A renaissance man and a magnetic creative force, Dmitry Sitkovetsky is recognised throughout the world as having made a considerable impact on every aspect of musical life. A prolific recording artist, with a career spanning more than four decades, he is celebrated globally as a violinist, conductor, creator, transcriber, and facilitator – and holds an undisputed and venerable position in musical society as a giant personality and educator.
As violinist and/or guest conductor, the 2019/2020 season and beyond sees Sitkovetsky perform extensively throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. Highlights include work with such orchestras as the Japan Century Symphony, Lucerne Symphony, Orchestra della Toscana, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian State Symphony Orchestra ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’, Sapporo Symphony, and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others. In 2019, he also celebrates the release of a new recital disc on the Melodia label, recorded with Tchaikovsky Competition-winner Lukas Geniušas – with a programme designed as an homage to the legendary duo of Fritz Kreisler & Sergei Rachmaninov.
Sitkovetsky’s celebrated career as a violinist is documented in an extensive discography of more than forty recordings, reflecting the impressive breadth of his repertoire. His recording collaborators to date include such orchestras as the London Symphony, Philharmonia, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, working with such legendary maestros as Sir Colin Davis, Mariss Jansons, Sir Neville Marriner, and Yehudi Menuhin. As soloist, he has performed with the world’s leading orchestras – including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland, LA Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, New York Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, and Philadelphia, amongst others.
Sitkovetsky also enjoys a flourishing career as a conductor, having worked with such orchestras as Academy of St-Martin-In-The-Fields, Dallas Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony Shanghai Symphony, and Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, amongst others. In 1990, he founded the New European Strings Chamber Orchestra (NES) – bringing together the most distinguished string players from the top European ensembles, from both Russian and Western musical backgrounds (reflecting Dmitry’s own life story). Since 2003, Sitkovetsky has served as the Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina, to whom he has brought such soloists as Emmanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Garrick Ohlsson, and Pinchas Zukerman. Previous positions of artistic leadership have included the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y Leon (Artist in Residence, 2006-2009), Russian State Symphony Orchestra ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’ (Principal Guest Conductor, 2002-2005), and the Ulster Orchestra (Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor, 1996-2001).
Given his unmatched ability to turn any project into a highly anticipated artistic event, Sitkovetsky has also been invited to create, develop and lead a number of festivals, including the Korsholm Music Festival, Finland (1983-1993, and 2002), the Seattle International Music Festival (1992-1997), the Silk Route of Music, Azerbaijan (1999), and the Festival del Sole, Tuscany (2003-2006). The 2018/2019 season saw Sitkovetsky take the title of Artist-in-Residence of Vadim Repin’s Trans-Siberian Festival, with other forthcoming festival visits of note including the Enescu, Ljubljana, and Verbier music festivals.
Sitkovetsky is also in high demand as a Jury member, musical expert and educator. Recent jury roles have included the Indianapolis International Violin Competition (2018), Concours musical international de Montréal (2019), XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition (2019), and the Enescu Violin Competition (2020), and the 2019/2020 season opens with the first of a series of teaching residencies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Additional highlights include Sitkovetsky’s debut TEDx talk (The Power of Curiosity), the launch of his first book (Dmitry Sitkovetsky: Dialogues), and his interview series on Medici.tv (It Ain’t Necessarily So).
Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s name has also become synonymous with the art of transcription. His iconic orchestral and string trio versions of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations have taken on a life of their own – enjoying regular performances and acclaimed recordings by many of the leading performers of today. Following this unprecedented success, Sitkovetsky has gone on to arrange over fifty works of major repertoire by such composers as Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Schnittke, and Shostakovich. In 2015, he unveiled his transcription of Stravinsky’s Le baiser de la fée, commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and premiered by Augustin Hadelich at Carnegie Hall. The 2017/2018 season saw the successful premieres of a new multi-genre/multimedia work, Devil, Solider & Violin (inspired by Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale), with sold-out performances across Russia. Summer 2018 saw the world premiere of Sitkovetsky’s transcription of Sarasate’s Navarra Fantasy, commissioned by the Verbier Festival. This performance – marking the Festival’s 25th anniversary – was broadcast live worldwide on Medici.tv, with an all-star line up of musicians, including Lisa Batiashvili, Leonidas Kavakos, Mischa Maisky, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Tabea Zimmermann, and Pinchas Zukerman – as well, of course, as Dmitry Sitkovetsky himself.
