Jean-Jacques Kantorow was born in Nice, France in 1945, but is of Russian extraction. He studied the violin at the conservatoires of Nice and (from the age of 13) Paris, where his teachers included René Benedetti and where, a year later, he obtained the first prize for violin playing. Jean-Jacques Kantorow has performed as a soloist on all continents with musicians as Gidon Kremer, Krystian Zimerman, Paul Tortelier and others. From 1993 to 2000 he was artistic director of the Tapiola Sinfonietta with whom he continues to collaborate. He is presently musical director of the City of Granada Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. He records regularly for BIS.