Alexander Barantschik
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Alexander Barantschik, a Russian violinist, born in 1953, is currently concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony, as well as a frequent soloist and chamber musician.
After training at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he performed with various Soviet orchestras, including the St Petersburg Philharmonic, before emigrating in 1979 to become concertmaster of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. He was concertmaster of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic from 1982-2001 and leader of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1989-2001. He came to the United States at the request of San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas, former principal conductor of the London Symphony.
Barantschik has won various competitions, including the International Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland, and the Russian National Violin Competition. As a chamber musician, he has performed with Mstislav Rostropovich, Maxim Vengerov, and Yuri Bashmet.
He sometimes plays the 1742 Guarnerius del Gesù that was once owned by Ferdinand David and Sarasate, and that was bequeathed to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco by Jascha Heifetz, who called it his favorite violin. It is on loan to Barantschik via the San Francisco Symphony for three years.
