With her impressive musical expressiveness and technical perfection, at the age of only 18, María Dueñas has quickly established herself as one of the most sought-after artists of her generation. Since winning the 2021 Menuhin Competition and the Audience Prize, the Spanish violinist has been in demand worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician.
In the 2021/2022 season, María Dueñas will make her debuts with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Dresdner Philharmonie, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Grafenegg Festival, the Vienna Konzerthaus and Zankel Hall (Carnegie Hall, New York), among others. A tour in Spain with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen is also planned. As a BBC New Generation Artist 2021–2023, she will be introduced to the British audience across the UK in collaboration with the most relevant concert halls and orchestras . Another highlight will be the world premiere of a new violin concerto by Gabriela Ortíz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel.
The violinist has already performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Deutsche Radiophilharmonie, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, OrchestrePhilharmonique du Luxembourg, Spanish National Orchestra, OrquestaSinfónica de RTVE, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia and Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Marek Janowski, Manfred Honeck, Vladimir Spivakov, Vassily Sinaisky, Gustavo Gimeno, Michael Sanderling, Jaime Martín, Mihhail Gerts and Dima Slobodeniouk.
María Dueñas is also passionately active as a composer and chamber musician. She has collaborated with Matthias Goerne, Itamar Golan and Robert Kulek at the Rheingau Music Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schubertiade in Vilabertran, Colmar International Festival, Arts Square Festival St. Petersburg and Verbier Festival. Jordi Cervelló (*1935) dedicated several solo works to her, which María Dueñas premiered in Barcelona, most recently his piece Milstein Caprice.
She has been awarded a number of first prizes in international violin competitions, including most recently the Grand Prix at the Viktor Tretyakov International Violin Competition and special awards by Valery Gergiev, Vadim Repin, Vladimir Spivakov, and Denis Matsuev, the Getting to Carnegie Competition, Vladimir Spivakov International Competition, Zhuhai Mozart International Competition and Yankelevitch Competition, to name a few. Other relevant accolades include the Ojo Crítico 2020 of the Spanish Radio, the LOTTO-Förderpreis of the RheingauMusik Festival 2021 and the honorary medal of the Granada Arts Academy.
Born in Granada (Spain), María Dueñas began her musical education at the age of five, first studying at the Carl Maria von Weber Academy of Music in Dresden, before joining the class of acclaimed pedagogue Prof. Boris Kuschnir at the Music and Art Private University of the City of Vienna and the University of Music and Performing Arts of Graz in 2016.
María Dueñas plays on the Niccolò Gagliano violin 17?4, kindly on loan from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and on the Guarneri del Gesù “Muntz” 1736, on generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. Additionally, as the winner of the Yehudi Menuhin Competition 2021, she will enjoy a two-year-loan of a Stradivarius violin from the private collection of Jonathan Moulds.
