Zino Vinnikov

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Zino (Zinoviy) Vinnikov (born 1943) is one of the leading representatives of the St. Petersburg Russian violin tradition.

He studied with Abram Shtern, 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) Conservatoire. 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 Zino 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, 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, Sérénade mélancolique and Mélodie (with Menuhin conducting The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) received wide acclaim.

Zino Vinnikov has held the positions of Leader (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. 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 and teaching select private students.

Recordings by Zino Vinnikov have been released under the Melodiya, RCA/Erasmus, Tring International, RPO, Eroica and IMLab labels. They feature works by Achron, Albéniz, Bach, Bartók, Bloch, Chausson, Chopin, Debussy, Dvořák, Gade, Kreisler, Massenet, Milhaud, Mozart, Ponce, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Sarasate, Schubert, Suk, Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski, and Ysaÿe.