Trained at the Zurich University of Music under Prof. Zakhar Bron. He has won prizes at international competitions 27 times, including the Rudolf Lipizer Violin Competition in Gorizia (Italy, 2011), the George Enescu Competition in Bucharest (2014), and the Boris Goldstein Competition in Bern (Switzerland, 2015). In 2010 he came in third at the Niccolò Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa; in 2011 he took the bronze medal in the 14th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznan. As a soloist he has performed with many renowned orchestras in the foremost concert halls of Europe. His debut in China (2007) was very well-received, and he has been in the festivals in Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, in the European Youth Festival of Art in Paris and many others. Since 2010 he has been concertmaster of the Mannheim Philharmonic Orchestra, and since 2011 concertmaster and soloist with the Hulencourt Soloist Chamber Orchestra. He plays a violin made by Nicolò Gagliano provided by the German Musical Life Foundation.
Which people would you invite as guests to your dream dinner party?
A good fish with his cousins potato and tartar sauce – on my plate.
What is your favorite meal?
Ice cream.
Do you have a favorite motto or proverb that you live your life by?
Don’t worry, be happy.
Which person or people inspire you the most?
My wife Lora.
If you were 80 years old, what advice would you give to young people today?
Live your life, don't eat too much ice cream.
What would you like people to say about you?
"That guy has a good intonation!" – never going to happen!
How do you overcome the stage fright? / What is your ritual before going on stage?
Chocolate and bananas.
When you perform... who are you playing for?
For myself – selfish, eh? I suppose I love music too much…
Is there a joke about musicians that you would like to share with us?
About musicians? Nooo, we are peeerfect!
You are on a desert island and can bring only 3 items, what do you bring?
My wife (yes, for once she could be an "item"), my violin (don't tell me, cliché I know…) and a refrigerator full of ice cream!
What is your favorite noise/sound? What is the most annoying noise for you?
Favorite sound: David Oistrakh; most annoying: you know that awful sound if you clean your violin stings with a cloth and not stopping your stings to vibrate the same time? Yeah, if you heard it once in your life, you'll forget about all the great Hitchcock movie sounds ever heard…
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Doesn't matter, as long as I get Italian ice cream there.
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word Tchaikovsky?
He was the best story teller in Music.
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word competition?
Fun!
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