Belgian violinist of Russian-Ukrainian heritage, Marc Bouchkov, a sophisticated artist of impeccable aplomb, is proving to be one of the most unique and multifaceted musicians of the new generation.
His recent highlights include his debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Lahav Shani, his debut with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Gabor Takas Nagy, a tour with the Verbier Chamber Orchestra in China and Hong-Kong, a orchestra tour in Japan with Norichika Iimori, his debut with Sunwook Kim in Seoul, the end of his residency with the Netherlands Philharmonic under the batons of Lorenzo Viotti, Ryan Bancroft, and Hannu Lintu, Brahms’ Double Concerto with cellist Mischa Maisky under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach, and the complete cycle of Beethoven Violin Sonatas at the Verbier festival, at the Oji Hall in Tokyo and at the Israel Philharmonic hall with the pianist Mao Fujita.
Upcoming highlights include a return to the Barcelona Symphony with Juanjo Mena and a concert with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI and Marta Gardolinska.
During the 2025 Verbier Festival, he will perform with various partners such as Klaus Mäkelä, Lahav Shani, Mao Fujita, Blythe Engstroem, Martin Frost, Julien Quentin, and will have his soloist debut with Teodor Currentzis.
Recently, Deutsche Grammophon Gold published his live performances of Ysaye sonatas and concerto from the previous edition of the Verbier Festival. He also recorded an all Mendelssohn CD with the pianist Claire Huang-Ci on the Label Berlin Classics.
His very first album on Harmonia Mundi featured two premieres by Eugène Ysaye and two works composed by himself. The album was awarded a Diapason d’Or and a Diapason Découverte.
A close friend of many living composers, Marc also recorded a chamber music album featuring works by Igor Raykhelson, as well as two violin concertos by Alexey Shor.
His orchestral appearances included performances with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala and Lorenzo Viotti, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Philippe Jordan, HR Sinfonieorchester and Christoph Eschenbach, the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, the Verbier Festival Orchestra under Gábor Takács-Nagy, and the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra under Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, among others. He has also appeared with the NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI in Turin, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, collaborating with conductors such as Stanislav Kochanovsky, Ludovic Morlot, Lionel Bringuier, and Maxim Vengerov, to name but a few.
Mr. Bouchkov has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, such as Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Teatro alla Scala, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Concert Hall of St. Petersburg, Tonhalle Zürich, Maison de Radio France, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin.
In great demand as a recitalist, he is a regular guest of the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Tsinandali Festival in Georgia, and the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival in Israel.
A fine chamber musician, his music partners included Evgenij Kissin, Mischa Maisky, Andras Schiff, Lahav Shani, Klaus Mäkelä, Behzod Abdurahimov.
His violin competition prizes include A gold medal at the Montreal International Musical Competition and a silver medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition.
Marc Bouchkov was born into a family of violinists. He received his first lessons at the age of five from his grandfather and studies with Claire Bernard and Boris Garlitsky followed. He then went on to study with Mihaela Martin, as a Young Soloist in a postgraduate course at the Kronberg Academy. For many years now he has been under the musical tutorship of Eduard Wulfson.
Mr. Bouchkov currently serves as a Professor on the faculty of the Conservatoire Royale de Liège (BE) and from April 2025, as a Professor at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen.
February 2025
