Cecilia Bernardini

Dutch–Italian Cecilia Bernardini is widely considered to be one of the most versatile violinists of her generation, performing on both the modern and the baroque violin.

As a soloist, Cecilia has performed in many of Europe's most prestigious concert halls, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Vienna and Konzerthaus Berlin, playing much of the main violin concerto repertoire, including the Bach violin concertos and double concertos, several Mozart concertos, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruch and Szymanowski. In 2010, she performed the violin solo part at the world première of Philip Glass's Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra with the Residentie Orkest.

Cecilia frequently leads and directs modern and period instrument ensembles including Ensemble Zefiro, Arcangelo with Jonathan Cohen, Pygmalion with Raphael Pichon, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto, Holland Baroque Society, The King’s Consort , Scottish Chamber Orchestra with Robin Ticciati, Camerata Salzburg, Bach Collegium Japan, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and The Netherlands Bach Society with Jos van Veldhoven. 

With her great passion for chamber music, Cecilia is a member of the Serafino String Trio, joining violist Giles Francis and cellist Timora Rosler. She has a duo with fortepianist Keiko Shichijo (with whom she did an extensive tour at the Utrecht Oude Muziek Festival) and regularly performs with her father, baroque oboist Alfredo Bernardini. Past Chamber music partners include baroque violinist Stanley Ritchie,  double-bass player Rick Stotijn, fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout, pianist Alexandre Tharaud and cellist Colin Carr.

In 2012 Cecilia was appointed leader of the Dunedin Consort, based in Scotland, with whom she has recorded Bach's St. John Passion and a best-selling disc of the Brandenburg Concertos, which has been nominated for a Gramophone award at the same time as Mozart’s Requiem by the same group.

Cecilia plays on a 1743 Camillus Camilli violin kindly loaned by the Jumpstart Foundation.