Igor Pikayzen, violin

Since his concerto debut at the age of eight, with Mozart Violin Concerto #2 and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Pikayzen has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras spanning Europe, Asia, North and South America. Highlights of the 2018-19 season include a Taiwan tour with the Arts Blooming Ensemble, debut recitals in Taipei and Fukuoka, return appearances with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México (Juan Trigos), National Symphony of Georgia (Vakhtang Matchavariani), Czik Chamber Orchestra (Artur Kaganovskiy), Antalya State Symphony (Gürer Aykal), Izmir Symphony Orchestra (Emil Tabakov), Istanbul State Symphony (Thomas Rösner) Baskent Chamber Orchestra (Lior Shambadal), Adelphi Symphony (Christopher Lyndon-Gee). Previous appearances include the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Radio Symphony, Bucharest Philharmonic, Sinfónica Nacional de Chile, Sinfonietta Veracruzana, Filharmonica di Bacau, Bialystok Philharmonic, Stamford Symphony, Cz?stochowa Philharmonic, Yokohama Sinfonietta, Kielce Philharmonic, Ridgefield Symphony, Tbilisi Opera Orchestra, Yokohama Sinfonietta and countless others under the batons of ?ukasz Borowicz, Daniel Huppert, Hobart Earle, Jerzy Salwaroski, Roman Revueltas, Enrique Batiz, Emin Güven Ya?l?çam, Jacek Rogala. In the last few seasons, he has given debuts and returned to Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Tchaikovsky Hall and Minor Hall in Moscow, Teatro Llago in Frutillar, Congreso Nacional in Santiago, Eslite Performance Hall in Taipei, President Hall in Ankara, Flagey in Brussels, Le Bourget in Montreal, Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City and Cadogan Hall in London, to name just a few.

A frequent guest at some of the most prestigious chamber music festivals and series in the world, Pikayzen has appeared on numerous occasions at Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Napa Valley Festival in California, Semanas Musicales de Frutillar in Chile, Night Serenades Festival in Georgia, New York's Bargemusic and 92nd Street Y.

A dedicated recording artist, Pikayzen's live performances and recordings have been broadcast on WQXR and RTVi (USA) Kultura (Russia) RTBF (Belgium) CBC (Canada) Radio Kultura (Poland) RadioSwiss Classic (Switzerland) Imedi (Georgia) TRT3 (Turkey) Beethoven Radio (Chile)as well as MediciTV and ViolinChannel. Pikayzen's debut recital in Taipei was recorded,using open reel technology, by Bel Canto Musicale and sold out within the first week. His extensive discography demonstrates his incredible versatility as an artist, and includes his debut album, with virtuoso works of Saint-Saëns, Ysaÿe, Paganini, and Wieniawski on the ProArte label, as well as live recordings of the Glazunov and Matchavariani violin concertos, Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir de Florence" with the Russian Virtuosi of Europe for Orchid Classics and "On My Journey now"; a recording of spirituals with the acclaimed baritone Lester Lynch for Pentatone Classics. A champion of new and under-performed composers, Pikayzen's recording of the Henri Marteau clarinet quintet with the Phoenix Ensemble has been met with critical acclaim; 2018 sees the release of the Brahms and Elliot Carter clarinet quintets for Navona/Naxos.

Grandson of the legendary Soviet violinist Viktor Pikayzen, Igor was born in Moscow, Russia. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Juilliard, as well as a master's degree and artist diploma from the Yale School of Music, during his DMA studies he was the recipient of coveted Enhanced Chancellor Fellowship at the CUNY Graduate Center. A highly sought-after teacher around the globe, Pikayzen was announced as the assistant professor of violin at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music in 2019.

Pikayzen is the 1st prize winner of the 2015 Edition of the International Violin Competition Luis Sigall in Viña del Mar, Chile as well as the Wronski International Violin Competition in Warsaw, in addition to being a silver medalist at the Szeryng and Kloster-Schöntal international violin competitions. A native of Moscow, Pikayzen will now be sharing his time between Denver, NYC and his adopted hometown of Westport, CT, where he launched a new summer musical festival named Edelio.