Nikolay Lugansky,
Leonidas Kavakos,
Gautier Capucon

Nikolai Lugansky is a pianist who combines elegance and grace with powerful virtuosity, a true incarnation of the Russian tradition on the international classical stage. Recognised as a master of Russian and late romantic repertoire, Lugansky is renowned for his interpretations of Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Chopin and Debussy. He has received numerous awards for recordings and artistic merit. 

He regularly works with top level conductors such as Yuri Temirkanov, Kent Nagano, Mikhail Pletnev, Gianandrea Noseda and Vladimir Jurowski. Concerto highlights for the 2021/22 season include performances with Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Brussels Philharmonic, Orquestra Nacional de España, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

A regular recitalist the world over, during this season he appears in Piano a Lyon, Tenerife, Ancona, Padova, Aix, Paris, and Rome. Lugansky performs at the Muziekgebouw Russian Festival in December 2021 and tours South America with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège in Summer 2022. A passionate chamber musician, Lugansky collaborates with Gautier Capuçon, Vadim Repin and embarks on a trio recital tour with Alexander Kniazev and Sergei Krylov in February 2022. 

In June 2019 Nikolai Lugansky received the Russian Federation National Award in Literature and Art, for his contribution to the development and advancement of Russian and international classical music culture over the past 20 years. Lugansky was awarded the honour of People’s Artist of Russia in April 2013, which is the highest honorary title for outstanding achievement in the arts. 

In addition to performing, Lugansky has been a professor at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory since 1998. He is also the Artistic Director of the Tambov Rachmaninov Festival and is a supporter of, and regular performer at, the Rachmaninov Estate and Museum of Ivanovka. 

Described by Gramophone as “the most trailblazing and meteoric performer of all” Nikolai Lugansky is a pianist of extraordinary depth and versatility. He appears at some of the world’s most distinguished festivals, including the Aspen, Tanglewood, Ravinia and Verbier festivals. Chamber music collaborators include Vadim Repin, Alexander Kniazev, Mischa Maisky and Leonidas Kavakos. 

Nikolai Lugansky has won several awards for his many recordings. His recital CD featuring Rachmaninov’s Piano Sonatas won the Diapason d’Or, whilst his recording of concertos by Grieg and Prokofiev with Kent Nagano and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice. Lugansky has an exclusive contract with harmonia mundi and his Rachmaninov’s 24 Preludes, released in April 2018, met with enthusiastic reviews. He was described as having “an ability to enchant the ear… with a deep feeling for the music” (The Financial Times). His recording of solo piano music by Debussy was released in the 2018 anniversary year and his most recent release ‘César Frank, Préludes, Fugues & Chorals’ (March 2020) won the Diapason d’Or. He most recently released ‘Beethoven: Late Piano Sonatas’ (December 2020) and will release a further recording of Beethoven sonatas later this season.

Leonidas Kavakos is recognised across the world as a violinist and artist of rare quality, acclaimed for his matchless technique, his captivating artistry and his superb musicianship as well as for the integrity of his playing. He works with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors and is a frequent recitalist in the world’s premier recital halls and festivals. He is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classical.

The three important mentors in his life have been Stelios Kafantaris, Josef Gingold and Ferenc Rados. By the age of 21, Leonidas Kavakos had already won three major competitions: the Sibelius Competition in 1985, and the Paganini and Naumburg competitions in 1988. This success led to him recording the original Sibelius Violin Concerto (1903/4), the first recording of this work in history, and which won Gramophone Concerto of the Year Award in 1991. 

In the 2018-19 season, as Artist in Residence with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kavakos will appear as both soloist and conductor when he performs Beethoven Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 7, and will also perform Shostakovich Violin Concerto with Mariss Jansons and Berg Violin Concerto with Daniel Harding. He will also appear as soloist with orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Israel Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony. He will also make a short tour of China including recitals and with concerto performances in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. 

Leonidas Kavakos has built a strong profile as a conductor and has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Gürzenich Orchester, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Filarmonica Teatro La Fenice, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and Danish Radio Symphony orchestras. This season he will conduct the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and Dallas Symphony. 

Leonidas Kavakos signed an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical in June 2018. This signifies a welcome return to the label as Kavakos previously recorded the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, and Mozart’s Violin Concertos, conducting and playing with Camerata Salzburg. More recently, Kavakos joined Yo-Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax for a highly successful recording of Brahms Trios for the label. Kavakos’s first solo project with Sony is the Beethoven Violin Concerto and Beethoven Septet which will be recorded with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra later this season. This will be followed by a project to record the complete Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas. 

Kavakos’ extensive discography also includes Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Enrico Pace, which was awarded the ECHO Klassik ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’. This was followed by the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Riccardo Chailly, Brahms Violin Sonatas with Yuja Wang, and Virtuoso. He was awarded Gramophone Artist of the Year 2014. He has recorded for Decca, BIS and ECM. 

Leonidas Kavakos was the winner of the prestigious Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2017. This prize is Denmark’s highest musical honour and is awarded annually to an internationally recognised composer, instrumentalist, conductor or singer. Previous winners include Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Arthur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, Alfred Brendel, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle. 

Born and brought up in a musical family in Athens, Kavakos curates an annual violin and chamber-music masterclass in Athens, which attracts violinists and ensembles from all over the world and reflects his deep commitment to the handing on of musical knowledge and traditions. Part of this tradition is the art of violin and bow-making, which Kavakos regards as a great mystery and to this day, an undisclosed secret. 

He plays the ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius violin of 1734 and owns modern violins made by F. Leonhard, S.P. Greiner, E. Haahti and D. Bagué.

Gautier Capuçon is a true 21st century ambassador for the cello. Performing internationally with many of the world's foremost conductors and instrumentalists, he is also founder and leader of the Classe d'Excellence de Violoncelle at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. A multiple award winner, he is acclaimed for his expressive musicianship, exuberant virtuosity, and for the deep sonority of his 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello "L'Ambassadeur". 

Committed to exploring and expanding the cello repertoire, Capuçon performs an extensive array of works each season and regularly premieres new commissions. His current projects include performing the world premiere of Tabachnik's cello concerto Summer and collaborations with Lera Auerbach, Danny Elfman, Thierry Escaich and Krzysztof Penderecki.

In the 19/20 season Capuçon appeared with, amongst others, the philharmonic orchestras of Los Angeles/Philippe Jordan, Czech Republic/Semyon Bychkov, and Rotterdam/Valery Gergiev; the symphony orchestras of St. Louis/Stephen Deneve, Singapore/Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Bavarian Radio/Gianandrea Noseda; and hr-Sinfonieorchester/Alain Altinoglu. He tours Europe and the USA with Leipzig Gewandhausorchester/Andris Nelsons and San Francisco/Michael Tilson Thomas, and was that season's Artist-in-Residence with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano. 

As a chamber musician, this season he performs on tour with Yuja Wang in venues such as Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Vienna Konzerthaus, Barbican Centre London, and Philharmonie Paris, as well as with Renaud Capuçon, Frank Braley, Jérôme Ducros, and Leonidas Kavakos. Other regular recital partners include Nicholas Angelich, Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Lisa Batiashvili, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Artemis and Ébène quartets. 

Recording exclusively for Erato (Warner Classics), Capuçon has won multiple awards and holds an extensive discography. His album of Schumann works was recorded live with Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Bernard Haitink. 

Capuçon's latest album, which was released in December 2019, was recorded with Yuja Wang and features sonatas by Chopin and Franck. Earlier recordings include concertos by Shostakovich (Mariinsky Orchestra/Valery Gergiev) and Saint-Saëns (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Lionel Bringuier); the complete Beethoven Sonatas with Frank Braley; Schubert's String Quintet with the Ébène Quartet; and Intuition, an album of encores recorded with Paris Chamber Orchestra/Douglas Boyd and Jérôme Ducros. 

Capuçon has been featured on DVD in live performances with the Berliner Philharmoniker/Gustavo Dudamel (Haydn Cello Concerto No.1) and with Lisa Batiashvili, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann (Brahms’s Concerto for Violin and Cello). A household name in his native France, he also appears on screen and online in shows such as Prodiges, Now Hear This, and The Artist Academy, and from Autumn 2019 he is a guest presenter on Radio Classique. 

In the 20/21 season Capuçon appears with, amongst others, the philharmonic orchestras of Czech Republic/Semyon Bychkov and Munich/Valery Gergiev; the symphony orchestras of Chicago/Osmo Vänskä and WDR/Cristian Măcelaru; and Philadelphia/Stephan Deneve, Orchestre de Paris/Jakub Hrusa, NDR Hamburg/Alan Gilbert, Konzerthaus Berlin/Pablo Heras-Casado, Orchestre National de Lyon/Deneve, and Nice Opera/Lionel Bringuier. Capuçon will tour Europe with La Scala Philharmonic/Riccardo Chailly and Germany with Russian National Orchestra/Vladimir Spivakov. 

As a chamber musician, he appears on tour this season with Yuja Wang and Andreas Ottensamer; Renaud Capuçon and Frank Braley; Jerome Ducros; Daniil Trifonov; Nikolai Lugansky; and the Hagen Quartet. 

Born in Chambéry, Capuçon began playing the cello at the age of five. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris with Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine, and later with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. Now, he performs with world leading orchestras, works with conductors such as Lionel Bringuier, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and collaborates with contemporary composers including Lera Auerbach, Karol Beffa, Esteban Benzecry, Nicola 

Campogrande, Qigang Chen, Bryce Dessner, Jerome Ducros, Henry Dutilleux, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Manoury, Bruno Mantovani, Krzysztof Penderecki, Wolfgang Rihm, and Jörg Widmann.