Victoria Mullova (Violin soloist)
Viktoria Mullova studied at the Central Music School of Moscow and the Moscow
Conservatoire. Her extraordinary talent captured international attention when
she won first prize at the 1980 Sibelius Competition in Helsinki and the Gold
Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1982 which was followed, in 1983, by her
dramatic and much publicized defection to the West. She has since appeared with
most of the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors and at the major
international festivals. She is now known the world over as a violinist of
exceptional versatility and musical integrity. Her curiosity spans the breadth
of musical development from baroque and classical right up to the most
contemporary influences from the world of fusion and experimental
music.
Her interest in the authentic approach has led to collaborations
with period instrument bands such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,
Il Giardino Armonico, Venice Baroque and Orchestre Révolutionaire et Romantique.
Viktoria has a great affinity with Bach and his work makes up a large part of
her recording catalogue. Her interpretations of Bach have been acclaimed
worldwide and led Tim Ashley to write, “To hear Mullova play Bach is, simply,
one of the greatest things you can experience…” in the Guardian. Her most recent
disc of Bach Concerti with the Accademia Bizantina and Ottavio Dantone has been
highly praised and her recording of Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas represents
a significant milestone in Viktoria’s personal journey into this music. The
recording received 5-star reviews from all over the world and she has embarked
on an international several season-long, series of solo Bach
recitals.
Her ventures into creative contemporary music started in 2000
with her album “Through the Looking Glass” in which she played world, jazz and
pop music arranged for her by Matthew Barley. This exploration continued with
her second album ‘The Peasant Girl’ which she has toured around the world with
the Matthew Barley ensemble. This project shows a different side to Viktoria as
she looks to her peasant roots in the Ukraine and explores the influence of
gypsy music on the classical and jazz genres in the 20th Century. Her most
recent project, “Stradivarius in Rio” is inspired by her love of Brazilian songs
by composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso and Claudio Nucci. A
CD of the same name has been enthusiastically received and she is now presenting
the project in planned concerts throughout Europe. As well as her own projects,
she has also commissioned works from young composers such as Fraser Trainer,
Thomas Larcher and Dai Fujikura.
This rich musical diversity has been
celebrated in several high-profile residences, including London’s Southbank,
Vienna’s Konzerthaus, the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Musikfest Bremen,
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Helsinki Music Festival.
Highlights of
her 16/17 season include a tour with Accademia Bizantina and Ottavio Dantone to
the US, Canada and Asia, appearances with Orchestre national de Lyon, Venice
Baroque, Il Giardino Armonico at Sommets Musicaux, Gstaad and a tour of Belgium
with Le Concert Olympique. Viktoria will also give solo and duo recitals with
Katia Labèque throughout Europe.
Mullova’s extensive discography for
Philips Classics and Onyx Classics has attracted many prestigious awards. Her
recording of the Vivaldi Concertos with Il Giardino Armonico and directed by
Giovanni Antonini, won the Diapason D’Or of the Year award for 2005 and her
recording featuring Beethoven’s Op 12 No 3 and Kreutzer Sonatas with Kristian
Bezuidenhout won immense critical acclaim. Other discs have included the
Schubert Octet with the Mullova Ensemble, “Recital” with Katia Labèque, Bach
Sonatas with Ottavio Dantone and “6 Solo Sonatas and Partitas” by JS Bach.
Mullova’s most recent all-Prokofiev disc (released in August 2015) has already
received critical acclaim.
Viktoria either plays on her ‘Jules Falk’ 1723
Stradivarius or a Guadagnini violin.
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