Victor Tretiakov
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Viktor Viktorovich Tretiakov (; born 17 October 1946) is a Russian
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist and conductor. Other spellings of his name are Victor, Tretyakov and Tretjakov.


Biography

The son of a musician who played in the military band in
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
n city of
Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...
, he showed an extraordinary musical talent very early, and started to play violin at the age of seven. He came to Moscow in 1954 and first studied in the junior division of the Moscow Conservatory Music College, and in 1956 entered Yuri Yankelevich's class at the Moscow Central Music School, later studying with him in the
Moscow Conservatoire The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...
. In 1966, at age 19, he won first prize in the Third
International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...
and was invited to appear on several international concert tours—something that had become much easier after the pioneering visits outside the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
by artists such as
Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time,Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his interpreta ...
,
Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (19 October 191614 October 1985, born Samuil) was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. His sister Elizabeth, three years his junior, was a violinist. His daughter Elena ...
,
Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...
and
David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, List of violists, violist, and Conducting, conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the ...
. The influence of the last could be noticed in Tretyakov's interpretations and also in his choice of the repertoire; Tretyakov favored the great romantic violin concertos such as those by
Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...
,
Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...
,
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
,
Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
and music of
Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
and
Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...
. His unique style is supported by impeccable technique and profound musical insight with expressively articulate phrasing. Named a
People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...
in 1987, Tretyakov was granted the Russian Prize for the encouragement of achievements in art and literature known as "Triumph". He is laureate of the Shostakovich Prize, awarded by the
Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Abram Borisovich Bashmet and Maya Zinovyeva Bashmet (née Kri ...
International Charitable Foundation, and the Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR (1981) (other recipients include the
Borodin Quartet The Borodin Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1945 in the then Soviet Union. It is one of the world's longest-lasting string quartets, having marked its 70th-anniversary season in 2015. The quartet was one of the Soviet Union's best ...
and composer
Valery Gavrilin Valery Aleksandrovich Gavrilin (, (17 August 1939 – 28 January 1999) was a Soviet and Russian composer. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1985). Biography Valery Gavrilin was born in 1939 in Vologda. When he was 3, his father died as a volunt ...
). In 2001, he was awarded the Order of Service to the Fatherland by President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
.


Performing

Since winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1966, Tretyakov has performed with almost every major orchestra in the world, including the Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburg, London, Los Angeles and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, the
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, the Royal Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, the
Dresden Staatskapelle The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (), or Saxony, Saxon State Orchestra Dresden, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world, created by order of Maurice, Elector of Saxony in 1548. Under communist East Germany and until 1992 it was called St ...
, the Bamberg SO, the NDR Hamburg, the WDR Cologne, the NHK Symphony, the Kirov Orchestra, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestras operated under the auspices of Bayerischer Rundf ...
, the Vienna Symphony, the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Detroit, San Francisco, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and many others. He has worked with conductors including Rostropovich, Ormandy, Temirkanov, Alekseev, Jochum, Krips, Gergiev, Fedoseyev, Maazel, Kempe, Jansons, Järvi, Levine, Mehta, von Dohnanyi, Penderecki, Previn, and Kondrashin. He plays a 1772 Nicolo Gagliano violin.


Teaching

For many years, Tretyakov has taught at the Moscow State Conservatory. In 1996, he also began to teach in Cologne, Germany. From 1986 to 1994, he was the jury president of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Additionally, he has served as a jury member of competitions in Brussels, Hanover, Sendai, Moscow, Helsinki, Zagreb and many others. Notable students of his include Roman Kim, Ilya Kaler, Natalia Likhopoi, Dmitri Berlinsky, Evgeny Bushkov, Sergei Stadler and Daniel Austrich.


Chamber music

An active chamber musician, Tretyakov has performed together with Mstislav Rostropovich, Svyatoslav Richter, the Borodin Quartet, Oleg Kagan, David Geringas,
Evgeny Kissin Evgeny Igorevich Kissin (, ; born 10 October 1971) is a Russian-born concert pianist and composer. He became a British citizen in 2002 and an Israeli citizen in 2013. He first came to international fame as a child prodigy. He has a wide reperto ...
and Elisabeth Leonskaja. Together with Vassily Lobanov,
Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Abram Borisovich Bashmet and Maya Zinovyeva Bashmet (née Kri ...
and Natalia Gutman, he has formed a piano quartet which performs regularly, including in concerts in Moscow, Berlin, Munich,
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, Paris,
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
,
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
and Copenhagen.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tretiakov, Viktor People's Artists of the USSR Russian male classical violinists 1946 births Living people 21st-century Russian classical violinists 21st-century Russian male musicians Moscow Conservatory alumni Soviet classical violinists