"Everything you need to perform a romantic concert was created by his flying fingers: inspiration, lightness and incredible musicality. Audience loved him once and forever". Nottingham Post, 2011

quartets with the Atrium String Quartet in Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Among the most interesting and important projects was the prime recording of Eugène Ysaÿe's concert that has never been played before, in collaboration with the Liège Royal Philharmonic and Jean-Jacques Kantorow on the Belgian Fuga Libera music label. Nikita never stops to expand his geography. For the upcoming season he's got performances scheduled in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Lausanne, Brussels, Rostov-on-Don, Volgodonsk, Tbilisi, Linz, Nantes, Belgorod, Hamburg, Madrid, Vienna, Gstaad, Amsterdam and Tokyo, and also a tour of 17 cities in China. Nikita plays with many outstanding musicians including Charles Dutoit, Boris Berezovsky, Alexander Lazarev, Nikolay Lugansky, Yuri Bashmet, Lucas Debargue, Dima Slobodenyuk, Alexander Knyazev, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Georgy Tchaidze, and others.

A number of first prizes won in prestigious international music competitions opened Nikita the way to the world's best concert halls. The musician continuously receives invitations from the leading orchestras and festivals. Some of the brightest events of the 2019/20 season include performances with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, participation in the festivals «La Folle Journée» in Nantes, Tokyo and Ekaterinburg, the Beethovenfest Bonn, Andermatt Music Winter Festival in Switzerland, «Smetana days festival» in the Czech Republic, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival. Nikita debuted at The Wiener Konzerthaus with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in June 2020, performed the whole cycle of all Beethoven's quartets with the Atrium String Quartet in Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Among the most interesting and important projects was the prime recording of Eugène Ysaÿe's concert that has never been played before, in collaboration with the Liège Royal Philharmonic and Jean-Jacques Kantorow on the Belgian Fuga Libera music label. Nikita never stops to expand his geography. For the upcoming season he's got performances scheduled in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Lausanne, Brussels, Rostov-on-Don, Volgodonsk, Tbilisi, Linz, Nantes, Belgorod, Hamburg, Madrid, Vienna, Gstaad, Amsterdam and Tokyo, and also a tour of 17 cities in China. Nikita plays with many outstanding musicians including Charles Dutoit, Boris Berezovsky, Alexander Lazarev, Nikolay Lugansky, Yuri Bashmet, Lucas Debargue, Dima Slobodenyuk, Alexander Knyazev, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Georgy Tchaidze, and others.

30th August

Nikita was born on August 30th, 1985 in Volgodonsk. Nobody in his family belongs to the professional academic music world. His parents, Lyudmila Vasilievna and Arkadiy Ivanovich, have been working as researchers in the chemical industry. It wasn't hard to assume they'd raise a musician in a family of scientists: Arkadiy Ivanovich is known as a true music head with a collection of vinyl records, and also a founder of a record collectors' club in Volgodonsk. Nikita and his sister both grew up surrounded by music, listening to jazz and Pink Floyd records, and yet the preference was given to classical compositions. His father says it was important to bring Nikita up comprehensively developed. Nobody planned on making him a celebrity.

1998

In the beginning

When Nikita was 6, he got into the experimental class of the school of arts. During his first year Nikita was studying the piano, and his sister was learning to play the violin. As soon as it became obvious that he had an absolute pitch, he picked up the violin from his sister. Who knows what his life would've been if he had become a pianist. A year later the promising child was transferred to the Shostakovich music school, where he became a student of Tatiana Popovich. She was able to get him deeply interested in music. That's when his career path became more or less a given.

Early success

During his studies the violinist successfully performed at youth contests in Maykop, Moscow and Weimar. At 10 Nikita debuted with a large orchestra in Rostov-on-Don. The concert program included a comprehensive composition for the children's repertoire: the concert of Giovanni Viotti No. 22. Recalling that performance, Nikita feels nostalgic for the times when he didn't feel nervous coming up on stage. It seemed to be an absolute pleasure for him to play the violin with adult musicians. The only thing that worried the young soloist was a bow tie which was always moving sideways during the play. The most important part was to fix the bow tie during the orchestral bridge. Many years later Nikita focuses exclusively on music, since the higher your status is, the more meticulous your listeners are.

1991

Life-changing decision

2000

At 14 Nikita graduated early from the Rostov College of Arts, and his teachers Tatiana and Oleg Bagin made their verdict: 'the boy should grow further' and move to Moscow. The violinist enrolled into the Moscow State Conservatory and without any hesitation got into the class of Eduard Grach, the renowned musician and teacher, who continued the traditions of the Soviet school established by Abram Yampolsky. Eduard Davidovich had already noticed the young talent from Volgodonsk at the New Names contest. At the entrance exams the professor made a dramatic hand gesture and asked 'Nikita, dear, how old are you?' Nikita was a few inches shorter than the other applicants which wasn't an obstacle for passing all the exams. That's how a boy from a provincial town became a student of the Moscow Conservatory skipping the Central Music School and ten years at the Gnesin Academy.

Start
career

Bound by the same purpose

Nikita's interests were slightly different from those of his classmates, yet the age gap didn't make much difference in making friends and gathering a circle of like-minded students. He lived in a dormitory and fortunately got himself into a good company. His friends didn't party and took their studies seriously: they collected records together, exchanged books, and watched movies made by the greatest directors. His student life was very intense and he intentionally didn't let distracting people in. At the Conservatory Nikita met a young composer Kuzma Bodrov, and they're still very good friends to this day. The musicians were looking in the same direction and quickly got together. Their creative collaboration was never discussed and yet was bound to happen. Kuzma's compositions Violin concerto, Caprice for violin and orchestra, Rhine sonata for violin and piano as well as String Quartet No.2 were written specially for Nikita, and even dedicated to him (String Quartet is dedicated to the Atrium Quartet). Right now the composer is working on a new creation, however he keeps the details in secret. The premiere is scheduled for the spring of 2020.

Student years

-2005

Music helped to adjust to the city life and new circumstances of being surrounded by people at least 5 years senior. Eduard Grach and his assistant Tatiana Berkul wisely chose the repertoire and gave him compositions according to his age. When the professor would offer to play at the Department evenings, Nikita purposely learned new compositions which he had noticed before, like sonatas of Ysaÿe, Bach or Chausson's Poème. In a sense each concert made Nikita overcome himself. Besides solo performances Nikita Boriso-Glebsky received a great experience of playing with a chamber orchestra at the Conservatory. In Moskovia Orchestra he passed all the stages from a section player to the concertmaster. As a result, today the critics consider the violinist's performances with orchestras 'surprisingly organic'.

The desire to improve his skills has never left the musician. During his years at the conservatory, Nikita often took courses at the Keshet Eilon summer school in Israel, where he attended classes of Ida Haendel and Shlomo Mintz.

2007

Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel in Belgium

In 2007 Nikita Boriso-Glebsky took part in the XIII International Tchaikovsky Competition. During his Conservatory years he had repeatedly won many musical competitions, but it was the Tchaikovsky Competition that became a truly career changing moment for the violinist. Even before the results were announced the journalists had already given the title of 'fans' favorite' to Nikita Boriso-Glebsky. This title was completely proven as Nikita ended up getting five prizes, including an audience award. The competition itself was fierce, and yet Nikita was able to focus, overcome himself and became the Laureate, taking the Second prize. The competition was followed by an exclusive contract with the Moscow Philharmonic making Nikita their soloist at the age of eighteen, as well as many concerts in Russia and Europe. Many managers showed interest in Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, and the geography of his performances significantly expanded.

2008-

After graduating from the Conservatory with honors Nikita Boriso-Glebsky continued his postgraduate studies. He was granted a three-year internship at the Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. The decision to study in Europe was influenced by the composer Rodion Shchedrin, who highly appreciated the talents of the violinist. The performer himself took this opportunity as a chance to take a closer look at French music. Augustin Dumay was his teacher at the Music Chapel, the protege of one of the pillars of the Franco-Belgian violin school Arthur Grumiaux. Nikita immediately felt the differences in teaching methods at this school. Having received a strong basis in Russia, Nikita focused on an integral part of performing, his musical fantasy. Dumay was free from any restrictions, borders and limits.

Sometimes he offered such interpretations that Nikita could not even dream of. The student acquired this freedom of thought. Later on Nikita Boriso-Glebsky and Augustin Dumay recorded Lalo's Spanish Symphony, with the teacher performing as a conductor. Here in Belgium Nikita got his hands on the dream of any violinist — a Stradivarius. Although the instrument was unique and had almost 6 million euros in value, the player and the violin did not get along. With every climate change the legendary violin would sound slightly off, some notes couldn't be played. Besides struggling with sound Nikita faced another problem: the Russian customs asked for a massive pile of paperwork stating that he hadn't stolen this violin. Nikita Boriso-Glebsky said many times that finding 'his' instrument wasn't any less difficult than finding the love of one's life.

2011

Dining with van Dam

The Music Chapel in Belgium was very different from the Conservatory with its chamber atmosphere. The school was operating in a tiny building constructed back in the Queen Elizabeth times. All professors and students dined together at the same table, while in Moscow there had always been a distance between them. In one of his interviews Nikita mentioned an event that made a huge impression on him on the very first day of studies: 'I loved listening to Mozart Requiem with Karajan, with the bass part performed by José van Dam, a famous Belgian bass-baritone. During lunch [at school] I saw a respectable man who somehow caught my attention. To my huge surprise, I learned that it was José van Dam himself! I immediately felt a strong connection with Karajan and that famous record. The performer was sitting just in front of me, it was astounding.'

XIII Tchaikovsky Competition

-2012

Kronberg Academy

After Belgium Nikita was a postgraduate student at Kronberg Academy for some time. He had classes with Anna Chumachenko, a student of Yehudi Menuhin. Nikita was lucky to have an opportunity to work with adherents of different violin schools and compare their sides. As a result he succeeded to combine the virtuosic technique of Russian school with modern European style in his performances.

Other contests and awards

Nikita took part in major international competitions in Monaco, Vienna, Brussels and Montreal. The most pleasant of all for the violinist was the first prize at the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki in 2010. In addition he received a special award for performing Sibelius Violin Concerto. It seemed unbelievable that a Russian violinist got the award, and not the Finnish. After this triumphant victory his parents joked that their family had some Finno-Ugric ancestors. Nikita Boriso-Glebsky's successes aren't limited to the awards. In 2009 he got the Violinist of the Year title from the International Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin Foundation. In 2010 the Musical Review newspaper declared him the Person of the Year. In 2011 Nikita received the Sibelius Medal from the Sibelius Society of Finland and the Virtuoso title from the Cremona International Music Academy.

A question of quartet

At the time Nikita's career was emerging very successfully. He was getting invitations from the world's leading orchestras; the best concert halls opened their doors for him. Then the violinist decided to try something new and become a primarius (the first chair violinist) in the Atrium String Quartet. Nikita explains his desire to work with the quartet:

'I believe the best examples of chamber music are written for string quartets, such repertoire attracts me. Researching the quartets written by Beethoven, Shostakovich, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and other composers gives me great artistic joy. Playing these compositions enriches our creative lives. When I was thinking of the possibility of being a part of a quartet, I looked up to Joseph Joachim, a famous Austrian-Hungarian violinist and a friend of Brahms. He was extremely talented and versatile. He could perform as a soloist as well as a concertmaster, conductor, composer and ensemble player. If Joachim was able to combine all these, why shouldn't I give it a shot?'

2018

Honored artist

In 2018 Nikita Boriso-Glebsky became the Honored Artist of Russia, and the musician commented on this important event: 'It is always pleasant to get a sign of gratitude, however this is by no means the highest point or goal. Everything was helping along the way: involvement of my parents, teachers and close circle, as well as the help of the Philharmonic and constant hard work. However it seems to me that every single performance is no less precious, as at the end of the day it's so important to make a difference for the audience. It doesn't matter whether the artist is honored, national, international or just a music school student.'

2000-2005

2011-2012

Nikita Boriso-Glebsky's successes aren't limited to the awards. In 2009 he got the Violinist of the Year title from the International Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin Foundation. In 2010 the Musical Review newspaper declared him the Person of the Year. In 2011 Nikita received the Sibelius Medal from the Sibelius Society of Finland and the Virtuoso title from the Cremona International Music Academy.

Nikita took part in other major international competitions in Monaco, Vienna, Brussels and Montreal. But the most pleasant for the violinist was the victory at the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 2010 in Helsinki. In addition to the first prize he received a special award for performing Sibelius Violin Concerto. The musician even did not believe that this award went not to a violinist from Finland, but to a Russian. After this triumphant victory his parents joked that their family had Finno-Ugric ancestors. Nikita Boriso-Glebsky has not only numerous wins behind him. In 2009 he became the ''Violinist of the Year'' from the International Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin Foundation. In 2010 the "Musical Review" newspaper declared the violinist the "Person of the Year". And in 2011 Nikita received the Sibelius Medal from the Sibelius Society of Finland and the "Virtuoso" title from the Cremona International Music Academy.

ancestors. Nikita Boriso-Glebsky has not only numerous wins behind him. In 2009 he became the ''Violinist of the Year'' from the International Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin Foundation. In 2010 the "Musical Review" newspaper declared the violinist the "Person of the Year". And in 2011 Nikita received the Sibelius Medal from the Sibelius Society of Finland and the "Virtuoso" title from the Cremona International Music Academy.

Find out more information about Nikita Boriso-Glebsky in key point of his biography