Majorcan violinist receives prestigious American grant

The awards, named after American electronics businessman and amateur violinist Avery Fisher, were first given in 1976. They recognise young musicians who represent the highest level of excellence and whose careers and vision are expanding the universe of classical music. A board of experts and the Avery Fisher Artist Program executive committee decide on award recipients. In the past these have included the likes of Joshua Bell and Hilary Hahn.

Francisco Fullana, who was born in Palma in 1990, began his violin studies in the city before moving to the Madrid Royal Conservatory of Music. He later achieved maximum qualifications in graduating from the Juilliard School in New York. He has performed with the Balearic Symphony Orchestra and numerous other orchestras. At the age of seventeen, Sir Colin Davis was the conductor when he played with the Bayerische Philarmonie in Munich.

The BBC Music Magazine has described him as one of the "emerging stars on the international scene". The San Francisco Classical Voice has called him a "virtuoso of sublime delicacy", while the New York Classical Review considered his most recent recital at Carnegie Hall to have been "pure perfection".