Fast-rising violin star and Bach interpreter Julia Fischer is not about to let her recent slew of awards go to her head

Apparently there’s a global recession going on, but that isn’t stopping Julia Fischer. The stunningly talented 25-year-old German violinist is about to embark on a world tour, leading the renowned British chamber orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and all signs point to sold-out crowds at every stop (including Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre on Sunday [February 15]). The tour comes on the heels of the Decca album Bach Concertos she released last month with the Academy, which quickly hit number one on Billboard’s Classical Chart and became the highest-selling classical debut in iTunes history.

But in conversation with the Straight during a rare 48-hour break at home in Munich, Fischer sounds rather blasé about the attention the recording received. “It was nice,” is all she says.

Despite her youth, Fischer exudes a self-assuredness well beyond her years. But perhaps that’s not surprising, given her background. Born to a piano teacher and a mathematician, she was given her first violin before the age of four and was admitted to the Munich Academy of Music at age nine, studying with the great pedagogue Ana Chumachenco. In 1995, at the age of 12, she won the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, walking away not only with top honours, but also with the special prize for best Johann Sebastian Bach solo work performance.

The accolades have flowed steadily since then—most recently in 2007, when she received the Classic FM Gramophone Awards Artist of the Year prize and the ECHO Klassik Award for her recording of the Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35. And in 2008, she wowed audiences when she pulled a switch-hitter and performed Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper.

“It seems very easy for me, for some reason,” she muses unselfconsciously when asked for her take on how the music business treats young talents. “I’m probably the wrong person to ask this question, because I never saw any kind of problems.”¦I’ve been blessed that I never saw how complicated it can be.”

According to Sir Neville Marriner, who founded the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 1958 and invited Fischer to lead the group on its current tour, the young violinist is the genuine article. “I love Julia dearly,” he gushes, on the line from his London, England, home. “It is extraordinary that she is the real thing. I think there are one or two young girls around now who are immensely gifted—infuriatingly gifted, really.” Fischer’s maturity when playing Bach, he says, is remarkable. “Of course,” he adds, “nowadays they [young players] have had so many good examples before them that, stylistically, these people are so well armed that you can’t really fault their interpretations.”

You’d think that tackling a composer like Bach would be a daunting prospect for Fischer, given the protectiveness his music often inspires in performers and listeners. But while she admits that “the problem with Bach interpretations is that every artist thinks he or she knows exactly how it has to be played,” she insists there is plenty of liberty to be found in the baroque master’s music. Unlike works by later composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich, she explains, there is no audio record of how he intended his music to be played. In addition, she points out, “Composers like Bach”¦weren’t only composers. They were also interpreters, so they had a kind of trust that the interpreter would know how to perform this piece best. That’s why they didn’t give us so many indications; if you look at a score of Bach, basically you have one piano or one forte. You have nothing else written there.”¦At that time, everything was actually much freer.”

Whether she’s playing music from the 17th century or the 21st century, one thing never changes: tucked under Fischer’s chin is a 1742 Guadagnini she purchased five years ago. “It’s my first own violin [in adulthood],” she says, emotion creeping into her voice. “It’s not from a foundation or anything, and that was something very important to me. I really wanted to have my own instrument.” Previous to the Guadagnini, Fischer played the 1716 Booth Stradivarius, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. But now, she insists she’ll never go back: “I have absolutely no need to try out other violins.”¦Of course, when I come to cities with very important violin makers and violin dealers, they usually call me or visit and ask if I would like to have a look at their newest Strad.”¦First, I’ve never been one of those violin freaks who want to know everything about any violin on the planet—but also, I feel like I’m cheating on my violin. So I just usually gratefully decline.”

Whether or not there’s a companion in her life besides her violin is a mystery, but one thing Fischer would like to make clear is that she’s just a normal young woman, despite her globetrotting lifestyle. “I do anything any other 25-year-old woman would do,” she asserts. “I like to go shopping, I love to read, I love to go to the movies, I meet up with friends.” One thing you won’t find her doing, however, is hanging out in CD stores.

“I never listen to music in my time off,” she says firmly. “I listened a lot when I was a child, but not anymore.” The reason, she says, is simple: “I have so much music in my head. And if I want to listen to music, I make it myself.”