Jaime Laredo (born June 7, 1941, at Cochabamba, Bolivia) is an American violinist and conductor of Bolivian heritage. Laredo burst upon the international classical music scene at age 17 in 1959 when he won First Prize for violin at the International Queen Elizabeth Grand Prize in Brussels, Belgium (at the time, the youngest winner in the history of the prize and the first Latin American). Since then, Laredo has had an uninterrupted and celebrated 65-year career in classical symphonic and chamber music, mostly in the United States, as a violinist, violist, conductor, and educator, receiving numerous accolades, awards and honors. He has played with and/or conducted some of the leading symphony orchestras in the world. During his career, Laredo has made approximately 100 recordings. As a violinist, playing with, and conducting, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Laredo recorded Antonio Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" in 1986, which recording was on the United Kingdom classical music best seller list for one year. In 1992, as a violist, Laredo won a Grammy for best chamber music performance of Brahm's quartets. Laredo was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2010. Bolivia, the country of his birth, has awarded Laredo its highest national decoration (the Order of the Condor of the Andes), has issued postage stamps bearing his image, and has named a large outdoor amphitheater in the capital, La Paz, in his honor. He is considered a national hero.
Laredo's parents were Eduardo Laredo Quiroga and Elena Unzueta Urquidi, both amateur musicians, artists and poets from established families.[1] Laredo was a child prodigy. His first violin teacher was his father. Another important teacher was Carlos Flamini.[2] Laredo began to play at age five and performed his first concert in Bolivia at age eight. Thereafter, in 1948, his parents decided to move to the United States to further the development of their son's musical talent, settling initially in San Francisco, where the elder Laredo found a position at the Bolivian consulate. In 1952, Laredo made his debut performance at age 11 with the San Francisco Symphony.[3]
He was the conductor and music director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 1986, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2020 and the Bolivia Clasica Youth Orchestra in 2014. He served as artistic advisor for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra and guest conducted the orchestra on April 18, 2009, in a program featuring his wife, the cellist Sharon Robinson. He was scheduled to again conduct the orchestra for two programs during the 2009–10 season.[needs update] Laredo and Robinson were also featured soloists in a special concert conducted by Andrew Constantine, who became the Philharmonic's music director in July 2009. Laredo has been a guest conductor for the Seattle Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.[6] International orchestras with which he performed or conducted include the London Symphony Orhcestra, the BBC Symphonay Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.[6][7]
Ever since Laredo's 1959 triumph at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Belgium, he has enjoyed hero status in the country of his birth. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets and filled the Estadio Hernando Siles football stadium to pay tribute to him in December 1959 when he received a hero's welcome in the city of La Paz presided by the President Hernan Siles Zuazo.
Laredo has been the subject of the Bolivian documentary film "Laredo de Bolivia" directed by Jorge Ruiz Calvimonte.[11][12] In 1960, the Bolivian postal service issued a set of commemorative stamps in honor of Laredo (the issue consisted of twelve values, including both regular and airmail denominations, depicting Laredo playing the violin).[13] There is a large outdoor amphitheater, with a seating capacity of 8,000 people, in the city of La Paz named after him--'Teatro al Aire Libre Jaime Laredo Unzueta.'[14] There is also a music academy in the city of Cochabamba, his place of birth, named in honor of Jaime Laredo's father--"Instituto Eduardo Laredo."
In August 2014, after an absence of 33 years, Laredo reconnected with his Bolivian roots by performing in a series of concerts with the orchestra of the Fundacion Bolivia Clasica in the cities of Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, and La Paz (where he performed both at the Teatro Municipal Alberto Saavedra and also at the Michael Donohue Theater at the American Cooperative School of La Paz).[15] Initially, the organizers of the tour had wanted to also include performances either in the Salar de Uyuni or on the Island of the Moon, but logistical challenges proved to be insurmountable.[15][16] In addition to performing works by classical composers such as Bach,[17] Laredo also assisted in conducting orchestral arrangements of pieces by Bolivian composers (Collita and Viva Mi Patria Bolivia)[15][18] In addition, Laredo gave master classes to young Bolivian musicians.[19] During the tour, Laredo was accompanied by his wife, the cellist Sharon Robinson, and by his hostess, the pianist Ana-Maria Vera. These concerts were sponored by a not-for-profit organization called "Bolivia Clasica" founded by the American concert pianist of Bolivian-Dutch heritage Ana-Maria Vera.[20]
Public image and legacy in the United States
Laredo has been featured in television programs in the United States, including on PBS-Public Broadcasting System.[21]
Laredo has been a long-time member of the jury for the Indianapolis International Violin Competition.[22][23]
In addition to having had career success as a virtuoso violinist and violist and as an acclaimed orchestra conductor, Laredo is also widely known and respected for his career as a pedagogue and mentor for the younger generation of classical musicians, including as the conductor of the New York String Orchestra seminar, which performs a concert at Carnegie Hall every year in December.[24]
Vivaldi, Great String Concertos, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, IMP Classics, 1985
Bach, Great String Concertos, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, IMP Classics, 1986
Mendelssohn-Bruch, Violin Concertos, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, IMP Classics, 1987
Beethoven, Violin Concerto and Violin Romances, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, IMP Classics, 1987
Sources
Bernas, Richard. 2001. "Laredo, Jaime". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. New York: Grove's Dictionaries.
References
↑ "Eduardo Laredo Quiroga – Geneanet Family Tree". Geneanet. Retrieved 6 November 2025. A genealogical record lists Eduardo Laredo Quiroga married to Elena Unzueta Urquidi, with children including Jaime Eduardo Laredo Unzueta.
↑ "Decreto Supremo No. 5368, de 10 de diciembre de 1959". Derechoteca (in Spanish). Gaceta Oficial del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. 10 December 1959. Retrieved October 31, 2025. Se asciende al grado de Gran Cruz de la Orden del Condor de los Andes al artista Jaime Laredo Unzueta.[The artist Jaime Laredo Unzueta is promoted to the rank of Grand Cross of the Order of the Condor of the Andes]
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