Francisco Fullana

Spanish-born violinist Francisco Fullana, winner of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, has been hailed as “an amazing talent" by Gustavo Dudamel and “frighteningly awesome’” by the Buffalo News, with the BBC Music Magazine observing has observed that “he manages to combine Itzhak Perlman's warmth with the aristocratic poise of Henryk Szeryng.”

He has collaborated with prominent conductors, among them the late Sir Colin Davis, Hans Graf, Gustavo Dudamel, Joshua Weilerstein, Jeannette Sorrell, and Carlos Izcaray, appearing with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bayerische Philharmonie, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Vancouver Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Spanish Radio Television Orchestra, in Madrid, among many others.

He joined forces with the Grammy-winning baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire as the 2021-22 Artist-in-Residence for the ensemble’s 30th anniversary season, performing around the country, with stops at Carnegie Hall and Cleveland’s Severance Hall, and in 2022, releasing an acclaimed recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on the Avie label. His latest album, on Orchid Classics, juxtaposes two of Bach’s monumental partitas with music from the 19th to 21st centuries.

A passionate chamber musician, he has appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Mainly Mozart, and collaborated with Mitsuko Uchida, Vivian Hagner, and members of the Guarneri Quartet. In 2022-23, he performs recitals in the US, Europe, eastern China, and Japan.

A mentor to young musicians, Francisco co-founded the San Antonio Classical Summer Institute, where he is director of chamber music. He also created the Fortissimo Youth Initiative, a series of immersive music seminars and performances with youth orchestras aimed to deepen young musicians’ understanding of the joys of 18th-century music.

Born into a family of educators in Mallorca, Francisco is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, where he studied with 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 renowned violinist Midori.