “ … A continuous display of nuanced genius playing … ”

— El Mundo

http://franciscofullana.com/about