Anastasia Khitruk

Ms. Khitruk specializes in discovering and performing the unknown and forgotten works of music, which have been featured on her debut CD “La Folia” and the “Works of Ivan Khandoschkin”, which has just been released by the Naxos label. Among others, she premiered and collaborated on the creation of a live music score accompanying the first Oscar winning film “Wings”. She often performs works of Léon de Saint-Lubi, Nicholai Affonassiev, and Ivan Khandoschkin and has committed herself to bringing new music to audiences by performing works of living composers like, Sofia Gubaidulina, Phillipe Hersant, Pavel Karmanov and Efrem Podgaitz.  Ms. Khitruk has performed concerts based on the history of the violin, such as "The Million Dollar Violin" at Hunter College and the “The History of the Violin” at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles as well as performances at Zayed University, CCNY (New York), the Salons de Musique in Geneva and most recently at the Third Abu Dhabi Classical Music Festival (Abu Dhabi).

Ms. Khitruk has had numerous performances as a soloist with internationally acclaimed orchestras including the Adelaide Symphony (Australia), the Sofia Symfonietta and the Burgas Philharmonic (Bulgaria), BDMG Orchestra, Belo Horizonte (Brazil), the Avignon Symphony (France), Orchestra della Fondazioni Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa (Italy), the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra Academy Soloists (Kazakhstan), the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (Lithuania), the St. Petersburg Philharmonia and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (Russia), the La Grange Symphony Orchestra, Georgia, the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Alabama and the Fordham University Orchestra, New York (United States).  She has also toured throughout France with the Seasons Orchestra (Russia).  She has performed under the baton of renowned conductors, such as Claude Bardon, Hannu Lintu, Svilen Semenov and Saulis Sondeskis. 

Ms. Khitruk has appeared in recitals in Europe at such prestigious venues as the Sala Bulgaria and the National Center for Culture (NDK) (Sophia, Bulgaria), Opéra d’Avignon et des Payes de Vaucluse, (Avignon, France), Theatre du Cavaillon (France), Teatro Carlo Fenice (Genoa, Italy), The Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia), Salons de Musique (Geneva, Switzerland).  In the United States, she performed at the Aspen Music Tent (Colorado), Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Space, Merkin Concert Hall (New York City), and the Bargemusic (Brooklyn), as well as numerous performances in Boston and Los Angeles.

Ms. Khitruk’s numerous festival appearances include the Telstra Adelaide Festival (Australia), Sofia Music Weeks (Bulgaria), Musicales du Luberon, Festival de Musique de Chambre les Musicimes à Courchevel (France), the Festival “Elba, Isola Musicale d’Europa” (Italy) “ Sommet Musicaux” Festival in Gstaad (Switzerland), Aspen Festival, and Festival of Russian Culture in Los Angeles (United States).

"She sparkles with brilliant violin playing", Katerina Birukova of Vremya wrote after her performance in Moscow,   "Anastasia Khitruk is masterful", Chris Reid of Real Time stated in his review of her performance of the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 at the Telstra Adelaide Festival and "violinist Anastasia Khitruk caught lightning in a bottle with sure-fingered fire and energy." was written by a critic after her performance commemorating the 250th anniversary of J.S. Bach's death.

Ms. Khitruk has collaborated in chamber music with an impressive list of renowned musicians, such as Tasso Adamopoulos, Alexandre Brussilovsky, Yuri Gandelsman, David Korevaar, Mark Peskanov, Francois Salque, Tatjana Vassiljeva, Volodymyr Vynnitsky.  Currently she is working with Swedish pianist, Daniel Propper , in a Violin-Piano duo.

Ms. Khitruk has recorded “La Folia” an album of virtuoso works for the Suoni e Colori label, the Brahms Violin Sonatas with David Korevaar for the Titanic label, and the works of Ivan Khandoschkin for the Naxos label, 2006.

Ms. Khitruk has frequent guest appearances on television and radio.  Her concerts have been broadcasted live by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Bulgarian National TV , Russian Television, Swiss Radio, Russian Television in NY .  She has also appeared numerous times in interviews on radio and television in Australia, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia and Switzerland.

Ms. Khitruk comes from a musical and artistic family.  After emigrating to America, Ms. Khitruk continued the violin studies that she had begun at Moscow's Central Music School.  She has studied with Dora Schwartzberg, Zinaida Gilels, and with Dorothy DeLay, Mannes College and at Juilliard School.  Ms. Khitruk has also participated in master classes of Isaac Stern, Cho-Liang Lin, Joseph Swensen, and Victor Tretiakov.

In addition to her concert career, Ms. Khitruk's commitment to developing young audiences is demonstrated by her work as President of the Manhattan Music Society, a non-profit foundation based in New York.

May 2006

Anastasia Khitruk is masterful"
Chris Reid, RealTime

"She possesses immense gifts, technically and musically"
Rodney Smith, The Advertiser

"Her music radiates an inner force that galvanizes the performance and mesmerizes the listener"
Francis Brancaleone, The Journal News

"She captured the audience with her dramatic and passionate Brahms Concerto"
Giorgio DeMartino , Il Secolo XIX

"Anastasia Khitruk literally dazzled the jury and was awarded a special prize for her exceptional musical gifts and originality"
Massimo Pastorelli , Il Lavoro

"Sparkles with brilliant violin playing"
Katerina Birukova, Vremya