Violinist and conductor Lev Markiz, who fled the Soviet Union in 1981 and went to live in the Netherlands, passed away at the age of 92.
Concertmaster of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra from 1955 to 1964, he later founded his own ensemble, the Moscow Soloists, with whom he made a large number of recordings on the Melodiya label. He was founder of the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, of which he was the artistic director and principal conductor until Candida Thompson succeeded him in 1997. Then he was appointed principal conductor of the Geneva Chamber Orchestra. Markiz was also chief conductor of the chamber orchestra I Virtuosi Italiani.
