IX International Violoncello
festival VIVACELLO.
The opening of the festival

Xavier Phillips began studying the cello at the early age of 6. He won several international prizes, and his encounter with Mstislav Rostropovich proved especially fruitful since it marked the beginning of a long collaboration during which Xavier Phillips received the guidance and encouragement of the master cellist. 

Xavier Phillips is quickly invited to perform on the most famous international stages with some prestigious orchestras : New York Philharmonic, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Berliner Symphoniker, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Houston Symphony, BBC Scottish Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique du Québec, BBC Wales Orchestra, Orchestre of the Radio of Sarrebruck etc. He is conducted by illustrious conductors such as his mentor Mstislav Rostropovich but also Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, Marek Janowski, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ion Marin, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Vladimir Spivakov, Kurt Masur, Paavo Järvi, Jonathan Nott, Ludovic Morlot, Jean-Marie Zeitouni…

He also gives a privileged place to the chamber music, that he likes to share with artists such as Schlomo Mintz, François-Frédéric Guy, Tedi Papavrami, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, David Grimal, Emmanuel Strosser, Igor Tchetuev. He performs amongst others at the Wigmore Hall, the Mariinsky Theater, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Victoria Hall in Genève, the Arsenal de Metz, and some famous festivals such as the Cello Festival of Kings Place in London, le Printemps des Arts de Monte Carlo, le Festival Berlioz de la Côte Saint-André, and le Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence. 

In 2015, Xavier Phillips has released a recording devoted to Beethoven’s Complete works for cello and piano with the pianist François-Frédéric Guy (Aparté/Evidence). The recording has received outstanding critics amongst which Gramophone “Editors Choice” and The Strad “Recommends”. This album has also been considered by the Gramophone magazine as one of the “50 most beautiful Beethoven recordings”. 

His latest recordings with orchestra have been dedicated to Shostakovich’s 1st Concerto with Les Dissonances, and Dutilleux’s Cello Concerto “Tout un monde lointain” with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Ludovic Morlot. This recording has been nominated three times at the Grammy Awards 2015. Xavier Phillips has himself been nominated for a Grammy as “Best Instrumental Solo”. 

Alongside his work as soloist, Xavier Phillips has been teaching since 2013 at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Sion in Lausanne. 

Xavier Phillips plays a cello by Matteo Gofriller (1710).

Boris Andrianov, a renowned Russian cellist, performs in the world's top venues and at most prestigious festivals. While having an extensive touring schedule, the artist is also keen on performing in Russia, whether in big cities, small towns or remote villages that had never seen any concerts at all. He has also participated in many international and national projects aimed at expanding the country’s musical landscapes, especially in Russian provinces. Invariably enjoying great success with the public, those projects bring together internationally renowned performers along with Boris Andrianov himself. 

Boris Andrianov was born in Moscow in 1976. He studied at the Gnessin Music School (class of Vera Birina), Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (class of Professor Natalia Shakhovskaya) and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin (class of Professor David Geringas).

He was the winner of Antonio Janigro international competition in Zagreb as well as competitions in Johannesburg, Hanover (Shostakovich Classiсa Nova Competition, as part of a duo with Alexey Goribol), Paris (Mstislav Rostropovich competition), and South Korea (Isang Yun competition). He was also a prize-winner at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Triumph Youth Award, and was titled Honored Artist of Russia in 2016. 

Boris Andrianov has performed with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Yury Simonov, Pavel Kogan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alexander Vedernikov, Gianandrea Noseda, Dmitry Liss, Roman Kofman, Vasily Petrenko, Stefan Vladar, Dmitri Jurowski, and Alexander Sladkovsky. In chamber performances, he has played alongside Yury Bashmet, Menahem Pressler, Akiko Suwanai, Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin, Itamar Golan, Denis Matsuev, Sergey Nakaryakov, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Alexey Lyubimov, Tatiana Grindenko, to name a few. 

The musician has participated in the Royal Swedish Festival, as well as in Ludwigsburg and Schleswig-Holstein festivals (Germany), festivals in Edinburgh (Scotland), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Colmar (France), Davos (Switzerland), Irkutsk (Stars on Baikal), Trans-Siberian Art Festival and others. He is also a regular guest of the Homecoming chamber music festival in Moscow. 

Boris Andrianov heads The Generation of Stars, a nation-wide project that has been awarded the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation (2009). He also initiated Vivacello and Vivarte international festivals in Moscow and has been artistic director for both. In addition, he is the artistic director of Musical Expedition festival, that was founded in the Vladimir region and has been expanding every year. In 2021, the festival covered six Russian regions, including Udmurtia, Vologda and Novosibirsk regions, Crimea and Kamchatka. 

Widely collaborating with contemporary composers, Boris Andrianov has repeatedly presented premieres of new works, including those by Giya Kancheli, Krzysztof Penderecki, Efrem Podgaits, Michael Berkeley, Richard Dubugnon, Alexander Rosenblatt, Giovanni Sollima, Vangelis, Alexey Rybnikov, Pavel Karmanov, Samuel Strouk, Alexey Shor and others. 

The artist's discography includes a joint recording with guitarist Dmitry Illarionov, released by Delos (in 2003 the record was included in the long list of Grammy nominees in Chamber Ensemble category); Sonatas by Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff with pianist Rem Urasin (named the best chamber disc of the month by Gramophone in September 2007), and sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord by J. S. Bach transcribed for cello and button accordion, recorded with Yuri Medianik (released by Melodiya, 2015). In 2020–2021 he recorded Variations on Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky with the State Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan under Alexander Sladkovsky (Sony Classics), Gabriel Prokofiev's Cello Concerto with the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra under Alexey Bogorad (world premiere of the recording) as well as the Jazz Reflections of Bach Suites with Leonid and Nick Vintskevich, as well as all cello suites by J.S. Bach (the release is scheduled for 2022). 

Since 2009 Boris Andrianov has been teaching at the Moscow Conservatory. The artist plays a cello made by Carlo Bergonzi from the State Collection of Unique Musical Instruments.

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.