Laura Samuel
Biography
Born in London in 1976, Laura Samuel studied with Itzhak Rashkovsky at the RCM. Prizes include the Royal Over-Seas League, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Manoug Parikian Award and the TWIYCA Competition, resulting in her South Bank recital début.
In 1994 she co-founded the Belcea Quartet and was a member for sixteen years. The quartet won first prize in the Osaka and Bordeaux International competitions. Worldwide tours included regular visits to the USA, Far East and throughout Europe as well as a five-year residency at the Wigmore Hall, London. Their numerous recordings for EMI Classics include Bartók, Janáček and Britten cycles as well as Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Debussy and Ravel quartets and have won Gramophone, Midem, Edison and Echo Klassik Awards.
Solo performances this season include Mozart Sinfonia Concertante in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh (Runnicles) and James MacMillan’s A Deep but Dazzling Darkness (with the composer conducting). Laura leads the BBC SSO and joined the Nash Ensemble in 2010. She plays the 'Nissel' Stradivarius of 1731.