Maureen Smith

From the Royal Academy of Music website -

Maureen launched her professional career when she won the BBC violin competition at the age of 18, performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the BBC Concert Orchestra. She made her debut at the BBC Proms the same year with the BBCSO under Sir Malcolm Sargent.

She has since played concertos with leading British orchestras (including London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Scottish National Orchestra, Halle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and London Mozart Players) under such conductors as Boult, Barbirolli, Elder, Groves, Hickox, Horenstein, Loughran and Leppard. These included a concert at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen. Her repertoire includes all the major violin concertos. She has given numerous broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, and made a number of TV appearances and recordings including the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Maureen began her training with her mother Eta Cohen, author of the violin method books which bear her name. She then studied with Endre Wolf and Gyorgy Pauk in Manchester and, after being awarded Gulbenkian and Leverhulme Fellowships, in the US with Josef Gingold and London with Szymon Goldberg. Her London debut was at the Royal Festival Hall at age of 14 as soloist with the National Youth Orchestra, in the presence of the Queen Mother. She subsequently toured Poland, Switzerland, Israel and Greece as soloist with this orchestra.

In addition to her concerto work, she has given many recitals and chamber music concerts at all the major London venues (including the Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Halls), UK festivals (including Aldeburgh, Brighton, Three Choirs and the English Bach Festival) and in the USA, Europe and Australasia. She was leader of the Villiers Piano Quartet, of which she was a founder member and has played in regular duos with two of the members, Ian Brown (piano) and with Simon Rowland-Jones (viola) with whom she recorded Mozart and Haydn duos.

In 1995 Maureen was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, and was a professor at the Royal College of Music (1997–2011). She is regularly invited to give masterclasses at leading international institutions in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Maureen plays on a fine Italian violin made in 1716 by Joseph Guarnerius, filius Andreae.