Igor Pikayzen with violin

Igor Pikayzen

Assistant Professor, Violin

What I do

Assistant Professor of Violin, Director of Chamber Music

Specialization(s)

violin

Professional Biography

Award-winning Russian-American violinist Igor Pikayzen is confidently establishing himself as one of the most prodigious and in-demand soloists of his generation. Praised on four continents by critics and audiences alike for his “astounding technical ability and a majestically lush tone...the stylish Igor Pikayzen” (Strad) is “surely at the forefront of a major musical career” (Moscow Times).

2022 sees the release of Igor Pikayzen’s recording of the Glazunov Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Warner Music, as well as a CD of violin-piano fantasies with longtime collaborator, Tatyana Pikayzen. Upcoming and recent appearances include debuts and re-engagements with Sinfonia Toronto, Filarmonica de Boca del Rio, Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico, Istanbul Symphony, Sinfonica Nacional de Chile, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa, National Symphony of Georgia, Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, La Crosse Symphony amongst others. An avid recitalist, Mr. Pikayzen’s season includes debut recitals at the Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago, the Gina Bachauer series in Salt Lake City, recitals in Denver and Washington D.C. as well as a return to New York’s prestigious Bargemusic series.

Previous solo appearances include the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Radio Symphony, Bucharest Philharmonic, Sinfonietta Veracruzana, Filharmonica di Bacau, Bialystok Philharmonic, Stamford Symphony, Czestochowa Philharmonic, Izmir Symphony, Ridgefield Symphony, Tbilisi Opera Orchestra, Yokohama Sinfonietta, Kielce Philharmonic and countless others under the batons of Lior Shambadal, Lukasz Borowicz, Brett Mitchell, Gürer Aykal, Toshi Shimada, Jorge Mester, Daniel Huppert, Hobart Earle, Jerzy Salwarovski, Roman Revueltas, Enrique Batiz, Thomas Rösner, Vakhtang Matchavariani, Christopher Lyndon-Gee, Alexander Platt and Emil Tabakov. Mr. Pikayzen has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in 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 and Le Bozar in Brussels, Gates Performing Arts Center in Denver, L’Auditori in Barcelona, Le Bourget in Montreal, Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City and Cadogan Hall in London, to name just a few.

Grandson of the legendary Soviet violinist Viktor Pikayzen, Igor Pikayzen 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, he was the recipient of the coveted Enhanced Chancellor Fellowship while working on his DMA at the CUNY Graduate Center where he was also on the faculty of Brooklyn Conservatory. 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, Mr. Pikayzen shares his time between New York, Denver and Westport, CT, where he launched an annual summer music festival, Edelio. In 2019 he was announced as the new Professor of Violin at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.

Degree(s)

  • BM, Violin Performance, The Juilliard School
  • Certificate, Artist Diploma - Violin Performance, Yale School of Music
  • MM, Violin Performance, Yale School of Music