Kristine Balanas - A musician of “eye-popping virtuosity” (The Times)

In demand for her “savage, bold, dramatic playing” (The Strad), Kristine’s head-turning transformation from a street musician and rock singer in Latvia to an internationally acclaimed soloist in classical music is unprecedented.

Born into a family of non-musicians, Kristine as well as her siblings Margarita and Roberts devoted their energy and their life to music and made their way as professional, internationally acclaimed soloists all of which follow their own musical profile. The street music not only provided the funding for Kristine’s first violin but also nurtured her ability to forge deep connections with her audience and to play with her full heart, regardless of the setting. The contrast between the freedom of creating and performing in untraditional environments and the disciplined atmosphere of Europe’s leading music academies profoundly shaped her artistic identity. She also has a deep desire to open classical music to a wider audience and, for example, to make challenging works accessible through concert introductions.
Kristine graduated with honors from the Royal Academy of Music, studying under György Pauk, and continued her education at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler under Kolja Blacher.

Kristīne Balanas is working with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Saarländisches Staatsorchester, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (directing from the violin), Orchestre National de Montpellier, European Union Youth Orchestra, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symfoniorkester, Kremerata Baltica, Latvian National Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic, Concerto Budapest, Israel Philharmonic, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra.

She is playing with conductors such as Jukka-Pekka Saraste, James Gaffigan, Tarmo Peltokoski, Trevor Pinnock, Gergely Madaras, Andris Poga, Margarita Balanas, Ainars Rubikis, Kristiina Poska, Harry Ogg, Shiyeon Sung, Josep Vicent, Lin Liao, Marcus Bosch and Chloe van Soeterstede.

Kristine has performed at festivals and concert halls including L’Auditori in Barcelona, Royal Albert Hall, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, the Moritzburg Festival, Festival Radio France Occitaine Montpellier, Fjord Classics, Philharmonie Merck and Risør Chamber Music Festival and Montserrat International Chamber Music Week.

A regular guest soloist on Latvian National Radio Recitals, Kristine has also performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and BBC One’s The One Show, and given recitals at the Purcell Room, St. John’s Smith Square and Kings Place.

Kristine Balanas has won numerous prices, amongst them the 2018 Young Artist of the Year in the Grand Music Awards of her home country, the Fundacion Excelentia Young Talent Award from Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain, and the 3rd prize of the 66th International ARD Music Competition.

Kristine performs on a 1787 Antonio Gragnani violin, kindly loaned to her by “The Little Butterfly Foundation”.