Bartolomeo Fortino-Shields Solo Violist

Bartolomeo Fortino-Shields

Violinist, Bartholomew Frederick Fortino-Shields, hailed in The Baltimore Sun as “Amazing,” enjoys sharing the joy of music with all people. He performs regularly throughout the United States and Europe. Critics have said:

“Bartholomew Fortino-Shields, enchanted the audience with an intense and pathos-filled performance…he is considered to be one of the young emerging talents on the contemporary classical scene.” – Castelli Notizie

“In a room packed with a varied and festive audience, the young Italian-American violinist Bartholomew Fortino-Shields, an internationally renowned talent, opened the evening. The artist played two pieces, with an intense and passionate performance that deserved a long round of applause from the audience.” – Comune di Grottaferrata

“Fortino-Shields gave the audience an emotional performance, which delicately prepared the atmosphere…” – Giornale INFO Castelli Romani

Bartholomew has been featured in venues such as the Kaufman Music Center, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, Love²Arts | Gallery Management Representation in Antwerp, Belgium, the Gasteig HP8 in Munich, Germany and at Stadsherstel in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Mr. Fortino-Shields is a Sheva Artist with the London based Sheva Collection. Recently he and pianist Chan Mi Jean recorded their debut album at Studio Steinway Recording in Fulbeck, England in June of 2025. The Sheva Collection has been very favorably reviewed in Gramophone Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, Financial Times, and Naxos Music Library, among many others. In the past he has performed with notable musicians such as Judith Ingolfsson, Steinway Artist Hsing-ay Hsu, Timothy Chooi, Ariel Horowitz, Aisslinn Nosky, and members of the Garth Newel Piano Quartet and Callisto String Quartet.

Bartholomew performs on an early 19th-century violin crafted in 1830 by the renowned Fendt family of London, celebrated for their instruments’ rich, mature, and resonant tone. Mr. Fortino-Shields’ also plays a 2012 violin by New York-based maker Stefan Valčuha. Valčuha’s work, which draws on his extensive experience restoring fine 18th-century masterpieces alongside René Morel, has earned Silver Medals for Tone from the Violin Society of America. Bartholomew pairs these with a bow by master maker Vladimir Radosavljevic, which combines modern craftsmanship with the elegance of the French tradition.

Solo Violin Concert

Time: 8 pm

Venue: Concertzaal Vreedehuis, Den Haag, Netherlands

Program:

Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005 – Johann Sebastian Bach

Selection of caprices from Paganini 24 Caprices

Violin Sonata No. 4 in E minor, Op. 27 – Eugene Ysaye