Kati Debretzeni

A fourth generation musician, Kati Debretzeni (leader) began playing the violin with Sofia Szabó in her native Romania, finishing her studies with Ora Shiran in Israel.

Her passion for historical performance took her to London, where she studied the Baroque violin with Catherine Mackintosh and Walter Reiter.

From 2000–24, Debretzeni led the English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner, with whom she has performed the world over. Her playing can be heard in the group’s recordings of J.S. Bach’s cantatas, the Brandenburg concertos, and the more recent recordings of the Mass in B minor, the St Matthew Passion, and Monteverdi’s operas. In 2018, she recorded violin concertos by J.S. Bach with the orchestra to critical acclaim. Since December 2024, she has led Gardiner’s Constellation Ensemble.

Since 2008, Debretzeni has been one of the leaders of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, collaborating with Simon Rattle, Adam Fischer, Ivan Fischer András Schiff, William Christie, Ottavio Dantone, Vladimir Jurowski, Maxim Emelyanychev, and Ricardo Minasi. She has directed the group from the violinist’s chair in works ranging from Baroque repertoire to Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Berlioz, and has recorded Vivaldi’s Four Seasons following performances in collaboration with the Henri Oguike Dance Company.

Debretzeni is in demand internationally as a leader, soloist, and director with groups such as the Orchestra of the 18th Century (Netherlands), Zefiro (Italy), Akademie für Alte Music Berlin (Germany), Barokkanerne (Norway), Sevilla Baroque Orchestra (Spain), Les Siècles (France), Victoria Baroque (Canada), and the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra (Israel).

A keen chamber musician, she has recorded award-winning CDs with Ricordo and Florilegium. For the last decade and a half, she has been a member of Trio Goya.

As teacher, Debretzeni has given master classes in the UK, Germany, Italy, Norway, Canada, Israel, and Hungary. She is on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and her former students make music the world over.