Sergiu Schwartz

Biography

Sergiu Schwartz’s international concert appearances have taken him to major music centers on four continents, including twenty European countries, Israel, Asia, Canada, and over forty U. S. states, as soloist with orchestras, in recitals and chamber music concerts. “Following in the footsteps of his fellow countrymen Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, he is a product of the best of European romantic interpretative style and 20th-Century American technical acuity,” states New York’s Newsday, while Le Soleil (Canada) notes that “he stands out as one of the best violinists of his generation.” Comparing him to the greatest violinists, Fanfare - The Magazine for Serious Record Collectors, writes: his “warmth of sound and insight into the music raise to the level of expression achieved by Oistrakh” and his “tonal sheen approaches Milstein’s… for those who lament the passing of the great violinists of the middle of the last century, Schwartz’s collection should provide a great sense of optimism that a younger violinist still commands such assured rhetoric and expressive resources. Heifetz, Milstein, Oistrakh, Isaac Stern, Francescatti – they all come to mind.”

Sergiu Schwartz is a frequent guest at music festivals in the United States, Israel, Switzerland, Finland, England, France, Holland, Romania, Bulgaria and China, and serves on the artist faculty of the Bowdoin (Maine), Summit (New York) and Keshet Eilon (Israel) international summer music festivals. Mr. Schwartz has been featured in broadcasts for radio and TV stations, including NPR, CNN, WXEL-TV’s “Great Performances,” and the BBC. His honors include prizes in international violin competitions in the United States and Europe, as well as awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts.

Mr. Schwartz made his recording debut with the London Symphony Orchestra with an “all Scandinavian” compact disc released on Vox Unique (reissued on Vox Allegretto and ArkivCD), featuring music by Sibelius, Svendsen, and Grieg. His discography, released to exceptional critical acclaim, includes on Romeo Records - Romantic Treasures, The Heart of the Violin and Poème Mystique - and on Gega, - The Romantic Violin. His American Classics release on Naxos features works by American composer John Alden Carpenter; and his CD on Arcobaleno showcases works for violin and harp by Ludwig Spohr.

Sergiu Schwartz studied with Rami Shevelov at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he also gained exposure to artists such as Isaac Stern and Yehudi Menuhin during master classes at Jerusalem Music Center. He continued his studies, under a British Council grant, with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London, and, with Dorothy DeLay, at the Juilliard School in New York, through scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the Juilliard School. His musical growth has been further enhanced by violinists Sandor Vegh and Felix Galimir, pianist Leon Fleisher, and legendary conductor Sergiu Celibidache.

Mr. Schwartz combines his performing career with his position as Professor holding The William B. and Sue Marie Turner Distinguished Chair in Violin at the Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University, and as Visiting Professor at Haute Ecole de Musique et Conservatoire de Lausanne in Switzerland.  Prof. Schwartz is the recipient of the 2013 Columbus State University Teaching Excellence Award and a nominee for the University System of Georgia Teaching Excellence Award.  He regularly conducts master classes and lectures at music schools, colleges, and universities in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Israel, including USC, UCLA, Colburn School, San Francisco Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, Boston University, Jerusalem Academy of Music, Reina Sofia Academy (Madrid), Royal Academy of Music (London), University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Austria), Conservatoire de Lausanne (Switzerland), Mount Royal College (Calgary, Canada), Shanghai and Beijing conservatories (China), Seoul’s Korea National University of the Arts and Busan University (Korea), Novosibirsk State Conservatoire (Russia), as well as master courses in Israel, Switzerland, Finland, France, Italy, Holland, Bosnia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Puerto Rico.

He also serves as a juror in major international competitions, including Tchaikovsky, Sarasate, Wieniawski, Michael Hill, Mozart, Oistrakh, Postacchini, Szeryng, Novosibirsk, as well as Canadian National, Sphinx, Stulberg, Blount-Slawson, Washington International, and others. His students have been top prizewinners in prestigious international violin competitions, including Seoul (Korea), Sendai (Japan), Paganini (Italy and Russia), Sarasate (Spain), Szeryng (Mexico), Oistrakh (Ukraine); Lipizer (Italy), Prix d’Europe and Canadian National (Canada), Sphinx and Blount-Slawson (US); as well as Carmel, Coleman (CA) and Evian (France) chamber music competitions.