Nikolaj Znaider

Nikolaj Znaider is not only celebrated as one of the foremost violinists of today, but is also fast becoming one of the most versatile artists of his generation uniting his talents as a soloist, conductor and chamber musician.

As a guest conductor, Nikolaj Znaider has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Staatskapelle Dresden, Munich’s Philharmonie, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Russian National Orchestra, the Hallй Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Since 2010 he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, with which this season he will be conducting the opera Le nozze di Figaro and numerous concerts of symphony music. Moreover, this season Znaider will be making regular appearances with the orchestra of the Staatskapelle Dresden, while the 2012–2013 season will see his debuts with the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), the orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome) and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist, Znaider has been regularly invited to work with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, among them Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Christoph von Dohnányi, Ivan Fischer and Gustavo Dudamel. In recital and chamber music performances he has appeared at all the major concert halls. In the 2012–2013 season the London Symphony Orchestra will be presenting an Artist Portrait series of concerts in his honour, with Znaider himself performing two violin concerti under the baton of Sir Colin Davis, conducting an expansive programme of symphony music and performing chamber works with soloists from the orchestra.

An exclusive RCA RED SEAL recording artist, Znaider’s most recent addition to his discography is the Elgar Violin Concerto with Sir Colin Davis and Dresden’s Staatskapelle. His award winning recordings of the Brahms and Korngold Violin Concerti with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Valery Gergiev, the Beethoven and Mendelssohn Concerti with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic and Prokofiev’s Second Concerto and the Glazunov Concerto with Mariss Jansons and the Bayerische Rundfunk have met with great critical acclaim, as did his release of the complete works for violin and piano by Johannes Brahms with Yefim Bronfman. For EMI Classics he has recorded the Mozart Piano Trios with Daniel Barenboim and the Nielsen and Bruch Concerti with the London Philharmonic.

Znaider is passionate about the education of young musicians and for ten years he was Founder and Artistic Director of the Nordic Music Academy, an annual summer school which aims to promote conscious and focused musical development based on quality and commitment.

Nikolaj Znaider plays the “Kreisler” Guarnerius del Gesù 1741 violin, which is on extended loan to him from the Royal Danish Theater through the generosity of the VELUX FOUNDATIONS and the Knud Højgaard Foundation.