Ilya Gringolts captivates audiences with his highly virtuosic playing and sophisticated interpretations, constantly seeking new musical challenges. As a sought-after soloist, he devotes himself to the great orchestral repertoire and contemporary works, while maintaining a strong interest in historical performance practices. His diverse concert programmes range from virtuosic early repertoire by Leclair and Locatelli to Paganini’s solo and orchestral works. Many composers have written new works for him, most recently including Chaya Czernowin, Lotta Wennäkoski, Mirela Ivičević, Augusta Read Thomas, Beat Furrer and Bernhard Lang.
Following recent collaborations with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic, Hungarian National Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Filarmonica della Scala, highlights of the 2024/2025 season include appearances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Heinz Holliger, Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu, as well as a play-led programme with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also Artist-In-Residence at the Tongyeong International Music Festival 2025, performing Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with the KBS Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov, as well as solo and chamber recitals.
Gringolts has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Recent highlights include joint projects with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orquesta de València, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Taiwan Philharmonic. He frequently leads projects from the violin with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Camerata Bern and Ensemble Resonanz.
Gringolts won a Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Editor’s Choice in 2021 for his recording of Locatelli’s Il Labirinto Armonico, in which he led the Finnish Baroque Orchestra from the violin. The same year saw the release of his solo CD Ciaccona, featuring works by Bach, Brice Pauset, Roberto Gerhard and Heinz Holliger, which also received a Gramophone Editor’s Choice. Gringolts’ extensive discography for Deutsche Grammophon, BIS and Hyperion, among others, also includes the critically acclaimed recordings of Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin and Stravinsky’s complete violin works, the latter recorded with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia under Dima Slobodeniouk, earning another Diapason d’Or.
As First Violinist of the Gringolts Quartet, Gringolts has enjoyed great success at the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and Teatro La Fenice in Venice. A highly esteemed chamber musician, he regularly collaborates with artists such as Nicolas Altstaedt, Alexander Lonquich, Peter Laul, Aleksandar Madžar, Christian Poltéra, Lawrence Power and Jörg Widmann.
After studying Violin and Composition with Tatiana Liberova and Zhanneta Metallidi in St Petersburg, Russia, Gringolts attended The Juilliard School under Itzhak Perlman. He won the International Violin Competition “Premio Paganini” in 1998 and is still the youngest winner in the competition’s history. He was named a BBC New Generation Artist at the outset of his career. He is currently a Professor at the Zürich University of the Arts and has been teaching at the renowned Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena since 2021. He is also Artistic Advisor of the Mizmorim Kammermusik Festival in Switzerland. He plays the “ex-Prové” Stradivarius violin made in 1718.
