Bio
Hailed by The Strad as ‘an artist who risks’ and described by Pizzicato Magazine as ‘a sensitive artist who knows how to immerse in the depths of music’, her passion for promoting the viola combined with her charismatic and expressive performances, and her beauty of sound, make Isabel Villanueva one of the most valued and complete violists of today.
Since her debut at 18 performing Bartók Viola Concerto with the Radio Television Spanish Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Villanueva has developed an global career that has expanded through Europe, Russia, China, Latinamerica and Middle East. In 2013 she made history becoming the first foreign violist to perform recitals in Iran. Passionate, energic and creative, she is embarqued in an overflowing activity as a soloist, pedagogue, creator of innovative projects to expand classical music, premiering contemporary works, and playing chamber music projects with prestigious colleagues.
She has been invited as a soloist with important orchestras including Moscow Soloists, Estonia National Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar in Venezuela, Real Philharmonia de Galicia, Castile and Leon Symphony Orchestra, Lebanon Philharmonic, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, New Russia State Symphony Orchestra and Zagreb Soloists, among many others, under the baton of Michel Plasson, Jacek Kaspszyk, Yaron Traub, Paul Daniel, Andres Mustonen, Jorge Mester, Christian Vásquez and Lior Shambadal.

Isabel Villanueva © Rosalía Bronstein