Maxim Vengerov
At just twenty-eight years of age Maxim Vengerov is recognised as one of the world’s
most exciting violinists. Since he started playing at the age of four-and-a-half,
he has evolved from a precociously talented child into an assured virtuoso. After
his first recital in his hometown of Novosibirsk, Siberia, at the age of five,
then studying with Galina Tourchaninova and Professor Zakhar Bron, he went on
to win the First Prize in the Junior Wieniawski Competition in Poland when he
was just ten years old. In 1990, aged fifteen, he took top honours at the Carl
Flesch International Violin Competition which confirmed his reputation as a musician
of the very highest order.
Vengerov recorded exclusively for Teldec Classics for ten years, during which
time awards and accolades were plentiful, including both Gramophone Young Artist
of the Year, and Ritmo (Spain) Artist of the Year in 1994.
At just twenty-eight years of age Maxim Vengerov is recognised as one of the world’s
most exciting violinists. Since he started playing at the age of four-and-a-half,
he has evolved from a precociously talented child into an assured virtuoso. After
his first recital in his hometown of Novosibirsk, Siberia, at the age of five,
then studying with Galina Tourchaninova and Professor Zakhar Bron, he went on
to win the First Prize in the Junior Wieniawski Competition in Poland when he
was just ten years old. In 1990, aged fifteen, he took top honours at the Carl
Flesch International Violin Competition which confirmed his reputation as a musician
of the very highest order.
Vengerov recorded exclusively for Teldec Classics for ten years, during which
time awards and accolades were plentiful, including both Gramophone Young Artist
of the Year, and Ritmo (Spain) Artist of the Year in 1994. In 1996 he was awarded
Record of the Year by Gramophone Magazine and received Grammy nominations for
Classical Album of the Year and Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra for his
recording of the Shostakovich and Prokofiev concertos No1. Vengerov received the
Edison Award in 1997 in the Best Concerto Recording category, for his Shostakovich
and Prokofiev concertos No2 recording. In May 2000 Vengerov signed an exclusive
recording contract with EMI Classics with whom he made his debut in April 2000
with the release of Rodion Shchedrin’s ‘Concerto Cantabile’
and the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Mstislav
Rostropovich. His first CD under his exclusive contract was ‘Virtuosi’
(an ensemble of ten violinists plus Vag Papian, piano) released in July 2001.
In September 2002 Vengerov was awarded Gramophone Artist of the Year.
In 1997, at the age of twenty-three, Vengerov was appointed Envoy for Music by
the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the first classical
musician to be appointed in this role. By playing for abducted child-soldiers
in Uganda, disadvantaged children in Harlem, children suffering from drug addiction
in Thailand, and children on both sides of the Kosovan ethnic divide, it has afforded
him an opportunity to both inspire children world-wide, and inspire others to
raise funds for UNICEF-assisted programmes. He says: “I understood what
miracles you can bring back to children with music; this is a universal language
that everyone understands, it goes from heart to heart”. Another passion
of Vengerov’s musical and personal life is his involvement with young people
through giving Masterclasses to aspiring musicians. One such event was recorded
by Channel Four Television in the UK as part of a documentary about Vengerov,
called ‘Playing by Heart’ shown at the Cannes Television Festival
in 1999.
Since October 2000, Vengerov has been a Professor of Violin at the Musikhochschule
des Saarlandes. His pupils have appeared regularly not only as soloists, but also
in ensemble with Vengerov, at many festivals, including young.euro.classic in
Berlin in 2002.Maxim Vengerov performs regularly with all the major orchestras
and the most eminent conductors. In the past three years he has taken up different
projects in addition to the usual concerto and recital repertoire. On a tour with
the English Chamber Orchestra he performed as both soloist and conductor for the
first time, after studying conducting for two years in the class of Vag Papian,
who himself studied with the legendary Ilya Musin. He performed recitals on the
Baroque violin with Trevor Pinnock, went on a solo recital tour performing Bach,
Shchedrin and Ysaÿe Sonatas using both his Strad and the Baroque violin in
one concert, and took up the viola for another tour with the English Chamber Orchestra
as well as to record the Walton Viola Concerto for EMI.
This season has seen Vengerov on extensive tours of Europe and the US with his
solo recital programme of Bach, Ysaÿe, Shchedrin and Paganini, which also
forms the programme of an EMI Classics CD. He has performed the Britten Violin
Concerto and the Walton Viola Concerto in Europe and the US, which formed the
programme of his third CD release on EMI Classics.
The 2003/04 season will start with an extensive tour in Europe and the US with
Lalo’s Symphony Espagnol and Saint Saens Violin concert No 3, another major
release on EMI Classics.
Mr Vengerov wishes to express his gratitude to Mrs Yoko Nagae Ceschina for all
her continued support, advice and great help, which made possible the purchase
of his unique ‘Kreutzer’ Stradivarius violin.
July 2003
