Adventures in Music with Maxim Vengerov
RUSSIAN NATIONAL
ORCHESTRA
ORCHESTRA
Dubai, UAE
For this very special concert, world-renowned master of the violin, Maxim Vengerov, joins the Russian National Orchestra for an expansive programme of music traversing rich and colourful soundscapes. Directed by Sergey Smbatyan, these iconic performers will begin the concert with Alexey Shor’s ‘Seascapes’ for Violin and Orchestra. This work, spread across four movements, paints vivid pictures of the sea, as well as man’s often visceral experience of the elements that at once make this bastion of the wild awe-inspiring, humbling and, at times, frightening. Beginning with the mysterious, yet tantalising narrative ‘Abandoned Lighthouse’, the work moves to the more melancholic ‘Lonely Sail’, before the anticipatory ‘Gathering Storm’. The piece closes with the energetic and joyous ‘Summer Hail’.
Following this, the concert will move to Massenet’s emotionally powerful ‘Meditation’ from the opera ‘Thaïs’. This symphonic intermezzo richly shows off the supremely expressive qualities of the violin, the work’s emotive melody artfully traversing the range of the instrument, featuring rich sonorous tones and exquisite upper register harmonics that are sure to enchant in the hands of Maxim Vengerov’s virtuosity and musical maturity.
The first half of the concert ends with Ravel’s ‘Tzigane’, an exotic and virtuosic rhapsody that begins with an extended passage for solo violin before the addition of the orchestra later in the work. Whilst heavily influenced by so-called gypsy music, the work is not considered of a strictly ethnological nature, but rather as representative of a more generic exoticism popular in Europe at the time. Following their meeting in London which first introduced Ravel to the musical elements underpinning the work, this work was commissioned and dedicated to the Hungarian violinist, Jelly d’Arányi, and was premièred in Paris in 1924.
The orchestra returns after the interval to perform Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No.2 in E Minor. The symphony is characterised by the composer’s masterful orchestration and effortlessly melodic writing, yet demonstrates a startling inventiveness from the work’s dark opening. The second movement displays a direct yet almost playful character, with the third known for its haunting beauty supported by lush string writing and rich textures. After a brief sojourn following its flourishing start, the energetic fourth and final movement ascends inexorably to a thrillingly grand conclusion, leaving audiences in no doubt as to the composer’s masterful skill and boundless creativity that is such a defining feature of his work.
Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Vengerov
Sergey Smbatyan is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. An avid popularizer of classical music, the conductor has an extensive international engagement, and is committed to rejuvenating the classical music audiences and the promotion of contemporary classical music globally.
Born into a family of musicians, Sergey Smbatyan took his first steps in the world of classical music under the guidance of her grandmother Tatyana Hayrapetyan, a distinguished violin teacher, followed by his education at Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan and Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Subsequently, in 2012, he furthered his academic journey at the Royal Academy of Music, studying under Sir Colin Davis. His studies under the guidance of Riccardo Muti and Valery Gergiev significantly influenced and enhanced his proficiency in conducting.
Sergey Smbatyan's conducting career was highlighted by his debut performance with the London Symphony Orchestra at Windsor Castle, under the auspices of Prince Charles, now HRH Charles III. The impressive success of this concert led to a subsequent invitation, where he conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra at Buckingham Palace.
Sergey Smbatyan's extensive international involvement as a conductor and his distinctive appreciation for contemporary classical music has led to a wide array of collaborations with globally acclaimed composers, such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Tigran Mansuryan, Arvo Pärt, Gia Kancheli, and many others. Among such notable endeavors were the large-scale projects conducted with John Malkovich in several countries of Latin America and Asia. Led by Sergey Smbatyan and accompanied by the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the iconic Hollywood artist delivered a unique musical performance in Yerevan, presenting a reading of excerpts from “The Book of Lamentations” by the medieval Armenian poet Grigor Narekatsi.
The conductor serves as the artistic director of a number of annual music festivals, as well as the Khachaturian International Competition, to which the category of conducting was introduced through Sergey Smbatyan's initiative. Among the festivals founded by Sergey Smbatyan are the Khachaturian International Festival, which aims to uphold the legacy of Aram Khachaturian and other famous Armenian composers, the "Armenia" International Music Festival, which hosts world-renowned virtuoso musicians to perform in Armenia, the Penderecki Contemporary Music Festival, which showcases the works of contemporary legendary composers, and others.
Sergey Smbatyan is the founder of the "Music for Future Foundation (M4FF)”, which is committed to discovering young talented musicians and fostering their career advancement.
He strives to champion innovative approaches in the classical music industry, consistently seeking creative ideas and solutions in implementing various projects. During the opening ceremony of "WCIT 2019," the largest IT Congress for innovators and entrepreneurs, hosted in Armenia, an international orchestra performed an AI real-time-composed musical piece under the direction of Sergey Smbatyan.
Sergey Smbatyan releases recordings with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra on their own "ArmSymphony Records" label and is actively involved in recording contemporary classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras. His recent engagements include the album of spiritual music "Ave Maria" recorded with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the world-renowned tenor Joseph Calleja, released under the "DECCA Records" label, the album “Aznavouriana” by Deutsche Grammophon with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and cellist Camille Thomas in commemoration of French-Armenian singer and composer Charles Aznavour’s 100th anniversary.
In recent concert seasons, Sergey Smbatyan has served as a guest conductor with leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others.
As the conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Sergey Smbatyan embarked on numerous concert tours and performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the Munich’s Gasteig , Vienna’s Musikverein, the Berliner Philharmonie, and other renowned concert halls.
In 2023, he led the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra on a grand UK tour, dedicated to Aram Khachaturian’s 120th anniversary and in 2024 on the orchestra’s debut tour in the United States with the performances at Boston’s Symphony Hall, New York City’s Carnegie Hall, and Los Angeles Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Highlights of 2024/25 season include concerts with the Madrid Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra, the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra as well as performances at Salle Gaveau and the Cité de la Musique of the Paris Philharmonie with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra featuring French and Armenian composers.
Up until the 2024/25 season, Sergey Smbatyan will be Principal Guest Conductor of Berlin Symphony.
Sergey Smbatyan holds the title of Honoured Artist of the Republic of Armenia and the title of “Chevalier of Arts and Letters” of France.
Sergey Smbatyan was appointed as a UNICEF National Ambassador in 2023.
Universally hailed as one of the world’s finest musicians, and often referred to as the greatest living string player in the world today, Grammy award winner Maxim Vengerov also enjoys international acclaim as a conductor and is one of the most in-demand soloists.
Born in 1974, he began his career as a solo violinist at the age of five, won the Wieniawski and Carl Flesch international competitions at ages 10 and 15 respectively, studied with Galina Tourchaninova and Zakhar Bron, made his first recording at the age of 10, and went on to record extensively for high-profile labels including Melodia, Teldec and EMI, earning among others, Grammy and Gramophone artist of the year awards.
In 2007 he followed in the footsteps of his mentor, the late Mstislav Rostropovich, and turned his attention to conducting and in 2010 was appointed the first chief conductor of the Gstaad Festival Orchestra. June 2014 saw Mr Vengerov graduate with a Diploma of Excellence from the Moscow Institute of Ippolitov-Ivanov with professor Yuri Simonov and he has since finished a further 2-year program of opera conducting.
Highlights of recent seasons saw Mr Vengerov opening the season of the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala with Maestro Chailly, a Residence with Monte Carlo Philharmonic and the Philharmonie in Paris as well as a world wide recital tours. Highlights of the 22/23 season saw him in an extensive US and Canadian recital tour including Berkeley, Kansas City, New York and Toronto, and an 11 concerts tour in the UK. Other orchestral performances as a soloist include Montreal, Vienna, London, Paris and Taiwan and chamber music concerts with Evgeny Kissin and Stephen Isserliss at Carngie Hall, and in Switzerland with Simon Trpcesky and Stephen Isserliss. He also joined Aspen and Bravo Vale Festival in the States this summer in Recital, Masterclasses and Concerto performance with Fabio Luisi and the Dallas SO and celebrated 40 years on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in a big gala concert in April 2023. In 2023/24 he will open the Shanghai International Festival with Christoph Eschenbach, will embarque on another world wine Recital tour including America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia and will perform orchestra concerts in amongst others in Vienna, Paris and Milan.
In 2020 Maxim Vengerov became Classic FM’s first solo Artist in Residence and released a new recording of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with conductor Myung-Whun Chung and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, coupled with works by Saint-Säens and Ravel as well as a live recital from Carnegie Hall.
As one of Mr Vengerov’s greatest passions is the teaching and encouraging of young talent, he has held various teaching positions around the world. He currently holds the Stephan and Viktoria Schmidheiny Stiftungsprofessor at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and since September 2016 he is also the Polonsky Visiting Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2018 Maxim Vengerov became the Goodwill Ambassador of the Musica Mundi School - a unique institution, which supports young talents. With the vision of democratising the access of music learning, he launched his own online platform in January 2021:www.maximvengerov.com and created an impact across 170 countries and over 190 million reach. His first year programs include partnerships with musical institutions from around the world, the Lottery Ticket program, guest artist series inaugurated with Brett Yang from TwoSet Violin, as well as his new global community group who’s initiatives include the world leading Mentoring program, rural musical communities initiative and the Musical Pen Pals program for children.
Mr Vengerov has been profiled in a series of documentaries, including Playing by Heart, which was recorded by Channel Four Television and screened at the Cannes Television Festival in 1999, and Living the Dream, which was released worldwide and received the Gramophone Award for Best Documentary in 2008.
Mr Vengerov has received prestigious fellowships and honours from a number of institutions. In 2012 he was awarded an Honorary Visiting Fellowship at Trinity College Oxford and in 2019 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Music London and in 2019 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Music London and the Order of Cultural Merit from the Palace Monte Carlo.
Mr Vengerov has also received numerous awards including Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with Orchestra) (2003), two Gramophone awards (1994, 1995), a Classical Brit Award (2004), five Edison Classical Music Awards (1995, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004), two ECHO awards (1997, 2003) and a World Economic Forum Crystal award (2007) - honouring artists who have used their art to improve the state of the world.
He plays the ex-Kreutzer Stradivari (1727).
The Russian National Orchestra was founded in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. Of its debut at the BBC Proms in London, the Evening Standard wrote, 'They played with such captivating beauty that the audience gave an involuntary sigh of pleasure.' The RNO has been described as 'a living symbol of the best in Russian art' (Miami Herald) and 'as close to perfect as one could hope for' (Trinity Mirror).
Maintaining an active international schedule, the RNO appears in the music capitals of Europe, Asia and the Americas, is a frequent guest at festivals such as Edinburgh, the BBC Proms and Festival Napa Valley, and presents the RNO Grand Festival each September to open the Moscow season.
RNO concerts are often aired on National Public Radio, the European Broadcasting Union, and Russia’s Kultura channel. Their discography, launched with a highly praised 1991 recording of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique, now numbers more than 80 critically acclaimed recordings. Notable releases include the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos on Deutsche Grammophon, Tchaikovsky’s six symphonies for Pentatone, and the RNO Shostakovich project, also on Pentatone, cited as “the most exciting cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies to be put down on disc, and easily the best recorded” (SACD.net).
Their recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Beintus' Wolf Tracks, conducted by Kent Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, received a 2004 Grammy Award, making the RNO the first Russian orchestra to win the recording industry's highest honor. Their recording of Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, conducted by Paavo Järvi, was awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2015 as the year's best symphonic album, and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award.
