Nikolaj Znaider is not only celebrated as one of the foremost violinists of today, but is fast becoming one of the most versatile artists of his generation uniting his talents as soloist, conductor and chamber musician. This season Nikolaj Znaider was invited by Valery Gergiev to become Principal Guest Conductor of the Mariinsky Orchestra in St. Petersburg where he will conduct a production of Marriage of Figaro and a number of symphonic concerts.  He is a regular guest conductor with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Russian National Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony. The 11/12 season sees Znaider as Artist in Residence with the Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra and in 12/13 making his conducting debut with the Concertgebouw Orkest, Santa Cecilia Rome and Pittsburg Symphony. As a soloist, Znaider works regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Ivan Fischer and Gustavo Dudamel. In recital and chamber music he appears at all the major concert halls. In the 12/13 season

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"The Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider played it like a man possessed: possessed not just by the music’s emotional power and lyrical beauty, but also by the spirit of Kreisler’s ages and by the potency and significance of the instrument to which he applied his brilliant technique"

Richard Morrison, The Times Nov 12th 2010

"The Second Violin Concerto, meanwhile, was thrill-a-minute stuff. Nikolaj Znaider played with an ideal mix of weight, sweetness and astonishing dexterity. Eötvös's conducting was lean, extrovert and wonderfully detailed. Outstanding."

Tim Ashley, the Guardian May 12th 2012

"That catalyst arrived in the form of Nikolaj Znaider and his coruscating performance of Bartók's second violin concerto. Providing punch and punctuation, Znaider proved that lyricism and brawn are not mutually exclusive."

Gavin Plumley, Entartemusik May 9th 2012

"Znaider's playing was not bombastic nor overly showy; instead it was graceful - even elegant - and was perfectly matched in style by the orchestra, which served more as partner than mere accompanist......Znaider's journeys into the upper register were beautifully controlled. The second movement could only be called sublime. It led without pause into the third and final movement, a jolly, almost playful romp"

Alan Adams, Las Vegas Review Journal Apr 22nd 2012

"Standard 19th century works by Weber, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky led by Franz Welser-Möst shone with brilliance, and in the latter case, almost blindingly reflected the astonishing virtuosity of Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider."

Daniel Hathaway, ClevelandClassical.com Oct 18th 2011

"The soloist Nikolaj Znaider … managed to dominate the orchestra through sheer sweetness of tone, and a passionate lyricism that caught the shy, inward moments of Elgar’s concerto as well as its bravura"

Ivan Hewitt, The Telegraph Oct 14th 2010

"Easily the outstanding feature of the evening was Znaider’s eloquence in the concerto. … Znaider always had romance and lightness at his fingertips. A year’s close relationship with this concerto has taken him to its heart. Kreisler’s own violin added its own dusky romanticism and it was good to hear Elgar played by a soloist of international class."

Richard Fariman, The Financial Times Oct 10th 2010

"Znaider delivered a technically flawless, deeply committed performance, marked by great poise and wonderful sweetness of tone. His virtuosic playing rose to its greatest heights in his impassioned account of the expansive yet intimate slow movement"

Susan Stempleski, www.classicalsource.com Jan 14th 2010

"His commanding phrases, pyrotechnics and emotional playing were balanced by intimate musical statements, soft dynamics and a heartbreaking vulnerability in the smallest moments of the piece."

Elaine Schmidt, Special to the Journal Sentinel Jan 23rd 2010

"Znaider is a wonder. His tone is so varied, but always full and rich. His pianissimo passages are very quiet indeed, but miraculously full and present. In speedy virtuoso passages, he articulates every note with hard-edged specificity. Most important, he understands the drama in the music."

Tom Strini, Third Coast Digest Jan 22nd 2010

"Schoenberg's Violin Concerto sounds much more conventional, except in one vital respect - the total absence of tonality, previously the backbone of Western music. The Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider dispatched it with such magisterial ease that this formidably difficult concerto sounded almost like a salon piece. "

Paul Gent, The Telegraph May 11th 2009

"Nikolaj Znaider was the soloist in the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op. 77 by Johannes Brahms. One may hear this work performed with great regularity in the concert halls of the world, but will seldom hear a better performance than the one we heard on Thursday evening"

Kelly Ferjutz, Cool Cleveland Contributor

"From a distance it was difficult to tell how many fingers Znaider has, but the apparent ease with which he mastered the concerto’s unusual hand positions suggested he may even have grown a seventh"

Richard Fairman, The Financial Times May 12th 2009

"This was a reading of considerable musicianship; Nikolaj Znaider is clearly a very special artist, presenting this masterfully composed score of utterly consistent style in a reading that could hardly have been improved upon."

Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion Aug 1st 2009

"Znaider is never short of variety and his personality was imprinted on every phrase."

Richard Fairman, The Financial Times May 26th 2009

"Znaider’s flawless, silky tone impressed every bit as much as it had in his performance earlier in the month of Schoenberg’s violin concerto. His solo line throughout the performance was extraordinarily nuanced, which is not to say that in any sense it lacked vehemence, especially in the perfect accomplishment of his double-stopping."

Mark Berry, SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL May 24th 2009

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