The Sitkovetsky File

. Born in Baku in 1954 into a distinguished Russian musical family. Studied violin in Moscow with Yuri Yankelevich and Igor Bezrodny, in New York with Ivan Galamian. Took first prize in the Kreisler Competition in Vienna in 1979, made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1980, with the Chicago SO in 1983. Took up conducting with the New European Strings Chamber Orchestra, which he founded in 1990. Appointed to the Ulster Orchestra for three years from 1996.

. On teenage virtuosos: "There is now a search for a fountain of youth, a certain unhealthy fascination with teenagers performing in public. There's something very immoral about it, I must say. An act of making music is a very intimate act. And a lot of emotions that go into it are mature emotions, they're very sensual, very passionate. Some of them I would not subject people to before they reach their twenties or maybe later."

. On what makes concerts special: "There's one thing that saves us all . . . it's that very special moment, when something extraordinary happens on stage. And then it doesn't matter whether the audience is prepared, educated, inclined to listen, or just there to be entertained (which is probably the worst kind). Something happens, and that electricity is in the air. Even if they don't understand one thing of what's going on, they feel it.

. On competitions: "I'm basically against competitions. I've turned down every request from competitions to sit on a jury. The worst thing about competitions is not the competitions themselves. It's the fact that they don't mean anything any more. There's no room for competition winners."