Mark “Stempenyuk” Kovnatskiy (RUS/D, violin)

Mark Kovnatskiy is a widely traveled and highly acclaimed violinist, composer, lecturer and expert in Yiddish dances based in Hamburg, Germany.

He is at the head of a generation that has saved the sensitive playing style of the old Klezmorim for the present and developed it further. He has performed and taught at many music festivals around the world from the USA and Canada to Japan.

In addition to his projects such as the Semer Ensemble, Engel Ensemble, Torah Images, Hamburg Klezmer Band, Joel Rubin Ensemble, Fialke and Silja Mark has performed as a guest musician with Socalled, Dobranotch, Efim Chorny, Painted Bird and Forshpil, among others. He teaches Yiddish music and dance internationally.

Mark has worked with orchestras such as the Musica Viva (RU), Augsburger Philharmoniker (GER), Aurora Orchestra (UK), INSO Lviv (UA) and Weimar Staatskapelle (GER).
​
Mark is the brand-ambassador of the STRING KING company (Sweden) and ACCORD CASE company (Croatia).

2009-2016 Mark was the artistic director of the international festival "Yiddish Fest Moscow".

His own compositions are performed by various musical projects (both klezmer and classical) around the world, including musicians from the "San Francisco Symphony" (USA).

In 2019, Mark released his first collection of tunes "Di naye yidishe melodyes" (New Yiddish melodies). The second compilation of Mark's compositions, "Di naye yidishe melodyes Volume 2" was published in the summer of 2020. Currently Mark is working on his third volume.

https://www.mark-kovnatskiy.com

 

Photo: Shendl Copitman