Nikolaj znaider

Soloist, conductor and chamber musician, Nikolaj Znaider studied with the Russian pedagogue Boris Kuschnir and, in 1997, won one of the most highly respected violin prizes: the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels. He now performs regularly with the world's leading orchestras and was invited by Valery Gergiev to become principal guest conductor of the Mariinsky Orchestra in St Petersburg. Among his recordings are Brahms and Korngold Violin Concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev and Beethoven and Mendelssohn Concertos with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic. Znaider was founder and artistic director of the Nordic Music Academy for ten years and plays the 'Kreisler' Guarnerius 'del Gesù', 1741.