Ava Bahari

Violin

Home
Features

“[…] a notable emerging talent”
(The Strad)

Artist in Residence: Gothenburg Symphony

Described by The Strad as “a notable emerging talent”, Ava Bahari is a highly accomplished Swedish violinist with a refreshing appetite for unique repertoire. She has received numerous awards, including top prizes at the Premio Paganini Competition in Genova (2021), Concours International Tibor Varga in Sion (2021) and Aurora Music Competition in Stockholm (2019).

In 2024/25 and 2025/26 Bahari is Artist-in-Residence with Gothenburg Symphony; she opened the Orchestra’s 24/25 season together with chief conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, performing Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, and returns in Spring 2025 to perform Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, again with Rouvali. Elsewhere in 24/25, Bahari collaborates for the first time with Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester, and makes her Japanese concerto debut with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra under music director Jonathan Nott, performing Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto. Bahari also returns to Swedish Chamber Orchestra – to give the Swedish premiere of James MacMillan’s Violin Concerto No.2 alongside composer-conductor Brett Dean – as well Gävle Symphony Orchestra.

Previous seasons’ engagements include performances with Gothenburg Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Malmö Symfoniorkester, Gävleand and Odense symphony orchestras, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Conductor collaborations and artistic partnerships extend to names such as Pekka Kuusisto, Andrew Manze, Tabita Berglund, Vasily Petrenko, Jaime Martin and James MacMillan.

A keen chamber musician, Bahari has appeared at renowned festivals, including Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Santander Music Festival, and has played with musicians such as Kirill Gerstein, Daniel Hope, Adrien La Marca and Camille Thomas, to name a few. As part of her double-season residency with Gothenburg Symphony, she collaborates with players of the orchestra to give two chamber music concerts. Notable recital performances include a Paganini recital at the Seoul Arts Center, a recital on the ‘Stauffer’ Guarneri del Gesù 1734 at Museo del Violino, Cremona, and a recital atKonzerthaus Berlin.

In Spring 2024, Bahari received her Konzertexamen Diploma from Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, further to Bachelor and Master studies under the guidance of Professor Kolja Blacher. In 2021 she completed a degree at the Accademia Stauffer in Cremona, Italy.

Bahari plays on an Antonio Stradivarius violin, made in Cremona in 1694, on loan by the Anders Sveaas’ Almennyttige Fond (ASAF).