Pavel Milyukov, Andrey Gugnin,
Novaya Rossiya Symphony Orchestra

Pavel Milyukov was born in Perm (Russia) in 1984. A graduate of the Academic Music College at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, he then continued his studies at the Conservatory itself, including the assistantship programme under Vladimir Ivanov. Further studies brought him to the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz and to the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, under Professor Boris Kuschnir. 

Pavel Milyukov has been a prize-winner of renowned international competitions in Kloster Schoental (2nd Prize, 2003), Astana (Grand Prix, 2008), Seoul (2nd Prize, 2012), Robert Canetti Competition (held in Hungary, 1st Prize, 2005), Vibrarte in Patis (1st Prize, as part of Con Spirito trio, 2008), Niccolo Paganini Competition in Moscow (2nd Prize, 1st Prize was not awarded, 2007), David Oistrakh Competition in Moscow (2nd Prize, 2008), and Aram Khachaturian Competition in Yerevan (1st Prize, 2012). In 2010, he was awarded the 2nd Prize of the 1st All-Russian Music Contest in Moscow, while 2015 brought him the 3rd Prize of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Pavel has been enjoying an intense concert schedule, touring across Europe, Japan, South and North Korea, China, Brazil, performing and delivering masterclasses in many Russian cities. He has appeared alongside leading Russian and international orchestras, such as Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra under Pavel Kogan, and Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others, playing under the baton of Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Spivakov, Vladimir Fedoseev, Mikhail Pletnev, Yuri Simonov, Vladimir Jurowski, Kristjan Järvi, James Conlon, Alexander Sladkovsky, Vasily Petrenko, Pavel Kogan, and Maria Eklund. 

He has been granted two fellowships from the Saint Petersburg Music House and Rossiya Bank. In 2008–2012, Pavel Milyukov was a soloist at the Saint Petersburg Music House. He also took part in the '21st century stars', a programme by the Moscow Philharmonic. 

In 2016, he was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship. Since 2016, Pavel Milyukov has been teaching at the Moscow Conservatory Violin Department under Professor Vladimir Ivanov and delivering masterclasses on a regular basis. 

He plays the 'ex-Szigeti' violin made by Pietro Giovanni Guarneri and provided by Neva Foundation (Switzerland).

Moscow-born concert pianist Andrey Gugnin is rapidly gaining international acclaim as a passionately virtuosic performer, who possesses an “extraordinarily versatile and agile technique, which serves an often inspired musical imagination” (Gramophone). In 2020, the BBC Music Magazine Awards named Gugnin the winner of the Instrumental Award for his recording Shostakovich: 24 Preludes – Piano Sonatas 1 & 2 (Hyperion). Since winning the prestigious Sydney International Piano Competition in 2016, Gugnin has gone from strength to strength in concerts and recordings which exhibit his impassioned interpretations. 

In addition to winning in Sydney, Gugnin also received prizes at this illustrious competition for Best Overall Concerto, Best 19th/20th Century Concerto, Best Violin and Piano Sonata, and Best Preliminaries for his first-round recital. His also won the Gold Medal and Audience Award at the XCI International Gina Bachauer Piano Competition in 2014, and second prize at the 2013 Beethoven International Piano Competition in Vienna.

Increasingly in demand as a concerto soloist, Gugnin has been invited to perform as a guest artist with notable orchestras worldwide, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony, and has performed under the distinguished batons of Maestro Valery Gergiev, Jaap Van Zweden, Reinbert de Leeuw, Daniel Raiskin, Stanislav Kochanovsky and Asher Fisch. He has also collaborated in a more chamber context with the Asko Schönberg ensemble, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Jerusalem Camerata and Camerata Salzburg and on several occasions as the duo partner of violinist Tasmin Little. 

As a recording artist, Gugnin has published a broad scope of repertoire ranging from solo piano to symphonic works. His release of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes (Piano Classics, 2018) were commended as Editor’s Choice, and distinguished Gugnin as “one to watch” (Gramophone). Other notable recordings include his duo programme with violinist Ioana Cristina Goicea (Atoll Records, 2019), an inspired selection of solo piano suites entitled Pictures (Steinway & Sons, 2016), and a collection of piano duets with Vadim Kholodenko (Delos International, 2010). Andrey has also extensively recorded for TV and radio in Russia, The Netherlands, Croatia, Austria, Australia, Switzerland and the USA. 

In addition to these recordings, Gugnin’s Shostakovich Concertos (Delos International, 2007) were selected to feature on the soundtrack of Steven Speilberg’s Oscar®-winning film Bridge of Spies. 

Gugnin’s expanding list of performance venues include Vienna’s Musikverein, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Carnegie Hall in New York, Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Sydney Opera House, the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Mariinsky Concert Hall, the Louvre in Paris, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space and Asahi Hamarikyu Hall. Gugnin has also participated in a plethora of international festivals, including Verbier, Klavier Festival Ruhr, Mariinsky International Festival, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the Ohrid Summer Festival and the Duszniki Chopin International Festival. 

In 2020, as allowed by the covid pandemic, Gugnin embarked on performing numerous solo recitals at prestigious venues in Russia, as well as showcasing a new concerto by Alexey Shor in Armenia. Gugnin joined Tasmin Little in her farewell concert at the Southbank Centre as one of her four favourite pianists to collaborate with, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and for which Andrey was praised for his “emphatic, mesmerising playing” (Bachtrack). He continued his collaboration with Hyperion, recording his next CD of solo works for release in 2022. 

Gugnin took his first lessons with Natalia Smirnova, who laid the foundations for study with Olga Mechetina, Valery Kastelsky, Lev Naumov, Stanislav Ioudenitch, William Naboré and Vera Gornostayeva.

Novaya Rossiya State Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1990 by decree of the Russian Government. In 2002, Yuri Bashmet became the orchestra's Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, opening a new page in the ensemble's history. 

The orchestra has collaborated with renowned conductors and soloists, including Valery Gergiev, Tan Dun, Alexander Lazarev, Teodor Currentzis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andres Mustonen, Maxim Vengerov, Jean-Luc Ponty, Barry Douglas, Peter Donohoe, Denis Matsuev, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Boris Berezovsky, Viktor Tretiakov, Gidon Kremer, Vadim Repin, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Sergey Krylov, Kristóf Baráti, Viktoria Mullova, Natalia Gutman, David Geringas, Alexander Knyazev, James Galway, Deborah Voigt, Anna Netrebko, Laura Kleikomb, Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Patricia Cioffi, Elīna Garanča and ballet dancers Ulyana Lopatkina, Nikolai Tsiskaridze and Ilze Liepa as well as actors Konstantin Khabensky and Sergei Bezrukov.

Since 2002, the orchestra has given over 1000 concerts in Russia and abroad. Russian performances have taken place in Moscow and St. Petersburg, cities and towns of the Volga region and the Golden Ring, of the Urals and Siberia, while international tours have brought the musicians to countries like Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Baltic and Nordic countries, and many others. 

The orchestra's repertoire combines classical and contemporary music of various styles and genres. It has premiered works by Gian Carlo Menotti, Edison Denisov, Mikael Tariverdiev, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Tan Dun, Jean-Luc Ponty, Toru Takemitsu, Igor Raichelson, Emil Tabakov, Alexander Baltin, Vladimir Komarov, Boris Frankstein, Georgy Buzogly, Kuzma Bodrov and Alexey Sumak. 

The orchestra regularly appears at Yuri Bashmet's Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi and at international festivals in Yaroslavl, Rostov-on-Don and Minsk. It has taken part in the Mstislav Rostropovich Festival, Moscow Easter Festival, Guitar Virtuosi and Vivacello Festivals. The orchestra's discography includes works by Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Alexander Tchaikovsky. 

In March 2007, the orchestra received a grant from the Government of the Russian Federation, followed by the Grant of the President of the Russian Federation in 2010. In 2014, Novaya Rossiya was involved in preparing and running the cultural programme of the 22th Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. 

In the 2021/22 season, the orchestra presents subscription concert cycles at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Rachmaninov Concert Hall (Philharmonia-2) in Moscow, some of which will focus on young audiences. Conductors Alexander Sladkovsky, Igor Razumovsky, Denis Vlasenko and soloists Alena Baeva, Gaik Kazazian, Viviane Hagner, Zlatomir Fang, Boris Berezovsky, Dmitry Masleyev, Olga Seliverstova, Yaroslav Abaimov and many others will appear alongside the orchestra throughout the season.

Denis Vlasenko is rapidly emerging as one of the brightest Russian conductors of his generation. He began his education at the Moscow Chorus Academy,folowed by the Moscow State Conservatory, finalizing his studies at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. In 2005 he was appointed Assistant Conductor to Vladimir Spivakov at the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. He then worked at the “Novaya Opera” in Moscow. Subsequently he was appointed  Permanent Conductor at the “New Russia State Symphony Orchestra” at the invitation of Maestro Yuri Bashmet. Vlasenko is working regularly with many great artists,such as: Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Denis Matsuev, Boris Berezovky, Sergey Krylov, Maria Guleghina, Dmitry Korchak, Lucas Debargue and many others.  

He has been in increasing demand elsewhere in Europe and Asia where engagements include the “Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra”, “Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna”, “Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice Genova”, “Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, “Latvian National Symphony Orchestra” and the “Brussels Philharmonic”, "Muenster Symphony". Equally adept in the opera world he became the first Russian conductor to perform at the “Rossini Opera Festival” in Pesaro with “Il viaggio a Reims” . Recent successes  include: “Turandot”  at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, “La traviata”  at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, “Eugeny Onegin” at the Latvian National Opera in Riga and V Sochi International Festival of Arts (Art.Dir. Yuri Bashmet), successful debut at the prestigious music Festival “Crescendo” (Art.Dir. Denis Matsuev), Spanish debut in Valladolid with “Lucia di Lammermoor”, "Verismo Gala" of the great soprano Maria Guleghina at Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. In 2014 he  made his great company debut  with the Japan Opera Foundation of Tokyo conducting “Le Comte Ory”  by Rossini. In 2015 he will return on the podium of the famous Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro to conduct “L`inganno Felice” directed by Graham Vick. In 2016 he is a main conductor of the 4th season of popular Russian TV Show "Great Opera" on channel Kultura