Maxim Vengerov

Maxim Vengerov
Background information
Birth name	Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov
Born	(1974-08-20) August 20, 1974 Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Origin	Russian SFSR
Genres	Classical Chamber music
Occupation(s)	Musician, conductor, music teacher
Instrument(s)	Violin Viola
Years active	1980s - 2000s

Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (Template:Lang-ru, Russian pronunciation: [mɐkˈsʲim vʲɪnˈɡʲerəf], (b. 20 August 1974) is a violinist, violist, and conductor who was born in the Soviet Union.

Biography

Youth

Vengerov was born on 20 August 1974 in Novosibirsk, Russia, to a Jewish family with a strong musical tradition. His mother sang and conducted a 500 voice orchestra, and his father played first oboe in the local philharmonic. At age five, he began studying the violin with Galina Tourchaninova, and two years later, with Zakhar Bron, practicing seven hours a day. 1984 saw the child prodigy at age 10 go abroad touring for the first time. In Lublin, Poland, he won first place at the International Karol Lipiński and Henryk Wieniawski Young Violin Player Competition. When Bron left Russia in 1987 to teach at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Vengerov and his mother followed him there, and did so again after Bron moved to Lübeck to open a school there.

1990–1999

In 1990, Vengerov won the International Carl Flesch Competition in London. His public appearances – both solo and with orchestras – at major European music events sparked the interest of major record labels (to date, he has recorded close to 100 compositions or cycles) and music magazines. Numerous recording prizes and "Artist of the Year" titles (including one from Gramophone) followed, as did a Grammy Award, Edison Award (for the recording of Shostakovich Second Concerto), and the "Echo Klassik" annual distinction awarded to him by the German Television in 2003 for a recital featuring works by J. S. Bach).

In 1997, he became UNICEF’s Envoy for Music and has met and performed for children in such places, as Uganda, Thailand and Kosovo. Playing by Heart, an American television production (on NBC), about the artist's meetings with young musicians during his master classes, was shown at the Cannes Festival in 1999. Contacts with Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Barenboim and Vag Papian, as well as performances with the world’s most famous orchestras, like the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony, added to Vengerov’s artistic progress. The artist took a two-year course in the Baroque violin and repertoire of the epoch. However, he does not restrict himself to the violin; the viola, jazz improvisation, dance, and conducting have also drawn his attention. Since the earliest stages of his career, he has been playing various Stradivari instruments; at present, it is the 1727 “Ex-Kreutzer”.

2000–Present day

Since 2005, Vengerov has held the position of Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. During a sabbatical year in 2007, Vengerov was the subject of the film Living the Dream,[2] directed by Ken Howard, for ITV's South Bank Show, in which he revisited his birthplace in Novosibirsk and played viola and danced tango with Christiane Palha for the premiere of Benjamin Yusupov's Concerto for Viola. Living the Dream was also issued as an EMI DVD, which won the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best DVD documentary 2008.

From 2008 to 2012, Vengerov performed only infrequently in public on violin, having suffered an exercise injury that affected his playing. During that time, he devoted himself extensively to conducting. In March 2012, he gave his first performance in London in four years, replacing an indisposed Martha Argerich at a concert with Yuri Temirkanov and St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. In April 2012 he gave a recital at Wigmore Hall in London, which was to be his comeback recital in London.

Recently, the artist has also renewed and consolidated his ties with Poland. He has been performing with the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Sinfonietta Cracovia and the Polish Baltic Philharmonic. In October 2006, his concert with the Sinfonia Varsovia conducted by Andrzej Boreyko closed the 13th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznań. In October 2011 he was the chairman of the jury at the 14th edition of the competition. In November 2011, he married Olga Gringolts, sister of the violinist Ilya gringolts. In October 2012, after his recital with pianist Vag Papian at Adam Mickiewicz University Auditorium in Poznań, Vengerov accepted appointment as the Chairman of Jury of the 15th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in 2016. With Musicalta, he has returned to performing in France, giving a recital at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, on February 23, 2013. He has announced further French concerts in Paris and Lyon in 2014.

External links

• Management NFBM ltd http://www.nfbm.com [3]
• Maxim Vengerov fan site
• Interview by Bruce Duffie
• C Music TV Interview
• Maxim Vengerov for Jean Paul Gaultier
• Maxim Vengerov site (with photos and recordings on www.wieniawski.com
• [4]

See also: Vengerov