Biography
Son of a musician who played in the military band in Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, he showed an extraordinary musical talent at a very early age. In 1956 he entered Yury Yankelevich's class at the Moscow Central School of Music, later entering the Moscow Conservatoire.
In 1966, at the age of 19 he won the first prize in the Third International Tchaikovsky Competition and was invited to appear on several international concert tours – something that had become much easier after the pioneering visits outside the Soviet Union by artists such as Richter, Gilels, Rostropovich, and Oistrakh. Influence of the last could be noticed in Tretyakov's interpretations and also in his choice of the repertoire. His unique style is supported by impeccable technique and deep musical insight, created by an expressive phrasing. Tretyakov favour great romantic violin concertos such as Brahms, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and music of Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
Named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1987, Tretyakov was granted the Russian Prize for the encouragement of achievements in art and literature "Triumph". He is laureate of the Shostakovich Prize, awarded by the Yuri Bashmet International Charitable Foundation, and the Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR (1981) (other recipients include the Borodin Quartet and composer Valery Gavrilin), and recently was awarded "the Order of Service to the Fatherland" by President Vladimir Putin.
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