Since winning the first prize at the widely acclaimed first Sendai International Competition in May 2001, the charismatic violin virtuoso Svetlin Roussev enjoys a prestigious international career in many of the world’s major concert halls, including the Bolshoi Theatre and Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Seoul Arts Center, Salle Pleyel, UNESCO, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Théâtre du Châtelet, Cité de la Musique, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Bulgaria National Concert Hall, Budapest’s Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Konzerhaus in Berlin, Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires, Palais des Beaux Arts de Bruxelles and the Palais of the United Nations in Geneva.

Roussev is a regular guest soloist with various orchestras such as the Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Belgique, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra (Bucharest), Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Bulgarian National Radio among others. In the USA, Latin America, Asia and Europe he has performed under the baton of conductors such as Myung-Whun Chung, Leon Fleisher, Yehudi Menuhin, Yuzo Toyama, Marek Janowski, Emmanuel Krivine, François-Xavier Roth, Jonathan Nott, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Denis Russel-Davies, Lionel Bringuier and Emil Tabakov.

Svetlin has been leading and conducting various ensembles and orchestras since 2000 in Bulgaria, France, Poland, Korea, Japan and Sweden.

Roussev shares his love for music with an ever-widening public through his chamber music performances, playing with partners such as Myung-Whun Chung, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yeol-Eum Son, Peter Frankl, Ralph Gothoni, Jean-Marc Luisada, Bertrand Chamayou, Jean-Philippe Collard, Antoine Tamestit, Maxim Rysanov, Gary Hoffman, Gautier Capuçon, Jian Wang, François Leleux, Paul Meyer, Nikolaj Znaider, Ning Feng. He is a founding member of the Roussev-Salque-Rozanova Trio.

With remarkable virtuosity and intensity, Svetlin performs a broad repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. He is renowned for his renditions of Slavic compositions and keenly promotes Bulgarian music. Acclaimed Bulgarian Musician of the Year in 2006, his home country honoured him again in 2007 and 2016 with the Cristal Lyra distinction awarded by the Ministry of Culture. In 2018, Mr Roussev became an Honorary Citizen of his hometown Ruse, along with the Nobel Prize of literature Elias Canetti.

In February 2019 Svetlin received the Presidential Honorary Award from the Bulgarian President Radev himself.

Following his successful CD recording of pieces by Pancho Vladigerov with the pianist Elena Rozanova (Ambroisie) Roussev brought out his recording of Karl Amadeus Hartmann ’s Concerto Funèbre with the Orchestre d’Auvergne, sonatas by Grieg and Medtner with pianist Frédéric D’Oria-Nicolas, "Fire and Ice" with the Sibelius and Vladigerov n1 violin concertos conducted by Emil Tabakov and the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra under the French labels Integral and Fondamenta. In 2016, DECCA released the piano trios by Mendelssohn n1 and Dvorak "Dumky" with Elena Rozanova and François Salque followed by works by Ysaÿe for violin and orchestra (Musique en Wallonie) and Lalo Symphonie Espagnole (Arcantus) under the baton of Jean-Jacques Kantorow, the album Midnight Bells with pianist Yeol-Eum Son (YESM&ART). Most recently released is the Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra by Tchaikovsky, with the Sofia Philharmonic conducted by Horia Andreescu.

Roussev is a violin professor at the prestigious Haute École de Musique in Geneva and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. He has been giving violin and chamber music masterclass around the world. He is also the artistic advisor and artist in residence of the March Music Days International Festival in his hometown Ruse after serving as artistic director and artist in residence of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.

Svetlin Roussev has won numerous prizes at many international competitions, including Indianapolis, Long-Thibaud and Melbourne. At the Sendai International Music Competition he also garnered the audience prize and the Best Bach concerto performance. He began his musical education at a very young age, studying under his mother, a professor at the music school in his home town of Ruse, Bulgaria. At the age of 15, he was accepted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris where he studied under Gérard Poulet, Devy Erlih and Jean-Jacques Kantorow. Three years later, the jury unanimously awarded him the first prize for violin and chamber music. Subsequently he entered the postgraduate program.

Svetlin Roussev performs on the Amati- Stradivarius 1720 violin kindly loaned by AMUNDI.