Szeps-Znaider was born in
Copenhagen, Denmark to
Polish-Jewish parents. His father had originally emigrated from
Poland to
Israel, and his mother's family had settled in Denmark before
World War II. His teachers have included
Milan Vitek and
Boris Kuschnir. In June 1992, Szeps-Znaider won the first prize of the 4th International
Carl Nielsen International Music Competition. In 1995, he was awarded 3rd prize at
International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. In 1997, he became a 1st prize winner of the
Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in
Brussels. He continued his violin studies with
Dorothy DeLay at the
Juilliard School of Music. In his conducting career, Szeps-Znaider counted Sir
Colin Davis among his mentors. Szeps-Znaider has held principal guest conductor posts with the
Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra. In December 2017, Szeps-Znaider first guest-conducted the
Orchestre national de Lyon. In December 2018, the orchestra announced the appointment of Szeps-Znaider as its next music director, effective September 2020, with an initial contract of 4 seasons, which has been extended through 2027. He regularly conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as also frequently appearing as soloist with all the major orchestras. Szeps-Znaider has made commercial recordings for such labels as RCA Victor Red Seal and LSO Live. His discography includes the following works: • The complete
Mozart Violin Concertos with the
London Symphony Orchestra, directed from the violin •
Nielsen: Violin Concerto with
Alan Gilbert and the
New York Philharmonic •
Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, with Sir Colin Davis and the
Staatskapelle Dresden •
Brahms and
Korngold: violin concertos, with
Valery Gergiev and the
Vienna Philharmonic •
Beethoven and
Mendelssohn: violin concertos, with
Zubin Mehta and the
Israel Philharmonic •
Prokofiev, Violin Concerto No. 2, and
Glazunov, Violin Concerto, with
Mariss Jansons and the
Bavarian Radio Symphony • Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (DVD) with
Riccardo Chailly and the
Gewandhaus Orchestra • Brahms: chamber music for violin and piano, with
Yefim Bronfman Szeps-Znaider spent ten years as Founder and Artistic Director of the annual Nordic Music Academy summer school. He is also Viotti Visiting Professor of Music at the
Royal Academy of Music, London. Szeps-Znaider plays a
Guarneri "del Gesu" violin, built in 1741, on extended loan to him by
The Royal Danish Theater through the generosity of the VELUX Foundations, the Villum Fonden and the Knud Højgaard Foundation. Previously played by
Fritz Kreisler, the violin is thus known as the "Ex-Kreisler Guarnerius". ==Notes==