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 Russia, he spent his childhood in Lviv in Ukraine before studying at the Moscow Conservatoire with Vadim Borisovsky (of the Beethoven Quartet) and Feodor Druzhinin. His international career was launched in 1976 when he won the International Viola Competition in Munich. Since then he has appeared with all the world‟s great orchestras, including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boston, Chicago and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, which presented its own Yuri Bashmet Festival.

He has inspired many composers to write for him, and has enjoyed strong personal and professional relationships with Alfred Schnittke and Sofia Gubaidulina in particular. Schnittke‟s Viola Concerto, written for him, is now firmly established in the repertoire. Other concertos composed for him include works by Poul Ruders, Alexander Tchaikovsky and Alexander Raskatov. He has also given the world premieres of Styx by Giya Kancheli, The Myrrh Bearer by John Tavener and On Opened Ground by Mark-Anthony Turnage – all of which were written for him.

In December 2002 Bashmet became Principal Conductor of the newly formed Symphony Orchestra of New Russia, with which he has embarked upon a series of concerts in Moscow, with touring plans in Russia, Italy, France and the UK. Other orchestras with which he appears as conductor/soloist include the Dresdner Philharmoniker, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Camerata Salzburg, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Brussels Philharmonic. He is also founder of Moscow Soloists, an ensemble he has performed with and directed throughout the world since 1992. This renowned chamber orchestra has been rapturously received in Moscow, Amsterdam, Paris, Tokyo, New York and at the BBC Proms, London.

In chamber music his closest collaborators have included Sviatoslav Richter, Gidon Kremer, Mstislav Rostropovich, Maxim Vengerov, Natalia Gutman, Viktoria Mullova and the Borodin Quartet. He formed a highly successful trio with mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, showcasing music of the past and present for this unusual and evocative combination. Other recent chamber music projects include Beethoven trios with Anne Sophie Mutter and Lyn Harrell. He is a frequent visitor to summer festivals such as Elbe, Verbier and Martha Argerich‟s festival in Japan. Among his many CDs is a recording for Deutsche Grammophon of the Gubaidulina Concerto and Kancheli Styx, winner of a Diapason d‟Or award and a Grammy nomination.

Other notable DG discs are Mozart‟s Sinfonia Concertante with Anne-Sophie Mutter, Brahms‟s Piano Quartet No 1 with Argerich, Kremer and Maisky, and the recently released Bartók Concerto with Berliner Philharmoniker and Boulez. For Onyx he and Moscow Soloists have embarked on a critically-acclaimed series of recordings; chamber symphonies by Shostakovich, Sviridoc and Vainberg; music by Stravinsky and Prokofiev (which received a Grammy award); and a disc of music by composers from the Far East, plus a recital disc of Encores with pianist Mikhail Muntian.

Described by The Times as „without doubt, one of the world’s greatest living musicians‟, Yuri Bashmet brings an enquiring and perceptive mind to life beyond classical music; he is an enthusiast for the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix and has hosted his own political discussion show on Russian television. He plays a 1758 Testore viola (a similar model to the one Mozart played) which he bought in 1971.

Vladimir Chernov is recognised throughout the operatic world for his unique vocal qualities, acting ability and an impeccable Italianate style. He has numerous Verdi and bel canto operas in his repertoire. His U.S. debut was at Los Angeles Opera in the 1989-90 season as Posa in Verdi’s Don Carlo, opposite Plácido Domingo. Mr Chernov’s most requested roles include Germont in La Traviata, Simon Boccanegra, Eugene Onegin, Miller in Luisa Miller, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Prince Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades.

Recent appearances include Eugene Onegin in Seattle and at the Paris Opera, Barbiere in Los Angeles, Il Trovatore at Covent Garden, The Queen of Spades in Dallas and Lyon, Vespri Siciliani in Athens and Eugene Onegin at Opera Australia, Prince Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades at the Met and Tebaldo in Zandonai’s Giuletta e Romeo in Munich.

Mr Chernov’s recordings include Il Trovatore, Luisa Miller and Don Carlo for Sony Classical, Rigoletto for Deutsche Grammophon, Un Ballo in Maschera for Teldec, Pique Dame for Philips as well as a video recordings of Simon Boccanegra and Stiffelio for Deutsche Grammophon.

Vladimir Chernov studied with Gyorgi Selesnev and Gugo Tiz at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and with Guilietta Simionato at Accademia della Scala. In 1981 he joined the Kirov Opera in St. Petersburg as a soloist. Mr. Chernov is a prize winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition and Glinka Competition in Moscow, Carlo Galetti in Busetto and Miriam Helin Vocal Competition in Helsinki.

As a recital artist Vladimir Chernov has appeared at many of the world’s leading venues including the Wigmore Hall in London, Lincoln Center in New York, Vienna Konzerthaus and many others.

In 2006 Vladimir Chernov joined the faculty of UCLA Herb Alpert Schoool of Music as a Professor of Vocal Studies.

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 performing the first Shostakovich violin concerto.

Sergey’s international profile initially developed through collaborations with orchestras such as the Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony in Tokyo, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre national de France and Kurt Masur and Frankfurt Radiosinfonieorchester with Daniel Harding.

In August 2005 he made his debut at the Ravinia and Blossom festivals, and in March 2006 with the Baltimore Symphony orchestra before undertaking a major US concert tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, including venues in Boston, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Jersey. In summer 2006 Sergey made his New York debut performing the Beethoven concerto at the Mostly Mozart festival.

Highlights of Sergey’s 2006-07 season included the Beethoven concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnanyi, the first Shostakovich concerto with the RSO Berlin and Marek Janowski, the Sibelius concerto with the Munich Philharmonic and James Conlon, Prokofiev’s second concerto with the Oslo Philharmonic, the Beethoven concerto with the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Nosseda at the Vienna Konzerthaus and a third visit to the Cleveland Orchestra.

During the 2006-07 season, Sergey also made debuts with the New York Philharmonic and Kurt Masur, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Bernard Hatink, the Los Angeles Philharmonis with Stéphane Denève, the San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra with Valery Gergiev and the Berlin Philharmonic with Dmitri Kitajenko.

Performances during the 2007-08 season included the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Jukka-Pekka Saraste, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Jaap van Zweden, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra with Peter Oundjian and a debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit at the Saratoga Festival.

2008-09 season engagements included the Brahms concerto with the Deutsche Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Ingo Metzmacher, a tour with the Gothenburg Symphony with Gustavo Dudamel, the Santa Cecelia Orchestra in Rome with Masur and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London with Sir Charles Mackerras. Other highlights included performances with the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kurt Masur, the Russian National Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra as well as performances with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra with Valery Gergiev in St Petersburg, Yerevan, Moscow and at the festivals in Mikkeli and Baden-Baden.

The 2009-10 season will see his debut with the Spanish National Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre de Paris, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Bamberger Symphoniker.

With sister Lusine Khachatryan he has performed recitals at Wigmore Hall, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the National Auditorium in Madrid and at Carnegie Hall, as well as the Theatre des Champs Elysees Paris, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Sergey plays the 1702 ‘Lord Newlands’ Stradivarius violin on kind loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

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 Competition in 1990, and the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1994. He made his American debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 1996 as a part of a tour with the Kirov Orchestra and Valery Gergiev.

Mr. Lugansky has appeared with major symphony orchestras worldwide, including the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Paris, the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, and Russian National orchestras; the Berlin, Milan, City of Birmingham, Chicago and San Francisco symphony orchestras; the Monte Carlo, Dresden, Los Angeles, Munich, Rotterdam, St. Petersburg and Tokyo philharmonics; and the Philadelphia, Royal Concertgebouw in repertoire as diverse as Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Grieg, Chopin, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Liszt.

The list of distinguished conductors with whom he has worked includes Paavo Berglund, Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Marek Janowski, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Emmanuel Krivine, Sir Charles Mackerras, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Sakari Oramo, Mikhail Pletnev, Jukka Pekka Saraste, and Yuri Temirkanov. He also regularly appears at some of the world’s most distinguished festivals, including the BBC Proms, La Roque d’Anthéron, Verbier, Baden Baden, Salzburg, Edinburgh International Festival and the Kissinger Sommerfest.

Highlights for the 2012/13 season include concerto projects with the New York Philharmonic (with Charles Dutoit), the Orchestre de Paris (Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos), Bamberger Symphoniker (Mikhail Pletnev), the London Symphony Orchestra (Gianandrea Noseda) and St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Yuri Temirkanov). In recital and chamber performances, Lugansky appears at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Konzerthaus Berlin and Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional de Música; his chamber music collaborations include performances with Vadim Repin and Leonidas Kavakos.

Last season saw Nikolai Lugansky make his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (with Dutoit) as well as performances with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (Andris Nelsons), Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra (Valery Gergiev), NHK Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also made his recital debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus along with recitals at Prague’s Rudolfinum and the Grand Halls of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Moscow Conservatoire. 2011/12 also saw him tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Marek Janowski, and the Russian National Orchestra.

An acclaimed recording artist, he has recently signed an exclusive deal with the Naïve-Ambroisie label, whose first release of solo Liszt works is now available and has led Le Monde to write that “Nikolai Lugansky has entered the inner circle of great Lisztians”. His next recording for Naïve featuring Rachmoninoff’s two piano sonatas was released in September 2012. His previous release, an all-Chopin recital for Onyx was described by The Guardian as “unquestionably thrilling”, and in October of 2010 Deutsche Grammophon released a disc of chamber music recorded together with Vadim Repin with whom he has developed a long-lasting and fruitful musical partnership which won the 2011 Edison Klassiek Award and the Chamber Music category award of the 2011 BBC Music Magazine Awards.

His recordings on Warner Classics label have garnered the Diapason d’Or for the complete Chopin Etudes in 2000, Rachmaninoff Preludes and Moments Musicaux in 2001 and Chopin Preludes in 2002. He was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the ECHO Klassik 2005 for his recording of Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos 1 & 3, and his recording of Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 for Pentatone Classics won Gramophone Editor’s Choice (February 2004). His other releases include Prokofiev Sonatas 4 & 6 and selections from Romeo and Juliet,  Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo coupled with “Variations on a theme by Corelli,” and “Variations on a theme by Chopin,” and Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos 2 & 4. In fall 2005, Warner Classics released his first disc of Beethoven Sonatas that includes the “Moonlight” and “Appassionata” sonatas. Nikolai Lugansky and Alexander Kniazev won the 2007 ECHO Klassik Award for their recording of works by Chopin and Rachmaninov released in January of that year.

“…it is hard not to be seduced by the playing of a natural Lisztian, as alive to textual detail as conveying a work’s drama and poetry… hear how artfully Lugansky paces the music and grades dynamics. He’s like a good story teller, revealing the plot and characters little by little so the listener can’t wait to hear what happens next” (Classic FM Magazine, February 2012)

“…a perfection of sonority & drive. The performance crackled with electricity & the audience leapt to its feet in one of those rare standing ovations.” Palm Beach Daily News April 7, 2011

• Interact with great musicians on stage; learn from them in private lessons and master classes; meet them daily in informal atmosphere.
• Develop your career.
• Get inspired and energized by the unique Alpine landscape; combine intense music experience and recreation in the heart of the Nature Park Schlern-Rosengarten.

Alexander Rudin is one of the brightest artists of the modern Russian musical scene. A world renowned cellist, conductor, pianist, outstanding ensemble player, professor of the Moscow Conservatory, researcher of early music scores, orchestrator and creator of unique concert series – in all these roles Alexander Rudin is equally successful. He belongs to the new type of Russian performers – universal musicians.

Alexander Rudin performs worldwide and participates in festivals in Edinburgh, Istanbul, Kuhmo and Ljubljana. He was the honorary guest in the Classix Festival in Braunschweig, and has appeared as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestra of the Bavarian Opera, Münchener Kammerorchester, and all of the principal Russian Orchestras, including Pyotr Tchaikovsky Large Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian National Orchestra. As a conductor he performs regularly in Russia, Finland, Turkey, Poland, Norway and Spain. He frequently performs in chamber music as a cellist and pianist. His regular partners in chamber music performances are Yuri Bashmet, Alexei Lubimov, B. Davidovich, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Vladimir Spivakov, N. Gutman, and V. Krainev. A creative co-operation connects Alexander Rudin with Russian composers of different generations – Dmitry Kabalevsky, I. Tcherepnin, Edison Denisov, V. Silvestrov, Rodion Shchedrin, A. Golovin, Artyomov, Klimov and others.

In 1988 Alexander Rudin was appointed Artistic Director of the Festival Musical Assemblies. From 1988 he is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra, co-operates at the same time with the Austrian Arpeggione orchestra.

From 1989 Alexander Rudin is Professor and from 2002 – full Professor at the Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, teaches a chamber ensemble class. In 1991-1992 he was Visiting Professor to the Helsinki Sibelius Academy. In addition to this, he gives numerous master-classes all over the world, and collaborates with student orchestras as a conductor (the Student orchestra of the Moscow Conservatory, the Youth Orchestra of Ekaterinburg etc.). Since 1993 he has been the President of the ‘Musical Assemblies’ charity foundation. He has been a member of the jury of many international music competitions, including the 10th and 11th Tchaikovsky competitions and the Bach Competition (Leipzig, 1998), and he was the chairman of the jury of the 12th Tchaikovsky Competition in 2002.

Serves as juror in many international Competitions, including the 10th and 11th Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Competitions and the Leipzig J. S. Bach Competition, 1998. In 2002, President of the Jury of cellists at the 12th International P. I. Tchaikovsky Competition. In 2001, winner of the Moscow Administration Prize.

The musical versatility, which allows Alexander Rudin to work with striking intensity in very different musical spheres combined with a unique artistic integrity make him stand out even among his most progressive peers. In his work the maestro rigidly follows pursuits and experiments within pure academic traditions. “Music is not an encore,” says Alexander Rudin, “You can’t downgrade it to the level of pure entertainment”. The combination of lesser known and completely unknown music with new interpretations of classical “hits” is characteristic of most concert programmes by this artist. Due to his passion for unearthing and rediscovering forgotten music Moscow audiences heard many interesting works for the first time, such as: “Fantasy on Russian Themes” for cello and orchestra by K. Davydov, the cello concertos by A. Kraft, J.B. Tricklir, I. Fazius, R. Folkmann and the First Cello Concerto by A. Dvorak. Together with Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra he presented Moscow audiences with premiers of works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, A. Salieri, I. Pleyel, J. Dussek, C. Dittersdorf, O. Kozlovsky, V. Pashkevich and A. Alyabiev.

Though Rudin received an academic musical training, he became interested in the authentic performance of early music. With time he achieved a perfect balance between the two: nowadays he plays concerts on the modern cello and the viola da gamba alike, performs Romantic music in the traditional academic manner, while Baroque and Classic masterpieces receive “historically correct” treatment. This “authentic” trend gave way to the orchestra’s collaborations with a number of world-class artists famous in this field, such as outstanding British conductors Christopher Hogwood and Roger Norrington. A significant part of Rudin’s repertoire includes works of contemporary composers (A. Golovin, V. Silvestrov, V. Artemov).

Alexander Rudin has recorded a few dozen CD’s. The most notable among them are: the Six cello suites by J.S. Bach (on Naxos), Cello concertos by J.B. Tricklir and N. Myaskovsky as well as a “Grieg-album”. The latter presents Rudin not only as a cellist and conductor, but also as a master of orchestral arrangement: Grieg’s chamber music here is performed using the maestro’s orchestration. Recent discs include recordings of works by A. Alyabiev and A. Tcherepnin, and a live recording of L.v. Beethoven’s Third Symphony with the Cello Concerto by A. Kraft in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

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 music is not only a profession but a lifestyle. It is a means of communication with people, as varied and individual as the artists with whom she collaborated. They include Martha Argerich, Misha Maisky, Berezovsky, Gililov, Imai, Rudin, Geringas, Drobinsky, Rabinovitch, Shafran, Laredo, Schneider, Affanasiev, Bashmet to name but a few.

It was recently released her recording with Martha Argerich including works by Schumann, Debussy and Franck with excellent critics from some of the most important musical magazines.

Performance and pedagogical activities have naturally complemented each other, and she holds Professorship at Vienna University, where she continues to explore music and life with her students.

The great majority of her students are prize winners of international competitions, and hold leading positions with major orchestras and chamber ensembles all over the world.

She also gives master classes internationally. The repertoire of this violinist envelops music from baroque sonatas to Argentinean Tangos where the defining link in this extensive chain of works is her love for each of them and a desire to radiate this love to her audiences.

Please, visit us later for master class schedule.

The Schlern Festival, hosted by the town of Völs am Schlern, Italy, is unique not only because of its spectacular location, but also because it offers a three-week intense schedule of private lessons, chamber music coachings, and master classes combined with over 30 professional and student concerts presented in the historic halls and castles of the South Tyrol. This exceptional experience gives participants an opportunity to significantly raise their professional level and further their careers through networking with established artists, along with gaining valuable performance experience. Free Italian and German language classes offered to help you improve your language skills. Additionally, the Schlern Festival presents an International Competition to its participants in the areas of violin, viola, cello, voice, and piano with prizes of up to $1000.

Guests of the 2013 festival include Nikolay Lugansky, described as “a pianistic phenomenon of exceptional class” by the Netherlands’ NRC Handelsblad; the pre-eminent viola player of the modern age, Yuri Bashmet; exceptional violinist and professor at the Vienna Academy of Music, Dora Schwarzberg; world renowned cellist and professor at Moscow Conservatory, Alexander Rudin; star violinist, Sergey Khachatryan; and world famous baritone, Vladimir Chernov.

The festival program consists not only of intensive training, practicing and performing, but also includes exciting excursions to Cremona and Venice, where historical places are reminiscent of Verdi, Stradivari, Vivaldi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tizian, Giorgone and others.

The Schlern Music Festival is the kind of experience that leaves deep impressions upon its participants. Listening to live performances of outstanding artists and interacting with them daily creates an environment where ideas, performance and nature unite to bring renewed meaning and understanding to participants’ musical lives. It can also be the beginning of something unimagined as people from around the world meet, form friendships, and make music, as evidenced by four young talented musicians who once met here, worked together, formed a common bond, and became the Völs String Quartet, and are now touring the United States.

And, you can’t visit such an idyllic town without taking time to enjoy all it has to offer! Völs am Schlern recreation opportunities range from simply relaxing or walking in Voels and surrounding areas and absorbing the mountain beauty, to playing one of the most stunning 18-hole golf courses in Northern Italy, to climbing or riding the funicular railway to the hikers’ retreat atop of the magnificent Schlern mountain. And, if you like, you can swim in the nearby lake or relax in a sauna, all followed perhaps by a meal of Italian or Tyrolean fine cuisine at one of the local restaurants.

In a word, The Schlern International Music Festival is a unique and transforming experience for its participants. Seldom in the world will you find quite such great artistry blended so perfectly with such great natural beauty.