Interview with Natalia Lomeiko, Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music and the Yehudi Menuhin School

Today, we meet Natalia Lomeiko, a seasoned violin professor, renowned musician, and excellent educator, who talks to us about her Teacher Role and what it takes to guide the next generation of young violinists. 

Topics:

00'43 Teacher's Role
00'53 What has surprised you the most in recent years about this new generation of violin players?
02'52 What values you took from Natalya Boyarskaya and Lord Menuhin are still valid today in your teaching?
07'45 Excerpt of Natalia Lomeiko's Masterclass on the Kreutzer Etude No. 41
10'31 How to approach the Kreutzer Etudes? Living music or drills?
15'04 When to start with Kreutzer Etudes

Subtitles available in English 

Natalia Lomeiko, a teaching philosophy that bridges two of the most influential violin traditions of the past century

In this new episode of the iClassical Academy Interviews, we speak with Natalia Lomeiko, a distinguished violinist and educator whose teaching philosophy bridges two of the most influential violin traditions of the past century: the disciplined technical foundations of the Russian school and the holistic, expressive ethos championed by Yehudi Menuhin.

A professor at the Royal College of Music since 2010 and newly appointed faculty member of the Yehudi Menuhin School, Lomeiko has become a key figure in shaping young musicians at the highest level. What continues to strike her, she says, is the extraordinary technical preparation students arrive with today — and the responsibility institutions carry to help them transform that ability into artistic identity and career direction.

Her approach is rooted in what she experienced as a young student under Menuhin and Natalia Boyarskaya: profound respect for physical freedom, natural movement, and the inseparable relationship between technique and expression. She describes these teenage years as “formative in every sense,” and sees her work with students aged 11–18 as essential to cultivating their future artistic language.

Lomeiko speaks candidly about the pedagogical challenges conservatories face: guiding students who often master complex repertoire early, yet still need to fill technical or conceptual gaps; balancing performance ambitions with the realities of today’s musical landscape; and ensuring that methods evolve without losing depth. Her reflections on teaching the Kreutzer Etudes are particularly insightful: while many treat them as routine exercises, she views them as an indispensable musical and technical laboratory.

“Everything is music,” she says. Even an open-string exercise can develop sound, phrasing, bow control, and emotional agency — skills she considers foundational for sustainable long-term growth.

What emerges from the conversation is a vision of teaching that is individualized, flexible, and deeply human. Lomeiko advocates for a pedagogy that encourages curiosity, honors the body as an instrument, and connects technical training to artistic purpose. It’s an approach that echoes Menuhin’s own legacy: nurturing not only skilled violinists but also thoughtful, expressive musicians equipped to meet the demands of a changing profession.

For conservatory leaders and educators, her insights offer a compelling reminder: the future of classical music depends not only on how well students play, but on how well we guide them toward meaning, resilience, and authentic artistic voice.

"Music—like all great art— gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, and life to everything."

Celebrated for her luminous sound and artistic depth, Russian-born violinist Natalia Lomeiko has captivated audiences worldwide. A laureate of the Tchaikovsky, Menuhin, Stradivari, and Tibor Varga Competitions, she rose to international prominence after winning the Premio Paganini Gold Medal in 2000 and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in 2003.

Trained in the great violin traditions of Novosibirsk, the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Royal College and Royal Academy of Music, Natalia has appeared as a soloist with orchestras from the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia to the Singapore, Tokyo Royal, Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras. She has worked with conductors including Lord Menuhin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Pavel Kogan, bringing what Einstein once called “the poetry of the soul” to every performance.

Her acclaimed discography—spanning labels such as Dynamic, FONE, Naxos, Atoll, and Orchid Classics—includes the complete Grieg Sonatas, French sonatas praised by The Strad as “stunning,” Prokofiev works awarded five-star reviews, and collaborations with artists such as Maxim Vengerov.

A passionate chamber musician, Natalia has performed at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Barbican, and Buckingham Palace, collaborating with some of today’s most distinguished artists, from Gidon Kremer to Tabea Zimmermann and Vadim Repin.

Deeply committed to education, Natalia has served as Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music since 2010 and at the Yehudi Menuhin School. She has also appeared as Guest Concertmaster with major orchestras, including the Royal Opera House, LSO, LPO, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and was Concertmaster of the Oxford Philharmonic for more than a decade.

With every performance, Natalia Lomeiko embodies the belief that music—like all great art—“gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, and life to everything.” More on her website

Coming Next: Interview on iClassicals

Axel Trolese, Pianist