bio
Only a select few artists have the ability to convey their message to the back row, to galvanize an audience with a visceral power that connects on a universal level. David Krakauer is such an artist. Praised internationally as an innovator in modern klezmer as well as a major voice in classical music, he received a 2015 Grammy nomination as soloist with the conductorless orchestra A Far Cry, and a Juno nomination for the CD “Akoka” with cellist Matt Haimovitz.
Krakauer is an electrifying symphonic soloist, frequently appearing with the world’s finest orchestras including the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Weimar Staatskapelle, Orchestre de Lyon, Dresdner Philharmonie, and the Seattle Symphony. Krakauer has collaborated with the Kronos, Emerson, Tokyo, Orion, and Miro String Quartets, and performed during the inaugural season of Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall with jazz pianist Uri Caine.
Krakauer’s discography contains some of the most important clarinet recordings of recent decades, including The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind (Osvaldo Golijov and the Kronos Quartet/Nonesuch – received the Diapason D’Or in France); The Twelve Tribes (Label Bleu – designated jazz album of the year for the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik), and Paul Moravec’s Pulitzer Prize-winning composition Tempest Fantasy (Naxos). He has also recorded with violinist Itzhak Perlman/the Klezmatics (Angel) and Dawn Upshaw/Osvaldo Golijov (Deutsche Grammophon).
An esteemed educator, David Krakauer teaches clarinet and chamber music at the Manhattan School of Music, the Mannes College of Music (New School), and The Bard Conservatory.