Biography

Semyon Snitkovsky (Russian: Семён Снитковский) was born in Odessa

Odessa

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

, USSR on August 9, 1933. His formal music education began in 1940 at the famous music school named after P.S. Stolyarsky

School of Stolyarsky

School of Stolyarsky is a music school established in Odessa, Ukraine in 1933 by the initiation and vision of the eminent violin pedagogue Pyotr Stolyarsky....

, class of violin. An ensuing hiatus, brought on by the World War II, is ended when Semen is accepted into the class of V. Z. Mordkovich, the outstanding violin pedagogue who was later to become a professor at the Odessa Conservatory. After three years of study, Semen performed his first solo concert and, in 1951, he began his education at the Odessa Conservatory again with Professor Mordkovich. The five years spent at the Conservatory were the years when Semen initiated his professional career with acknowledgement of his talent. In the early fifties, Snitkovsky was hired as a soloist with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1956, after his performance at the recital of the best graduates of Ukraine music colleges, Semen became a soloist of the Philharmonic and a teacher at the Lvov Conservatory.

In 1957 Semen was accepted to the Moscow Conservatory

Moscow Conservatory

The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...

 as a postgraduate, class of David Oistrakh

David Oistrakh

David Fyodorovich Oistrakh , , David Fiodorović Ojstrakh, ; – October 24, 1974, was a Soviet violinist....

. Almost immediately he became maestro assistant and years later – a doctor and full professor at the primary Conservatory of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

In 1957, Semen became a laureate of the All-Union competition, afterwards winning a bronze medal at the World Festival of Youth and Students

World Festival of Youth and Students

The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event, organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth , a left-wing youth organization, jointly with the International Union of Students since 1947....

 in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. In 1958 he performed brilliantly at his first international competition of the young performers in Bucharest

Bucharest

Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

 – within the framework of the International Festival named after Romanian musician, George Enescu

George Enescu Festival

The George Enescu Festival , held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition held in Romania and one of the biggest in Eastern Europe...

. This particular violin competition brought Snitkovsky a first prize, shared with Romanian violin player, Stephan Ruha. At the same time, Snitkovsky, along with talented pianist O. Stupakova, won the second prize for the best performance of the very difficult Enesco’s Third Sonata for violin and piano.

In Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, in 1963, Snitkovsky received a second place award at the prestigious and challenging violin competition named after Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elisabeth Music Competition

The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...

. After the competition the newspaper "Le Soir" wrote: "Snitkovsky brings to the composer’s concept a soaring luminosity ...a technical aspect making a brilliant impression". In 1967, the International Foundation of Eugene Ysaye in Belgium awarded Snitkovsky a gold medal – an honor bestowed only once every five years.

In 1981, fatal disease took the life of Snitkovsky who, at the age of 47, was at the height of his creative abilities.

Creative Achievements

At first, bright gift of Semyon Snitkovsky was highly praised by critics at the George Enescu International Competition:"...his seemingly effortless technique combined with a profound comprehension of modern music has allowed Snitkovsky to achieve outstanding success", wrote the various Romanian newspapers. Snitkovsky’s performance of Glazunov’s violin concerto at the competition’s finale was labeled "perfect".

During the 1960s and 1970s, Snitkovsky’s mastery reached incredible heights. Aficionados and experts alike were conquered by the depth and uniqueness of his interpretation, the highly-charged emotional content, "speech expressiveness", the amazing beauty and flexibility of the phrasing, the richest palette – from the most delicate and tender sounds ... to the bright and powerful. He possessed a boiling temperament, a shining virtuosity seemingly without limits. His repertoire quickly expanded and, as musicians then would proclaim, Snitkovsky excellently plays anything and all composed for violin in the past 300 years – from Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...

 and Lekler to then young Rodion Shchedrin

Rodion Shchedrin

Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Russian composer. He was one оf the leading Soviet composers, and was the chairman of the Union of Russian Composers from 1973 until 1990.-Life and Works:...

". Snitkovsky’s program included, of course, the great classics - his performance of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or 19th century romantics, Tchaikovsky or Glazunov was always an art event.

Snitkovsky played the music of 20th century classics also with huge enthusiasm: Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Bartok, Hindemith, Britten, Villa-Lobos – their innovative opuses, at this time not widely understood, he presented brightly and convincingly. Music of the soviet composers such as A. Khachaturian, D. Kabalevsky, M. Vainberg and V. Salmanov, also the newest and specially written for Snitkovsky pieces were included in his repertoire as well.

Snitkovsky performed with many great orchestras and famous conductors, such as Nathan Rakhlin, André Cluytens

André Cluytens

André Cluytens was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. His repertoire extended from Viennese classics through French composers to 20th century works...

, Gennady Rozhdestvensky

Gennady Rozhdestvensky

Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky is a Russian conductor.-Biography:Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. His parents were the noted conductor and pedagogue Nikolai Anosov and soprano Natalya Rozhdestvenskaya...

, and Karel Ancerl

Karel Ancerl

Karel Ančerl , was a Czech conductor, known for his performances of contemporary music and for his interpretations of music by Czech composers...

. André Cluytens said once after performing with Snitkovsky, "It is a great pleasure to play with such an outstanding artist as Semyon Snitkovsky. I will always be happy to make music with this brilliant musician".

Snitkovsky regarded his teaching career with the same inspiration and devotion as his performing one. Snitkovsky brought new input to violin teaching, there were many serious musicians among his students. While a professor at the Moscow Conservatory

Moscow Conservatory

The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...

, from 1976 he was also a professor of violin class at the Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. Snitkovsky taught many master-classes and instructional courses in different countries with great success. Quoting one of the articles about his participation in the concerts and master-classes in Tour (France): "Snitkovsky is not only an outstanding virtuoso, but is a great teacher".

Soviet and foreign press excitingly praised him. There are short quotations from the hundreds of publications: "Soviet music" magazine notes his honorable style, excellent technique, beautiful sound and uniqueness of the phrasing. In 1977 after Snitkovsky triumphantly performed in Zurich, German newspaper "Tages Anzieger" stated that Snitkovsky is one of the greatest violin players of his generation, calling his performance of excerpts from Stravinsky’s "Petrushka" "the fireworks of violin virtuosity that impresses with almost inhuman perfection". "Le Figaro" called Snitkovsky’s Parisian concerts an "eye opener".

To commemorate Snitkovsky’s seventy-fifth birthday, recording company "Melodia" issued a set of CDs containing his recordings of Bach, Paganini, Schumann

Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....

, Shubert, Liszt, Bartok, Stravinsky, Khachaturian, Ysaye, Debussy, etc.