Acclaimed as “a player of impressive authority and presence” (The Strad), Yossif Ivanov quickly established himself after winning First Prize at the Montreal International Competition aged 16, and Second Prize, as well as the Public Prize, two years later at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Brussels.
In recent seasons Yossif Ivanov has made acclaimed debuts with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de l'Opéra de Toulon, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Japan Century Symphony Orchestra, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra and Academy of Taiwan Strings. This season he makes his debut at the Wigmore Hall together with his brother Philippe, returns to the National Orchestra of Belgium (Stravinsky) and Orchestre de Picardie (Beethoven) , as well as to Taiwan and Japan for a series of recitals with his brother, as well as with the Academy of Taiwan Strings.
Such success follows acclaimed appearances with orchestras such as the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, London Philharmonic Orchestra (tours in the UK and USA), Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdams Philharmonic Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, Kremerata Baltica, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Sinfonica della RAI Orchestra, Filarmonica A. Toscanini, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National d’Ile de France, Orchestre Chambre de Paris, Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Malaysian Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductors including Neeme Järvi, Marin Alsop, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Vladimir Jurowski, Kazushi Ono, Jaap Van Zweden, Gerard Schwarz, HansGraf, Walter Weller, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Philippe Herreweghe, Jesús López-Cobos, Carl Miguel Prieto, Yuri Simonov, Louis Langrée, John Axelrod, Maxim Emelyanychev, Aziz Shokhakimov..
As a recitalist and chamber musician, Yossif Ivanov has been invited to perform at the Mozarteum Salzburg, Musikverein Vienna, St George Bristol, Philharmonie Essen, Beethovenfest Bonn, Eilat, Menton, Marseille, Rencontres Musicales d’Evian and Montpellier Festivals, Teatro Carlo Fenice Genova, Ravenna Musica, Ferrara Musica, the Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti Roma, Kioi Hall Tokyo, Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, Ravinia festival, Washington Phillips Collection, Carnegie Hall and the Ladies’ Morning Musical Club in Montréal. As well as his regular recital partner Philippe Ivanov, Yossif has collaborated with pianists such as Itamar Golan, Julien Quentin, Javier Perianes, Ingrid Fliter, Frank Braley, F.F. Guy, David Kadouch and Plamena Mangova. Other chamber music partners include P. Wispelway, E. Moreau, the brothers La Marca, V-J Laferrière, M. Portal, A. Boisseau, A. Pogostkina, V. Sokolov, C. Thomas, etc
With fellow Belgian violinists Lorenzo Gatto and Hrachya Avanesyan, Yossif formed the ensemble ‘Trilogy’, presenting classical masterworks alongside film music and jazz standards across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, earning millions of views on their Youtube Channel.
Yossif’s recording catalogue boasts high critical acclaim, including a Diapason d’Or de l’Année for his collection of Belgian sonatas (Franck, D’Haene and Ysaÿe) on the Ambroisie/Naïve label, for which he recorded two further discs with orchestra: Bartók, Chostakovich and Dutilleux/D’Haene, which were both very well received. Future recording projects include a Prokofiev album with his brother Philippe.
Yossif studied the violin with Zakhar Bron, Igor & Valery Oistrakh and Augustin Dumay. Since 2008, he has taught violin at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, the youngest person to ever do so.
Yossif Ivanov currently plays on a 1705 Giuseppe Guarneri violin.