Zino Vinnikov

Zino Vinnikov

Zino (Zinoviy) Vinnikov (born 1943) is a Russian-born Dutch violinist and one of the leading representatives of the St. Petersburg violin tradition.

He studied with Abram Shtern in Kiev, and later at the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Conservatoire with Mikhail Waiman and Benjamin Sher, himself a pupil of the legendary Leopold Auer. While still a student, he won First Prize at the USSR National Violin Competition. He was also one of the prizewinners of the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the 1971 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, as well as winner of the First Prize and Gold Medal at the 1967 George Enescu Competition in Bucharest.

After completing his postgraduate studies, Vinnikov was invited to become a professor at the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Conservatory. In the early years of his career, Zino Vinnikov appeared in solo recitals and concerto performances on stages throughout the former Soviet Union and abroad. Since 1979, the artist has resided in The Netherlands (which granted him citizenship in 1982) and in France.

Today, Vinnikov is an internationally acclaimed artist with broad musical interests and an exceptionally rich repertoire. He has appeared in most European countries, as well as in those of the former Soviet Union, the United States, Canada, South America, China, and Japan. Vinnikov has performed as a soloist under leading conductors, such as Yuri Temirkanov, Evgeny Svetlanov, Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, André Previn, Alain Lombard, Hans Vonk, Jaap van Zweden and Vladimir Ashkenazy. He also enjoyed an especially close musical partnership with Yehudi Menuhin, who confessed to being an admirer of Vinnikov's art. Their recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Sérénade mélancolique, and Mélodie (with Lord Menuhin conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London) received wide acclaim. His 2002 album Zino Vinnikov Plays Fritz Kreisler also received enthusiastic reviews, such as "a tour de force, in which Vinnikov is forced to switch tempo, playing style and dynamics at a moment’s notice. Those looking to hear a master at the top of his game need look no further," and "Vinnikov has the rare capacity to ally delightful technical mastery with depth and subtlety of interpretation."

Zino Vinnikov has been concertmaster of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, and the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague.

Equally a keen chamber musician, Vinnikov has performed with outstanding musicians such as Philippe Hirschhorn, Mischa Maisky, Boris Pergamenschikow, Natalia Gutman, Eliso Virsaladze, Ronald Brautigam, Elisabeth Leonskaya and others. For over a decade he was First Violinist of the Netherlands-based Glinka Quartett, with which he toured widely. He has participated in a wide range of music festivals including Edinburgh, Santander, Athens, St. Petersburg, Bonn, Paris, Bordeaux and London.

Vinnikov has further held professorships at the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Conservatoire, Rotterdam Conservatoire, Utrecht Conservatoire, and the Benjamin Britten Academy, as well as delivering masterclasses, most recently at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, and teaching select private students in The Netherlands.