Soloist Beginning in 1948, Laredo took lessons from
Antonio de Grassi. He also studied with
Frank Houser before moving to
Cleveland,
Ohio, to study under
Josef Gingold in 1953. He studied with
Ivan Galamian at the
Curtis Institute of Music until his graduation. He also received private mentoring from
Pablo Casals and
George Szell. In 1976, he was a soloist with the
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. His
Carnegie Hall recital in October 1960 was much praised, and helped to launch his career. The next year, he played at
Royal Albert Hall in London. Afterwards, he has played with many major European and American orchestras, including the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,
Boston Symphony Orchestra, the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the
New York Philharmonic, the
Cleveland Orchestra, the
Philadelphia Orchestra, the
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra,
Chamber music For 15 years, Laredo played
viola, and recorded
piano quartets with
Isaac Stern,
Yo-Yo Ma, and
Emanuel Ax. In 1992, the quartet won a
Grammy for its performance of Brahms. In addition, he collaborated with pianist
Glenn Gould performing works by Bach. For 45 years, until the death of Kalichstein in 2022, Laredo was the violinist of the
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, along with pianist
Joseph Kalichstein and cellist Sharon Robinson. The debut performance of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio was in 1977 at the presidential inauguration of
Jimmy Carter in Washington, D.C. In 1980, the Trio headlined the International Festival of Music and Dance in Granada, Spain. Beginning in 2024, Laredo has formed a piano quartet called Espressivo! with pianist
Anna Polonsky, violist
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt and cellist
Sharon Robinson; Laredo plays the violin for this piano quartet.
Educator and mentor Laredo was a professor at the
Jacobs School of Music at
Indiana University from 2005 to 2012. In 2012, the
Cleveland Institute of Music announced the appointment of Laredo and wife
Sharon Robinson to the string faculty, an appointment lasting until 2024. Prior to that appointment, Laredo was a professor at the
Curtis Institute of Music from 1971 to 2004. Laredo led the New York String Orchestra Seminar from 1993 to 2025. This is an ensemble of the best young classical musicians in the United States, ages 16–23, selected through a highly competitive process. They convene in New York City for two weeks each December and then perform a concert at
Carnegie Hall on the evening of December 24. In 2017, the
American String Teachers Association honored him with its Artist Teacher Award. As a master violin teacher, Laredo has been instrumental in the development of many renowned violinists including
Jennifer Koh,
Leila Josefowicz,
Hillary Hahn, Ivan Chan, Soovin Kim, Pamela Frank, and
Bella Hristova.
World premieres Jaime Laredo has also been a featured performer for multiple world premieres of music for classical instruments composed by contemporary composers. •
Double Concerto (Rorem), a composition for violin, cello and orchestra by the American composer
Ned Rorem, which was commissioned by the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for performance by violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson. The piece was first performed by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Raymond Leppard in Indianapolis on October 15, 1998. • In the Arms of the Beloved
Richard Danielpour, a double concerto for violin (Jaime Laredo), cello (Sharon Robinson) and orchestra (Michael Stern conducting the IRIS Chamber Orchestra) inspired by the poetry of Persian poet Rumi and composed to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson; the world premiere took place in Germantown, Tennessee, on April 20, 2002. •
Prince of Clouds, is a double concerto for two vioins and string orchestra by the British-born composer
Anna Clyne. The work was jointly commissioned by the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the IRIS Orchestra, the
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the
Curtis Institute of Music. It was first performed by the violinists
Jennifer Koh and Jaime Laredo with the IRIS Orchesra under conductor
Michael Stern on November 3, 2012, in Germantown, Tennessee. The piece was nominated for the 2015
Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. •
Double Concerto (Previn), a composition for violin, cello and orchestra by the German-American composer
Andre Previn, which was commissioned by the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,
Linton Music and other benefactors. The world premiere was given by violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of
Louis Langree in Cincinnati on November 21, 2014. • Joy Steppin'
Nokuthula Ngwenyama, a composition commissioned for the piano quartet Espressivo! and inspired by
The Book of Joy by the 14th
Dalai Lama and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu; the world premiere took place in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 20, 2024 ==Public image and legacy==