Biography
Cristian Grajner de Sa is well known to British audiences and is now establishing himself as one of the rising violin stars of the new generation. At the age of 24, he was invited to perform his European debut recital at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam where he was acclaimed "equally poetic, wild, fierce... a future giant among soloists". He was then engaged to make his European concerto debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon under the baton of the Colombian conductor and Chicago Symphony apprentice, Lina González-Granados, and introduced to their audience as "... one of the great violin stars of the future...".
Cristian has performed in many of the great venues of Europe, with his performances taking him to the Mozarteum Salzburg, Grande Auditório of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Atheneum in Bucharest, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Cheltenham Festival, Corn Exchange Bedford and Salle Paderewski in Lausanne to name only a few. He has been broadcast on BBC Television, BBC Radio 3, The Strad Magazine, RTP Portugal, TVR Romanian National Television and The Violin Channel. He has been featured as Charlotte Hawkins’ Young Classical Star on Classic FM and as a Young Artist on Scala Radio, and has collaborated with some of the great violinists of our time; chamber music performances with Maxim Vengerov in London and in France with Renaud Capuçon as part of Capuçon’s project ‘la nouvelle génération’ (the new generation) at his personal invitation.
Recent and upcoming season's highlights include performances at The Stoller Hall in Manchester, Champs Hill Concerts, Absolute Classics in Dumfries, Penrith Concert Series, Festival Ravel (Saint Jean-de-Luz), Festival l'Orangerie de Sceaux in France, performances with Worthing Symphony & Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra de Cámara Galega and re-engagement concerto appearances with the celebrated British conductor, Hilary Davan Wetton. Cristian previously received the First Prize at the inaugural ‘Groba’ International Violin Competition in Spain, a Gold medal with High Distinction at the Vienna International Music Competition and earlier in his musical life he was a string finalist at BBC Young Musician.
A citizen of the United Kingdom and Portugal, Cristian de Sa was born of Italian and Portuguese heritage. At 13, he was awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music and commenced his studies with the great French violinist, Maurice Hasson, with whom he remains in close contact. Cristian also had the unique opportunity to work with Tasmin Little and Maxim Vengerov as their only selected pupils, graduating with First Class Honours and the 'J & A Beare Prize', the Academy's most prestigious award gifted to the outstanding violinist graduate of the conservatoire. He completed his university education at the Mozarteum University, Salzburg with another great French artist, Mr. Pierre Amoyal.
As well as his tuition and collaborations, Cristian has had the fortune to personally know and receive advice from many of today’s great musicians; James Ehnes, Steven Isserlis, Alina Ibragimova, David Stern, Philippe Graffin, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger and Menahem Pressler to name a few. He is most grateful for the support of the Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust & Bedford School Trust.
He plays a Joseph Guadagnini, 1800.
*Updated January 2023, please do not use previous versions*