Евгениј Чевкенов

Eugeniy Chevkenov was born in 1971 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, into a family with centuries of musical tradition rooted in the 19th century. His father Vladimir Chevkenov was a pianist, his mother Elena Baldjieva a renowned opera singer and vocal professor. His musical heritage traces back to his great-grandfather Edgar Bluemel, a composer and conductor who graduated with honours from the Vienna Music Academy and was a contemporary of Johann Strauss, Johannes Brahms, and Anton Bruckner.

He started studying violin at the age of 6, gave his first solo recital at 13, and at 17 won first prizes at both the National Violin Competition and the National Chamber Music Competition. After studies in Sofia, he continued his education in Vienna, where — while still a student — he played for several years in the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Staatsoper.

A winner of numerous international awards, he has performed as soloist and conductor in nearly 40 countries across the world's most prestigious halls, including Carnegie Hall (New York), Musikverein and Konzerthaus (Vienna), Metropolitan Arts Center (Tokyo), Osaka Symphony Hall, Pesti Vigadó (Budapest), and Bellas Artes (Mexico City).

In 2000, he was awarded Honorary Citizenship of Austria for his extraordinary achievements as a musician. That same year he became Professor at the Gustav Mahler Conservatory Vienna (Deputy Director 2012–2014). Since 2013 he has been Professor at the Wiener Musikseminar, and since 2014 at the Richard Wagner Conservatory Vienna. Since 2014 he has served as Chairman of the Culture Committee of the Vienna Economic Forum. He is the founder and music director of Ensemble Concertante Vienna, and a regular member of international competition juries and masterclass instructor across Europe, America, and Asia.