Violinist Cho-Liang Lin, occasionally identified as Jimmy Lin, first drew widespread attention near the close of the twentieth century. Following training across several continents, he stepped onto the professional stage at nineteen, which quickly opened doors to concerto appearances with prominent ensembles on every continent.
Born January 29, 1960, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Lin took up the violin at five after early experiments with a toy instrument and encouragement from a neighbor’s lessons. At twelve he relocated to Sydney for studies with Robert Pikler and Sylvia Lee. While still thirteen and living in that city, he played in a master class led by Itzhak Perlman—an experience that prompted him to pursue further instruction from Perlman’s own mentor, Dorothy DeLay. Traveling unaccompanied to New York, Lin auditioned successfully for the Juilliard School and worked with DeLay over the next several years. After capturing first prize at Madrid’s Queen Sofia Violin Competition, he made his orchestral debut at nineteen, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic. Subsequent engagements have placed him before the Detroit and Toronto Symphonies, the Royal Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Munich Philharmonic.
Although Lin commands the full range of standard violin literature, he has become especially recognized for championing new music. In addition to concertos by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms, he has introduced commissioned works by Tan Dun, Gordon Chin, Christopher Rouse, and Bright Sheng. His commitment to contemporary composition is reflected in his long-standing role, begun in 2001, as music director of the La Jolla Society’s Summerfest, where he has commissioned and premiered pieces by Chen Yi, Philip Glass, and Chick Corea. Lin also directs the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival and established the Taipei International Music Festival in 1997.
His discography appears on Sony Classical, Decca, BIS, and Naxos. In 1989 he received the Gramophone Record of the Year Award for a CBS Records release of the Sibelius and Nielsen concertos conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Two Grammy nominations followed: one for Schubert and Boccherini quintets recorded with Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, Sharon Robinson, and Isaac Stern, and another for Brahms chamber works featuring Stern, Laredo, Ma, Robinson, and Michael Tree, both projects issued by Sony Classical.
Lin joined the Juilliard faculty in 1991 and added a position at Rice University in 2006. He served four years as director of the Taiwan National Symphony Music Camp and Youth Orchestra. In 2000 Musical America named him Instrumentalist of the Year.
