Gordan Nikolitch facts for kids

Gordan Nikolitch (born in 1968) is a famous violin player from France and Serbia. For almost 20 years, he was the main concertmaster (or leader) of the London Symphony Orchestra. He stopped being the concertmaster in 2017 to focus on leading other orchestras and teaching music.

Gordan Nikolitch's Musical Journey

Early Life and Learning

Gordan Nikolitch loved music from a young age. He started playing the violin when he was just seven years old. He went to a special music school called a music conservatory in Basel, Switzerland. There, he learned from a great teacher named Jean-Jacques Kantorow. Gordan also worked with other famous musicians. This helped him become interested in new and modern music.

Winning Competitions

As a young violinist, Gordan entered and won many music competitions. Some of these included the Tibor Varga competition and the Paganini competition in Genoa, Italy. He also won awards in Brescia and the Vaclav Hummel competition in Zagreb.

Leading Orchestras

In 1989, Gordan became the concertmaster of the Orchestre d'Auvergne. He held this important role for ten years, until 1999. He has also been the leader of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

In 2004, Gordan became the artistic director of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra in Amsterdam. This orchestra was started by Szymon Goldberg, who was once the concertmaster of the famous Berlin Philharmonic. Gordan led the orchestra from his concertmaster position. This allowed all the musicians to work together very closely. Playing in the amazing Concertgebouw Amsterdam hall with this group was a huge source of inspiration for him.

From 2006 to 2011, he was the Musical Director of St George Strings. This orchestra is based in Belgrade, Serbia. Since 2007, he has been the Musical Director of the BandArt Orchestra. With BandArt, he has led performances of operas like Gluck's Orpheo and Mozart's Idomeneo. These shows took place at big festivals in places like Peralada, Ludwigsbourg, and Luzern.

Gordan Nikolitch shares his experience by leading many other orchestras around the world. These include the Orquesta Nacional d'España, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Teaching Music

Gordan Nikolitch also loves to teach. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London. He also gives special masterclasses at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since 2005, he has taught at CODARTS, the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music. In 2017, he became a Professor at the Hochschule für Musik Saarbrücken. Since September 2021, he teaches violin at the Paris Conservatoire CNSMdP.

His Instruments

Gordan plays violins made by Paul Belin (from 2016) and a special Petrus Guarnerius violin from Venice. A kind sponsor lets him use the Venice violin. He uses bows made by F.X. Tourte and J.P.M. Persoit. In the past, he has played violins made by other famous makers like Giuseppe Guarneri and Lorenzo Storioni.

Recordings

Gordan Nikolitch has made many recordings of classical music. Here are a few examples:

• Mozart. Piano Concertos Nos. 15 & 27. With Martin Helmchen and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.
• Franz Schubert. Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5. With the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.
• Joseph Haydn. Symphony No. 100 "Military". With the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.
• Johannes Brahms. Symphonies Nos.1-4. With the London Symphony Orchestra.
• Beethoven violin concerto. With Dejan Lazić.
• Schumann piano chamber music. With Eric le Sage.

See also

In Spanish: Gordan Nikolic para niños