One of the most thrilling violinists on the planet, Ilya Gringolts is renowned for his extraordinary technical command and musical sensitivity. He’s equally at home with contemporary and rare works, as much as with the great orchestral masterpieces.

Rising to fame as the youngest ever winner of the Paganini International Violin Competition, he's since appeared with the world’s top orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, to name the tip of the iceberg. He’s in Australia now guest directing the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and in particular to perform one of the Romantic era’s most popular concertos, Bruch's Violin Concerto no 1 in G Minor.

Ilya's passion about new music is well articulated in this conversation, and he also shares an historic recording and talks about what we can learn from it. He speaks against the regime in his native Russia and how life has changed there over the years.