Guest Artists

Yuri Bashmet, viola (Russia)

Through his virtuosity, strength of personality and high intelligence, YURI BASHMET has given the viola a new prominence in musical life. The pre-eminent viola player of the modern age, he has motivated the leading composers of our time to expand the repertoire with significant new music. He is Artistic Director of the December Nights Festival, Moscow, Principal Conductor of the Novaya Rorriya State Symphony Orchestra, and is the founder/director of Moscow Soloists. He also appears throughout the world in the dual role of conductor/soloist. Born in 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in...

Vladimir Chernov, baritone (Russia/ USA)

Internationally renowned Russian baritone VLADIMIR CHERNOV has sung over 40 leading roles and has appeared at nearly every major international theater including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala, Teatro Colon, Paris Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera and Vienna State Opera, under many of today’s great conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Valery Gergiev, James Levine and Seiji Ozawa. Vladimir Chernov is recognised throughout the operatic world for his unique vocal qualities, acting ability and an impeccable Italianate style. He has numerous...

Sergey Khachatryan, violin (Armenia/ Ger...

SERGEY KHACHATRYAN was born in 1985 in Yerevan, Armenia. In December 2000 he won First Prize in the VIII International Jean Sibelius competition in Helsinki, becoming the youngest ever winner in the history of the competition. In 2005 he claimed the First Prize at the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels. Sergey has performed with all the major UK orchestras, including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and regularly with the Philharmonia Orchestra. In July 2005 Sergey made his debut at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic...

Nikolai Lugansky, piano (Russia)

Nikolai Lugansky, already a major artist, has been hailed as the “next” in a line of great Russian pianists by his former teacher, the renowned pedagogue, Tatiana Nikolaeva. He has been described as “a pianistic phenomenon of exceptional class” by the Netherlands’ NRC Handelsblad and as “riveting” and “stand out” by London’s Telegraph. A pianist of extraordinary depth and versatility, Mr. Lugansky has been a prizewinner in several international competitions, including the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1988, the All-Union Rachmaninoff...

Alexander Rudin, cello (Russia)

The Russian conductor and cellist, Alexander Rudin, graduated from the Gnesin GMPI (now: the Russian Gnesin Academy of Musi)c in 1983 (his professors in cello and piano were Lev Evgrafov and Yury Ponizovkin respectively). He was a prize-winner and laureate of prestigious cello competitions including the “Concertino Prague” Competition (1972); the Bach Competition in Leipzig (Cello 1st Prize, 1976), Gaspar Cassado Competition in Florence (1979), and the 6th and 7th Tchaikovsky competitions in Moscow (1st Prize in 1978 and 2nd Prize in 1982). In 1989 he graduated from...

Dora Schwarzberg, violin (Russia/ Austri...

Dora Schwarzberg was born in the backstage of a Jewish Theatre where her musician parents worked. It is perhaps this fact which formed her artistic Credo, expressed in the words of her father: ” the violin must speak and cry!” Personal and artistic communication with musicians such as Prof. Yankelevich, V. Berlinsky, A. Stern, Isaac Stern, Dorothy Delay, Menuhin, Rostropovich, Casals made such an impact on DS that the well known American musician FG exclaimed- “DS is a typical representative of the Odessa-Moscow-Jerusalem-NY violin school!” For DS...