During his studies in the Canary Islands, he was part of various youth orchestras in the archipelago and debuted as a soloist in several competitions for young performers. He was also a member of the NSJO (Dutch National Youth String Orchestra). In 2006, he joined the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (GMJO), performing on some of Europe’s most prominent stages and working with artists like Sir Colin Davis, Myung-Whun Chung, the Capucon brothers, Thomas Hampson, Nicolaj Znaider, and Susan Graham. Between 2009 and 2010, he alternated roles as principal and co-principal second violin in the Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra – Sinfonia Rotterdam.

Deeply interested in historically informed performance, he studied Baroque violin in Amsterdam with Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, and Antoinette Lohmann, and received lessons in Spain from Amandine Beyer and Emilio Moreno. Additionally, he completed a master’s degree in Baroque violin and early music interpretation at ESMAE in Porto with French violinist Benjamin Chénier.

He has regularly collaborated with De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, L’Apothéose Ensemble, Divino Sospiro Lisboa, Harmonia del Parnàs, Ensemble Allettamento, Camerata Boccherini, Palma de Mallorca Baroque Orchestra, and De Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, of which he is a founding member. Adrián Linares has also been a guest concertmaster with distinguished ensembles such as the Sevilla Baroque Orchestra (OBS), La Ritirata-Josetxu Obregón, La Orquesta del Miracle, and the Royal Galicia Philharmonic.

In 2012, he founded the historicist ensemble El Afecto Ilustrado, which is currently one of the longest-standing and most well-established groups in its field in the Canary Islands. This ensemble received the Audience Award for Best Early Music Group in 2024 at the VIII GEMA Awards for innovation and creativity in early music in Spain. Linares has debuted as a soloist and conductor on various stages, including the Canary Islands International Music Festival (FIMC), the National Library of Spain (BNE), Palau de la Música Catalana, and Tenerife Auditorium, working alongside renowned performers such as Jacques Ogg, Juan de la Rubia, Alfonso Sebastián, and Emma Kirkby.

Highly interested in teaching and outreach, he regularly offers classes and masterclasses. In 2024, he conducted a workshop at the Prado Museum as part of the course “Baroque and Baroques: Exploring the Cultural Aspects of an Era.”

Since 2014, he has been the second violins soloist in the Galicia Symphony Orchestra (OSG), where he has worked under the baton of conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Gustavo Dudamel, Jesús López Cobos, Richard Egarr, Carlo Rizzi, Dima Slobodeniouk, Marc Albrecht, and Ton Koopman, or with soloists like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Viktoria Mullova, Maxim Vengerov, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Isabelle Faust, and Lars Vogt. Currently, he also provides orchestral training to young performers at the national level, regularly collaborating with prominent groups such as JOCAN – Joven Orquesta de Canarias, Joven Orquesta del IBF – Las Palmas, and OJSG – Joven Orchestra of the Galicia Symphony Orchestra.
Adrián Linares was awarded the Excellens Music Prize 2020 by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Miguel Arcángel (RACBA), and he plays an instrument made by Joan Guillamí, Barcelona, circa 1760.