Stefan Milenkovich (; born 25 January 1977) is a Serbian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist.

Early life

Milenković was born to a Serbian father, Zoran Milenković, and a Serbian-born mother of Italian descent, Lidija Kajnaco (Lidia Caenazzo). He started playing violin in 1980, at age three, taught by his father and often accompanied by his mother. His first public performance, in 1980, was followed by numerous youthful performances, including the Newport Rhode Island Music Festival and an appearance at a Reagan holiday special when he was ten years old, as well as a performance for

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

in 1988 and an appearance before

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

when he was fourteen. He participated in numerous international violin competitions, starting with the Jaroslav Kozian International Violin Competition before he was ten. Then, in rapid succession during 1993 and 1994, at age sixteen and seventeen, he took high prizes in ten international violin competitions. In 1993 he took third prize in the Menuhin Competition (England), reached the finalist level at the

Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition (, ) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876–1 ...

(Belgium), and won the Rodolfo Lipizer Prize (Italy). He entered the Paganini Competition (Italy) twice and the Tibor Varga Competition (Switzerland) twice, in 1993 and 1994, taking one fourth-place and three second-place prizes. Also in 1994 he took fourth place in the International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition, won the Louis Spohr International Violin Competition (both, Germany), and won Silver at the

International Violin Competition of Indianapolis The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) is a Classical music, classical violin competition which takes place once every four years in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana. Since its founding in 1982, "The Indianapolis" has bee ...

Academics

Milenkovich studied at the Music Academy of Belgrade, receiving his master's degree in 1995. His successes on the competition circuit, along with winning Young Concert Artists status at the 1997 YCA auditions, led to his New York City recital debut at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the You ...

in 1997, and his undertaking studies at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

with

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin teacher, instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medic ...

. He was awarded a violin degree at Juilliard in 1998 and taught in various roles at Juilliard over the next decade in collaboration with Ms. DeLay, in the Perlman Music Program on Shelter Island, and as assistant to

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

at the Juilliard School. In 2006 he joined the faculty of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, where he is an associate professor in the Instrumental Performance Division of the School of Music. Since 2011 he also teaches on the faculty of the University of Belgrade as visiting professor, and since 2021 as full professor of violin at th
Novi Sad Academy of Arts

Performances

Milenkovich has performed extensively as a solo artist, in duets, in a wide variety of other small groups, and as a soloist with orchestra. For example, he recently performed Bach, Paganini, Ysaye and Kreisler solo works at the Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso. He has recorded the Bach solo violin Sonatas and Partitas and the complete solo violin music of

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

The 92nd Street Y recital in 1997 was one event in a long-running collaboration with pianist Rohan de Silva, for example, a 1999 concert at the Kennedy Center and three concerts in Sri Lanka. A long-term collaboration with pianist Adam Neiman goes back at least as far as 2001. He has also collaborated with pianist Lera Auerbach and pianist Srebrenka Poljak and, working with Massimo Paderni, recorded selected Paganini violin/piano works. Other duo performances include Kenji Bunch's ''Three American Folk Hymn Settings for Two Violins'' with Viviane Hagner and a recording of Bunch's ''Paraphraseology'' with marimbist Makota Nakura on the Kleo Classics label. Milenkovich, cellist Ani Aznavoorian and pianist Adam Neiman formed the Corinthian Trio in 1998 while they were students at the Juilliard School and this trio performed extensively for the next decade. The collaboration of Milenkovich and Adam Neiman continues, often with violist Che-Yen (Brian) Chen. For example, these three were joined by cellist Bion Tsang for the opening concert of the 2017 Manchester Music Festival. In addition to this, Milenkovich was once a member of the Formosa Quartet. The Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players series is an important outlet for Milenkovich's performance of chamber music, including a 2006 performance of an octet by Joachim Raff and a 2017 concert which featured Beethoven's second Razumovsky quartet and a Spohr quintet. Milenkovich played lead violin at a concert in the 2010 Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, consisting of Bach's D minor keyboard concerto with pianist Stephen Beus, Mendelssohn's E-flat Major Octet, and a cello quintet by Friedrich Dotzauer with cellist David Requiro, a co-winner of the 2008

International Naumburg Competition The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation sponsors competitions and provides awards for young European classical music, classical musicians in North America. Founded in 1925, it operates the prestigious Naumburg Competition. Foundation and concerts It ...

. Beus, Requiro and Milenkovich continue to collaborate in Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players concerts. Milenkovich, cellist Riccardo Agosti, and violinist Pier Domenico Sommati have recorded selected Paganini chamber works and Milenkovich participated in recording CD #8 in 10-CD set of the complete Paganini chamber music oeuvre. He sometimes dances as he plays the violin, especially in non-classical settings. Milenkovich has played tango concerts both in Europe and in the United States. Milenkovich has performed the solo part in the violin concertos of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Bruch (G minor), Dvořák, Mendelssohn (E minor), Sibelius and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

. He has recorded the violin concertos by Brahms and by Glazunov with the Slovenia Symphony Orchestra conducted by En Shao. Orchestras with whom Milenkovich has appeared include the Aspen Chamber Symphony, the , the

National Orchestra of Belgium The Belgian National Orchestra (, ) is a Belgian orchestra, based in Brussels. Its principal concert venue is the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR). The orchestra also gives concerts outside Brussels in such cities as Sankt-Vith and Hasselt. ...

, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, the Orchestra of Radio-France, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, the

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra was founded in 1930 and is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown ...

, the Lake Forest Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, the

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (founded in 1972) is a classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. They have won several Grammy Awards, and are known for their collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conductor, i ...

, the São Paulo State Symphony, the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony chamber orchestra. And recently, Milenkovich made his debut with the Orchestra RAI of Turin. In 2020 Milenković started living in Serbia with his family, and he started to work as the artistic director of the concert hall of the city of

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

., as well as teach as professor of violin at the Novi Sad Academy of Arts

Instruments

Milenkovich has performed on the “Lyall” Stradivari violin (1702) and the “Sennhauser” Guarneri del Gesú (1735) on loan from the Stradivari Society. From 2006 until 2017, he performed on a violin by Peter Aznavoorian (Chicago, 2006). Currently, Milenkovich owns and plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (Turin, 1783)., as well as 2024 violin by Philip Ihle.

Awards and Competitions

* 2023 "February Award" by the city of Novi Sad * 2021 "Stefan Prvovenčani" award by Raška Music Festival * 2021

Order of Karađorđe's Star Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

First Degree * 2018 "Career Award" by Emilia Romagna Festival * 2017 „ Dimitrije Mitrinović” award for contribution to Serbian culture and dedication to fine arts * 2010 Serbia's Brand Personality of the Year * 2003 Humanitarian of the Year (Serbia) * 2002 Artist of the Century (Serbia) * 200
Lifting Up the World With a Oneness Heart
awarded by Sri Chinmoy * 1997 Winner of Young Concert Artists * 1994 1st Prize Winner of Ludwig Spohr International Violin Competition

Discography

*Beethoven and Bruch Violin Concertos, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, conductor Vladimir Kulenović ( ZKP RTVS, 2019) *Brahms and Glazunov Violin Concertos, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, En Shao conductor ( ZKP RTVS, 2015) * Vittorio Giannini: Quintet for Piano and Strings; Trio for Piano and Strings orld Premiere Recordingsref name="discography"> *

: Complete Music for Solo Violin ( Dynamic 1996) *

: In cor più non mi sento ( Dynamic 1996) First Recording *

: Recital ( Dynamic 1996) * J.S. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001–1006 *Stefan Milenkovich and Marko Hatlak "Tango Compás"
Klopotec
2014)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milenkovich, Stefan 1977 births Living people Serbian classical violinists Male classical violinists Serbian people of Italian descent 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century male musicians Musicians from Belgrade Juilliard School alumni Serbian expatriates in the United States