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Joshua Bell
Bell in 2010
Background information
Born	(1967-12-09) December 9, 1967 (age 57) Bloomington, Indiana, US
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Violinist, conductor
Years active	1980s–present
Website	joshuabell.com

Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Early life and education

Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, one of four children of Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologist and professor at Indiana University (IU), and former Kinsey researcher. His father was of Scottish descent and his mother was Jewish (her father was born in Mandatory Palestine and her mother was from Minsk).

Bell began playing the violin at age four after his mother discovered that he had taken rubber bands from around the house and stretched them across the handles of his nine dresser drawers to pluck out music he had heard her play on the piano. His parents got a scaled-to-size violin for him when he was five and started giving him lessons. Bell took to the instrument but had an otherwise normal Indiana childhood, playing video games and excelling at sports, especially tennis and bowling. He placed in a national tennis tournament at age ten.

Bell's first violin teacher was Donna Bricht, widow of Indiana University music faculty member Walter Bricht. His second was Mimi Zweig, and his third the violinist and pedagog Josef Gingold, who accepted Bell as a student after his parents assured him that they were not interested in pushing their son to be a star but simply wanted him to have the best teacher for his abilities. By age 12, Bell was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to Gingold's inspiration.

At age 14, Bell appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti. He studied violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and graduated from Bloomington High School North in 1984. In 1989 Bell received an Artist Diploma in violin performance from Indiana University. IU also honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award two years after his graduation. He has been named an "Indiana Living Legend" and received the Indiana Governor's Arts Award.

Career

Bell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985, at age 17, with the St. Louis Symphony. In 1990, at age 22, he went on the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra's first tour of Russia. He has since performed with many of the world's major orchestras and conductors. As well as the standard concerto repertoire, he has performed new works. Nicholas Maw's violin concerto is dedicated to Bell, who premiered it in 1993 and won a Grammy Award for his recording. He performed the solo part on John Corigliano's Oscar-winning soundtrack to the film The Red Violin and was featured in Ladies in Lavender. He also appeared in the movie Music of the Heart, with other violinists.

Bell's instrument is the Gibson ex Huberman, a Stradivarius made in 1713 during what is known as Stradivari's "Golden Era". The violin was stolen twice from its previous owner, Bronisław Huberman; the final time, the thief confessed to the act on his deathbed. Bell had played the violin; its owner at the time, violinist Norbert Brainin, jokingly told him that it could be his for $4 million. On August 3, 2001, Bell was in London to perform at The Proms; before the concert he was approached by J & A Beare. He learned that the violin was in London and about to be sold to a German industrialist to become part of a collection. Bell played the violin at the Proms that same evening. He later sold his previous violin, the Tom Taylor Stradivarius, for a little more than $2 million and bought the Gibson ex Huberman for a little under the $4 million asking price. The 2013 documentary The Return of the Violin tells the story of the instrument's theft, return, and subsequent acquisition by Bell. Bell's first recording with the Gibson ex Huberman was Romance of the Violin for Sony Classical Records in 2003.

Bell served as artistic partner for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 2004 until 2007, and as a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also serves on the artists' selection committee for the Kennedy Center Honors and is an adjunct associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bell won the Avery Fisher Prize on April 10, 2007, at Lincoln Center in New York City. The prize is given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement. On May 3, 2007, Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music announced that Bell had joined the faculty as a senior lecturer.

In 2008, Bell received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

Bell collaborated with Hans Zimmer by providing violin solos for the soundtrack of the 2009 film Angels & Demons, based on Dan Brown's 2000 novel of the same name.

In May 2011, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) named Bell its music director. He has recorded commercially with the ASMF for the Sony Classical label. In July 2017, the ASMF announced a three-year extension of his contract, through 2020. Bell and the orchestra won the 2017 Helpmann Award for Best Individual Classical Music Performance. In April 2024, the ASMF announced an additional extension of Bell's contract as its music director through August 2028.

In 2013, Bell accompanied Scarlett Johansson in the song "Before My Time". Written by J. Ralph for the documentary Chasing Ice, it received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Bell played himself in three episodes of Mozart in the Jungle in 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2016, he had a cameo in the penultimate musical episode of Royal Pains. He also appeared as himself in episode 8 ("Quacktice Makes Perfect") of the 2017 Netflix original series Julie's Greenroom.

In October 2024, the New Jersey Symphony announced the appointment of Bell as its new principal guest conductor, effective with the 2025–2026 season, with an initial contract of four seasons.

Washington Post experiment

In an experiment initiated by The Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten, Bell donned a baseball cap and played as an incognito busker at the Metro subway station L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., on January 12, 2007. The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, seven stopped to listen to him, and one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the one who recognized him). Three days earlier, he earned considerably more playing the same repertoire at a concert. Weingarten won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for his article on the experiment. The Washington Post posted the video on YouTube and a feature-length documentary, Find Your Way: A Busker's Documentary, chronicled Bell's experience. A somewhat inaccurate retelling of the story went viral.

Personal life

Bell and his former partner, Lisa Matricardi, have three sons: Josef (born 2007), and twins Benjamin and Samuel (born 2010). On October 5, 2019, Bell married opera singer Larisa Martinez at their home in Mount Kisco, New York. They also live in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan.

Selected discography

Soundtrack albums

• Chasing Ice Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2012
• The Flowers of War Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2012: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Angels & Demons Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2009
• Defiance Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2008
• Ladies in Lavender Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2005: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Iris Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2001: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• The Red Violin, 1998: Joshua Bell, solo violin

References

1. Carmel McCoubrey (May 24, 2002). "Alan P. Bell, 70, Researcher Of Influences on Homosexuality". Retrieved April 12, 2024.
2. Robinson, George (October 12, 2006). "Violinist Joshua Bell walks in the footsteps of masters". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved October 13, 2006.
3. Joshua Bell to return home for benefit performance. Indiana University Media Relations. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
4. Warren Boroson (January 20, 2012). "Q&A with Joshua Bell". Jewish Standard. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
5. The Univee, yearbook, 1978–9
6. "Music: The Teacher, The Lesson". Bloomington Herald-Times, January 15, 1989.
7. BHSN Yearbook, 1984.
8. Hadley, Donita (July 16, 2000). "Bell's Musical Journey". The Times-Mail (Bedford, Indiana). p. 37.
9. Szatmary, Peter (April 21, 2003). "Arts awards go to Bell, others". The Indianapolis Star. p. 35.
10. "Roger Webster, "Auction Helps Create Music In Two Countries," 15 Minutes Magazine, December 2002". Archived from the original on November 5, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
11. 15th Anniversary of the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (ARYO) "Dacha on the Green"
12. ^ Gene Weingarten, "Pearls Before Breakfast" The Washington Post, April 8, 2007, Page W10. Archived June 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
13. Joshua Bell (January 26, 2017). "Joshua Bell: Here's the story behind my very famous, once-stolen violin". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
14. "Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, c. 1732, the 'Tom Taylor'" Archived February 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, accessed October 2, 2013
15. Andrew Druckenbrod (April 11, 2013). "Joshua Bell treasures the Stradivarius at center of 'Return of the Violin'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
16. E-strings for the future musician. BBC News, July 18, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
17. Violinist Bell wins $75,000 Fisher Prize. CNN News, April 8, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2007.
18. "Joshua Bell to join IU Jacobs School of Music faculty" (Press release). Indiana University. May 3, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
19. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
20. "2008 Summit Highlights Photo". 2008. Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell receives the Golden Plate Award from Awards Council member Dr. Benjamin S. Carson.
21. "2009 Summit Highlights Photo". 2009. Golden Plate Awards Council member and virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell performs the "Meditation" by Massenet.
22. James Inverne (May 27, 2011). "Joshua Bell is the new music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields". Retrieved May 29, 2011.
23. "Joshua Bell Named Music Director of Academy of St. Martin in the Fields" by Rory Williams, Strings Magazine (May 27, 2011
24. Melissa Block (February 15, 2013). "From Bow To Baton: Violinist Joshua Bell Conducts Beethoven". National Public Radio – All Things Considered. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
25. "Academy of St Martin in the Fields Music Director Joshua Bell renews contract for a further three years" (PDF) (Press release). Academy of St Martin in the Fields. July 27, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
26. Hannah Francis (July 24, 2017). "Helpmann Awards 2017 winners: Kosky's Saul and Belvoir's The Drover's Wife dominate". Retrieved April 12, 2024.
27. "Joshua Bell extends tenure as Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields" (Press release). IMG Artists. April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
28. Carlson, Erin (February 20, 2013). "Oscars 2013: Best Song Contender J. Ralph on Scarlett Johansson's 'World-Class' Singing Voice". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
29. "Joshua Bell". IMDb.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
30. "Grammy Winning Violinist Joshua Bell Guest-Stars on TV's Royal Pains". Jacobs School of Music. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
31. "Julie's Greenroom - Episode 108: Quacktice Makes Perfect". Jim Henson's Family Hub. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
32. "Joshua Bell named New Jersey Symphony principal guest conductor, beginning in 2025–26 season" (Press release). New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
33. Howard Kurtz (April 8, 2008). "The Post Wins 6 Pulitzer Prizes". The Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
34. Barbara and David P. Mikkelson. "Bell Curved" Snopes; January 6, 2009
35. Video: "Stop and Hear the Music". The Washington Post. April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
36. Find Your Way: A Busker's Documentary at IMDb
37. "Gene Weingarten: Setting the record straight on the Joshua Bell experiment". The Washington Post. October 14, 2014. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023.
38. "Joshua Bell: The lad with the strad grows up" by Peter Culshaw, The Daily Telegraph, February 19, 2009.
39. Greg Stepanich (January 20, 2011). "A touring Joshua Bell sustained by thoughts of home". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
40. Charles Donelan (February 14, 2013). "Joshua Bell Tells All". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
41. Kerry Clawson (February 21, 2020). "Violinist Bell, Academy to bring energy to Akron". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
42. Anne Midgette (February 6, 2017). "The music man: Josh Bell at mid-career". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
43. "Joshua Bell gets married". The Strad. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
44. Boroson, Warren. "Q&A with Joshua Bell". jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
45. At Home with Friends at AllMusic
46. "Joshua Bell: At Home with Music | PBS". PBS.

External links

• Official website
• Joshua Bell at Sony Classical
• Joshua Bell at AllMusic
• Joshua Bell at IMDb
• Joshua Bell on IMG Artists, General Management
• "Bell Man", by Mandy Katz; in-depth profile in moment magazine
• Interview on The Diane Rehm Show radio program
• Recording of Bell's performance in L'Enfant Plaza
• Bach & friends Documentary
• Classical Archives interview

• Classical music
• Biography

• 20th-century American classical violinists
• 21st-century American classical violinists
• Jewish classical violinists
• Jewish American classical musicians
• American male conductors (music)
• American music educators
• American child classical musicians
• 20th-century American male musicians
• 21st-century American male musicians
• 20th-century American Jews
• 21st-century American Jews
• Academics of the Royal Academy of Music
• American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
• American people of Palestinian-Jewish descent
• American people of Scottish descent
• Classical musicians from Indiana
• Columbia Records artists
• Grammy Award winners
• Helpmann Award winners
• Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music
• Jacobs School of Music alumni
• Jacobs School of Music faculty
• American male classical violinists
• Musicians from Bloomington, Indiana
• Sony Classical Records artists
• 1967 births
• Living people