DESCRIPTION:
2003

Claude Chalhoub
(Arabic: كلود شلهوب‎) born in Lebanon in 1974, from a musical family of 11 children, attended the Lebanese Conservatoire before entering the Royal College of Music in London as winner of the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Scholarship award.
He is fluent in Classical Western music and Arabic improvisation, and was concertmaster for Daniel Barenboim's 'West-Eastern Divan Orchestra' (1999- 2002). Furthermore, he was invited by Yo-Yo Ma to Tanglewood/USA to support him in his Silk Road Project.
His eponymous debut release on Teldec Classics International is the result of an exclusive recording contract & was produced by Michael Brook who has overseen numerous crossover efforts like the Real World Records. Diwan is the second album produced by Herzog Records in collaboration with the Gewandhausorchester of Leipzig. The album offers original compositions for violin solo and orchestra.
As a violinist Claude Chalhoub has performed the classical repertoire for violin as well as his own music world-wide and with the most renowned orchestra's and magnificent musicians, including the Symphony Orchestra's of London, Halle and Holland, Michael Brook, Forroukh, Tobias Koch, Calefax Reed Quintet, The Edmond Chamber Players to name a few. His repertoire includes Beethoven, Mozart, Khachaturian, Brahms, Bruch Violin Concerto, Korngold Violin Concerto, his own arrangement of Mendelson Violin Concerto in E.
An example of his international versatility was a collaboration with the Holland Symfonia and the Dutch National Ballet who played & danced to his music at the famous Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2007.
As a composer, he is well known to the film. His compositions are used in 'Persona non grata -- Oliver Stone (2003)', 'Yes -- Sally Potter (2004)' or 'Into the Wild -- Sean Penn (2007)', he was commissioned by 'Koran by heart -- Greg Barker (2011) ' and playing the solos in 'India: Kingdom of the Tiger -- Bruce Neibaur (2002), 'Caramel -- Nadine Labaki (2007) ' and 'Where do we go now -- Nadine Labaki (2011)'.
Recently, he composed and arranged the latest of Majida El Roumi's albums 'Ghazal' (2012).
A film biography on Chalhoub's life and career called 'Singing on the Violin' by German director Boris Penth (2007) has been broadcasted internationally, among others on TV channels WDR, 3Sat, Bayrisches Fernsehen, ABC1 Australia, Euro arts, Medici.TV, etc