Nikolaj znaider

By Jessica Duchen. Some musicians are content to tour the globe repeatedly performing the same handful of concertos.

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider [1] (born 5 July in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish violinist and conductor.

And then there is Nikolaj Znaider. Znaider's deep-thinking performances and gorgeous violin tone are a compelling combination, but apparently they are not enough to keep him satisfied, for he is gradually turning himself into a conductor. The influence of his two mentors in that field is obvious: his hair is beginning to resemble the mane of Sir Colin Davis, while his accent is an intriguing hybrid that bears some similarity to Daniel Barenboim's.

I caught up with Znaider in Manchester, where he was appearing with the Halle Orchestra. He immediately launched into an explanation of his quest for musical perfection.

An exclusive RCA Red Seal recording artist, Znaider's latest recording of the Beethoven and Mendelssohn Violin Concerti with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta has been .

I think Saul Bellow said that Mozart reminds us something should be done easily or not at all. We should be doing this effortlessly and without any strategic aim to achieve something else. Znaider was born in Copenhagen to Polish-Jewish parents in What I do care about very much is the human experience. I'm trying to make sense of this, but I'm not having much luck!

In other words, the joy is a reward in itself - the God-given ability to enjoy the fruits of our toils. That's very much in tune with what I think about life. Learning, curiosity and joy all feed Znaider's music-making, but there is still room for a bit of old-fashioned good luck.