Dmitry Sitkovetsky looks back on 20 years leading the Greensboro Symphony

In April of 2002, a renowned Russian violinist by the name of Dmitry Sitkovetsky was invited to perform Beethoven's Concerto for Violin with the Greensboro Symphony. The chemistry between soloist and orchestra was just right, and the following year Sitkovetsky was appointed Music Director. Twenty years later, after conducting over 100 concerts, Sitkovetsky, who’s now an American citizen, will step down from the podium in May.

He recently shared this look back on his career with David Ford and a peek forward to what lies ahead.

Interview Highlights

On founding the Sitkovetsky and Friends Chamber Music Series:

"Practically speaking, of course, the chamber music which I brought there just was not there. And, you know, Sitkovetsky and Friends, practically everyone who's come in agreed to do for free, a concert of chamber music. And that's a great satisfaction for me because I was able to sit down with my good colleagues from the orchestra from, you know, the principal players, the outstanding wind players and so forth. And they were able to play with the best of the best, you know, with the crème a la crème of the music world."

On the long and windy road to the Tanger Center:

"And then of course, there was a very prolonged procedure of finding home and building the new hall. At first it was renovating War Memorial which took forever, two referendums — it was turned down. And then it took forever for Tanger to be built. That it's a beautiful, beautiful new home and then [the] pandemic just when we were supposed to open it. And then it delayed it by another two years. And now finally, when it's all coming together, I thought this is the time. And it's just 20 years and I think it's a perfect time for them to go with new ideas, new direction, things somebody younger, somebody who would bring some other things."

On concert memories:

"There's so many moments. You know, of course, my dear mom, who's still with us at 94. You know, there's some fantastic concerts that she's given here. There's so many — Lynn Harrell, who I loved dearly, you know, we were great friends. He came in of course, several times. He was always special — Garrick Ohlsson. And the last time Manny Ax jumped in as a substitute ... Oh my God, it was one of the most beautiful concerts I can recall."

On what lies ahead:

"Somebody in Greensboro just approached me and said, ‘Oh so they said you're retiring. So that means that you’re not going to play or conduct anymore.’ I said, 'Who told you this? This is completely the opposite.' Since the pandemic, I’ve been to Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Israel and Turkey. I’m going to Cuba for the first time to a festival in Havana. I’m discovering new territory — Guadalajara, Mexico for a festival later on, and Bulgaria — I’ve never performed in Sofia. So, there’s a lot of new things. If anything, I'm doing more of everything and more playing, more conducting more transcriptions, festivals, masterclasses. This is something I would like to do more and more. I would love to leave as much of my experience with the younger generation."

*Editor's Note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.