Albert Igolnikov came to the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra in 1979 from the Soviet Union with a music background gained
entirely there. He was named assistant principal of the Orchestra’s second
violin section in 1989.
He served as assistant concertmaster
for three of the twenty years he spent with the Leningrad Philharmonic Academic
Symphony, under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and was first violinist of a quartet
comprised of members of the Leningrad Orchestra. His formal education included
six years of study at the Leningrad Conservatory with Julius Eidlin, a pupil of
Leopold Auer. Igolnikov immigrated to the United States in June 1979, and gave
his first performance in America one month later at the Soviet Emigré Music
Festival in Carnegie Hall. He lived in New York for a short time before joining
the CSO.
Since his arrival in Chicago, Albert
Igolnikov has been active in local chamber music circles and has performed
regularly on the CSO Chamber Music
series. He is a founding member of the New Russian Trio and Chicago Pro Musica,
which received a 1986 Grammy® Award as Best New Classical Artist for its debut
recordings. He has toured the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan and
Russia with both ensembles.
Albert Igolnikov has been featured
as a recitalist on WFMT. He also has appeared as soloist with the CSO on
subscription concerts in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins (with Jennie Wagner)
under Sir Georg Solti (1986) and in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Fantasia on Russian
Themes under Daniel Barenboim (1995).
Albert Igolnikov plays a violin by
Guadagnini, Turin, 1780.
March 2012
