Igor Gruppman is one of those special artists whose career successfully spans a number of artistic fields. Critically acclaimed for his depth of interpretation and sensitive musicianship, Igor Gruppman enjoys an exciting and multi-faceted career as conductor, violin soloist, and orchestral musician.

As the Concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and a frequent guest Concertmaster of orchestras such as the London Symphony, London’s Royal Philharmonic, and St. Martin in the Fields, Mr. Gruppman has collaborated with  some of the most esteemed musicians of his generation including Solti, Gergiev, Rostropovich, Colin Davis, Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink and Yannick Séguin. This year Mr. Gruppman will be recording Scheherazade as violin soloist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on the famed Deutsche Grammophon recording label.

Mr. Gruppman has received glowing reviews for his recordings including a GRAMMY Award for his performance of the Arnold Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. Additional violin solo recordings include Berlioz’ Reverie and Caprice (Naxos); Respighi’s Poema Autunnale (Koch); Miklos Rosza’s Sinfonia Concertante and the Violin Concerto(Koch), which marks the first release of the concerto since the recording by Heifetz for whom this piece was written. As well as the long-awaited reconstructed original string version of the Brahms’ F Minor Quintet recorded with the members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields released in 2008. More recently Video Artist International released the first in the series of DVDs featuring Mr. Gruppman as conductor, violin soloist and chamber musician in partnership with a variety of acclaimed artists.

Mr. Gruppman is a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Leonid Kogan and Mstislav Rostropovich, followed by studies with Jascha Heifetz in Los Angeles, and now is on the faculty of the Rotterdam Conservatory. Igor and Vesna Gruppman co-founded the Gruppman International Violin Institute in 2002  to select, train and develop the careers of exceptionally gifted violinists around the world using the latest videoconferencing technology.  Mr. Gruppman plays the 1731 “Julles Garcin” Stradivarius violin generously provided by the Erasmus Foundation.

In the United States in addition to guest appearances, Mr. Gruppman holds the post of Principal Conductor of the Orchestra at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. These concerts are now regularly broadcast on cable television in the U.S. and abroad.  In recent seasons some of the world’s great artists have appeared with this orchestra, including Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel and Ida Haendel.

Mr. Gruppman conducts orchestras on four continents. He made his conducting debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2006/07 season conducting a special Easter performance of The Last Seven Words by Haydn and Gubaidulina in the Rotterdam Cathedral. This program was repeated during the Easter Festival in Moscow where Mr. Gruppman shared the podium with Maestro Gergiev. From 2010/11 Mr. Gruppman has conducted the Rotterdam Philharmonic Proms concerts opening with two Mendelssohn programs including the Italian Symphony and the Midsummer Night’s Dream.  He also appeared in a critically acclaimed all-Mozart program at De Doelen Great Hall in Rotterdam where in addition to conducting the RPHO Mr. Gruppman gave the Netherlands premiere of Mozart’s recently reconstructed Concerto for Violin and Piano (Op. 315F) with pianist Ronald Brautigam. From 2005 to 2009 Mr. Gruppman was the Artistic Director and Leader of the Concerto Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra.

In Asia Igor Gruppman has appeared several times as conductor and soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic. As soloist, Mr. Gruppman is critically acclaimed for his “rich and beautiful tone, elegant phrasing, drive, passion and virtuosity.”