Jan Stigmer has for many years received high acclaim by audiences and critics alike for his personal and communicative style of playing. It is without any doubt the lyrical and colourful quality of his playing that set him apart. And when one sees the masters that he counts among his teachers, it is perhaps not strange that he sometimes has an almost old fashioned quality to his playing. Born in Sweden in 1964, he received his first violin lessons at the age of six. From a very early age the Hungarian violin professor Tibor Fülep came to have an important influence on his life. And after having received a solid foundation from him, he continued his studies with André Gertler and Herman Krebbers. Since his early twenties he has toured extensively and he has performed with some of the top orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. His travels has taken him to most European countries as well as several trips to North America, South America and Asia. After his North America début in Chicago with Sibelius violin concerto, the critic of the Chicago Tribune called it “..a breathtaking tour-de-force”. And his first performance at the famous “Sala Cecilia Meireles” in Rio de Janeiro, was voted performance of the year in “Globo”. “The American Record Guide” recommends his recording of the Haydn violin concertos to it’s readers worldwide and “The Gramophone” described him as “a player who clearly knows what string players like…very communicative, full blooded playing”. In China Jan Stigmer is among the most popular classical artists and he takes time to tour there several times each year. In 2005 he became the first western musician ever to perform in Tibet. Several composers have written music directly for Jan Stigmer. The latest being Rolf Martinsson who's violinconcerto Jan premiered with the Swedish Chamber Orchestrain 2007. In his capacity as stehgeiger and chamber musician he has worked with artists like Barbara Bonney, Norbert Brainin, Håkan Hagegård, Barry Tuckwell, James Galway, Rivka Golani, Victor Liberman, Josef Suk, Barbara Hendriks, Imogen Cooper, Randi Stene, Frans Helmersson, Michala Petri and many others. Jan Stigmer plays on a violin by Antonio Stradivarius dated 1724.