Viktor Tretyakov, one of the world’s greatest violinists, In 1966, at the age of 19, he won first prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition and was invited to appear on several international concert tours by artists such as Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Mstislav Rostropovich and David Oistrakh. 

The influence of the last could be noticed in Tretyakov's interpretations and also in his choice of the repertoire; Tretyakov favored the great romantic violin concertos such as those by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and the music of Prokofiev and Shostakovich. His unique style is supported by impeccable technique and profound musical insight with expressively articulate phrasing.

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 known as "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). 

Since winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1966, Tretyakov has performed with almost every major orchestra in the world, including the Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburg, London, Los Angeles and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, the Royal Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Bamberg SO, the NDR Hamburg, the WDR Cologne, the NHK Symphony, the Kirov Orchestra, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Detroit, San Francisco, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and many others. He has worked with conductors including Rostropovich, Ormandy, Temirkanov, Alekseev, Jochum, Krips, Gergiev, Fedoseyev, Maazel, Kempe, Jansons, Järvi, Levine, Mehta, von Dohnanyi, Penderecki, Previn, and Kondrashin. 

He plays a 1772 Nicolo Gagliano violin.