Vasko Vassilev ( bg, Васко Василев, links=no; born October 14, 1970 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

) is a Bulgarian violinist and conductor. At the age of eight he had his first public appearance and released his first record with the

Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra The Sofia Philharmonic ( Bulgarian: Софийска филхармония) was founded in 1928. The current music director is Nayden Todorov. Sofia Philharmonic includes the National Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic Choir "Svetos ...

. At age 10 he began his studies on a Bulgarian government grant at the Moscow ''Central Music School'', a junior department of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

. In 1987 he took a second prize at the Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud Competition. In 1989 he won a second prize (the first wasn't awarded that year) at the

Paganini competition The Paganini Competition (aka Premio Paganini or Paganini Concore) is an international violin competition named after the famed virtuoso and founder of contemporary violin technique Niccolò Paganini. Created in 1954 it has been carried out ever s ...

. In 1994 at the age of 23 he became the youngest ever

Concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in London. In 2005 he made his conducting debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He gives Masterclasses for violinists at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

, Trinity College of Music, and at the Conservatory of Music in Spain. In 2010 he wrote an autobiography ''Vasko @ 40''. In 2011 he became a judge at the reality show

X Factor (Bulgaria) ''X Factor'' is the Bulgarian version of ''The X Factor'', a show originating from the United Kingdom. It is a television music talent show contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions. The show's inaugural season aired in 2011 o ...

. He worked with artists

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

, Sting,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Vanessa-Mae Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...

Lili Ivanova ''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won the Academy Award for ...

and others.Vasko Vassilev, London Chamber Orchestra
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vassilev, Vasko 1970 births Living people Bulgarian violinists Musicians from Sofia Bulgarian expatriates in England X Factor (Bulgarian TV series) 21st-century violinists