Jaime Laredo

Violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo was born in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in 1941 and emigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was seven. He began his studies under Antonio de Grassi, and later attended the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where his teacher was Ivan Galamian, before moving to New York. His first wife, pianist Ruth Laredo, whom he married in 1960, was his regular accompanist until their divorce in 1974. His 1960 Carnegie Hall recital launched his performing career, playing with most of the great American orchestras as well as numerous British ensembles. Laredo’s broad repertoire is well represented on disc, including accompanied works with pianist Glenn Gould and piano quartet recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax and violinist Isaac Stern. He complemented his mastery of the mainstream repertoire with convincing accounts of American composers like Copland and Ives. Although he still performs on violin, he has increasingly turned to conducting, serving as the musical director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2021. Laredo and his wife, cellist Sharon Robinson, have taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music since 2012, and comprise two-thirds of the celebrated Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.