Nikolay Lugansky, Vadim Repin, Nikita Borisoglebsky

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.

Vadim Repin is one of the world’s best and most sought-after violinists. Born in Novosibirsk, he won the renowned Wieniawski Competition and gave his first recitals in Moscow and Leningrad aged 11. At 14, he played in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin and Helsinki, and gave his debut at Carnegie Hall a mere year later. At 17 he became the youngest ever winner of the Concours Reine Elisabeth. Since then, he continues to perform at the world’s major concert venues and international festivals. 

The list of his stage partners includes illustrious conductor’s names such as Ashkenazy, Boulez, Chailly, Chung, Dohnányi, Dutoit, Gergiev, Jansons, Levine, Mehta, Muti, Nagano, Ozawa, Temirkanov and Thielemann, as well as of chamber musician partners such as Argerich, Bartoli, Capuçon, Golan, Kissin, Knyazev, Korobeinikov, Lang Lang, Lugansky, Maisky and Matsuev.

Mr Repin recorded the great Russian violin concerti by Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky for Warner Classics. Deutsche Grammophon released the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti, the Kreutzer Sonata with Martha Argerich, as well as the Brahms Double Concerto (with Truls Mørk) and Violin Concerto with the Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly. His DG recordings of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff trios with Mischa Maisky and Lang Lang won the Echo Prize, a sonata CD with works by Grieg, Janáček and César Franck with Nikolai Lugansky the BBC Music Award. 

In 2010 Vadim Repin received the Victoire d’Honneur and the highest French distinction, Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, for his services to music. He was named Honorary Professor of Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music in 2014 and awarded the same title by the Shanghai Conservatory in 2015. Apart from holding masterclasses in most countries where he performs, he also serves as a juror, at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London and at the “Concours Reine Elisabeth” in Brussels, amongst others. 

A large portion of Mr Repin’s work is focussed on the Trans-Siberian Art Festival, a large cultural enterprise he founded in 2013/14. With Vadim Repin as artistic director, this festival encourages the building of local, as well as international cultural, social and geographical bridges. Besides its Novosibirsk hub, this festival is now present in most major cities and numerous regional towns in Russia. Moreover, the festival’s roster includes Japan, Korea, Israel, Belgium, France, Germany and both the U.S. states of California and New York. Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Berlin Philharmonic Hall were added for the first time in 2019. The Trans-Siberian Art Festival also commissions at least one new concerto per year. Thus, several violin concertos - Benjamin Yussupov’s “Voices of Violin”, Lera Auerbach’s “De Profundis”, Sofia Gubaidulina’s “Dialogue: You and I”, Alexander Raskatov’s “Ex Oriente Lux”, and a new verion of Arvo Pärt’s “La Sindone” – were premièred by Vadim during his festival in Novosibirsk. 

In recent seasons, the joint programme “Pas de deux for Toes and Fingers” with prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova and Vadim Repin was performed in Hong Kong, Muscat, Japan and Korea. Moreover, he played with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic conducted by Sascha Goetzel, at the Enescu Festival Bucharest, in Verbier - most recently with Lahav Shani conducting – and at the Montreal Festival with Kent Nagano. Further highlights include appearances with the RAI Torino Orchestra, a return to the Enescu Festival, to Vienna with Gubaidulina’s new violin concerto, to Leipzig with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Andris Nelsons, as well as numerous concerts in Korea, Japan and China. 

Vadim Repin plays the magnificent Rode Stradivari violin from 1733.

Nikita Borisoglebsky's rise to prominence came in 2010 when he won the International Jean Sibelius Violin competition and the International Fritz Kreisler Violin competition. He has also been awarded top prizes in the nine other prestigious violin contests including the Tchaikovsky, the Queen Elisabeth and the Monte Carlo Violin Masters competitions.

The violinist has performed with many major orchestras, including the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Brussels Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Goethenburg Symphoniker, Antwerpen Royal Philharmonic, London Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra “Musica Viva”, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia under such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Okko Kamu, Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu, Eri Klass, Vladimir Fedoseev, Dmitry Liss, Conrad van Alphen, Gilbert Varga, David Afkham, Lionel Bringueir. He appears regularly at many of the important festivals including the Menton Festival, Rheingau Festival, S.Richter’s “December Nights” in Moscow, Beethovenfest in Bonn, Ohrid summer festival, Dubrovnik summer festival, “Stars of the White Nights” and “Arts Square” in Saint Petersburg, “Crescendo” and “Stars on Baikal” festivals of Denis Matsuev, and others.

In addition to solo engagements, Nikita has enjoyed working in collaboration with renowned musicians including Seiji Ozawa, Rodion Shchedrin, Natalia Gutman, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Augustin Dumay, Andras Schiff, Boris Berezovsky, Jean-Philippe Collard, Alexander Kniazev, Rafael Wallfish, Michel Strauss, Jean-Claude Vanden Eyden, Lovro Pogorelich, David Geringas and others.

In collaboration with the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and the Belgian record label "Fuga Libera" the violinist has released the two CDs: the Third violin concerto of Henri Veiuxtepms with Liege Royal Philharmonic and Patrick Davin, and the monographic album of Edouard Lalo with Sinfonia Varsovia, Augustin Dumay and Jean-Philippe Collard. The Lalo’s CD was given a 5-star review in the French magazine “Diapason”.

Nikita Borisoglebsky was born in Volgodonsk, Southern Russia. His mentors in different years were Eduard Grach and Tatiana Berkul in Moscow, Augustin Dumay in Brussels, Ana Chumachenco in Kronberg.

In the last years he has become a recipient of the several international awards and titles - "Violinist of the Year" from the International Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin foundation (USA); “Person of the Year” from the major Russian magazine “Musical review”; “Virtuoso” award from the Italian string society and the Antonio Stradivari foundation; "Jean Sibelius birthplace medal" from J.Sibelius foundation in Hameenlinna, Finland.

The violinist plays on Matteo Goffriller’s violin from 1720-s.

Prizewinner at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and SONY Classical exclusive artist, Pablo Ferrández announces himself as a musician of stature. In March 2021 he released his debut album under SONY Classical, Reflections, work that reflects his musical roots and the unexpected similarities between the Russian and Spanish musical at the beginning of the 20th century, which has been highly acclaimed by the critics, and earned him the Opus Klassik Award 2021 in the category of Young Artist of the Year. 

Recent highlights include the debuts at the Hollywood Bowl with Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, with Bayersichen Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra under Daniele Gatti, performances of Brahms Double Concerto and Beethoven Triple Concerto with Anne-Sophie Mutter, and appearances with the London Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, and Orchestre National de France, among others.

The 21/22 season brings the debuts with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and returns with Basel Symphony, RTE National Orchestra, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Borusan Philharmonic, Spanish National Orchestra, among others. He also appears with the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel, performing Beethoven Triple Concerto alongside Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, as well as at Carnegie Hall performing chamber music with Anne-Sophie Mutter. Pablo Ferrández tours with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in Germany and Netherlands and with the Barcelona Symphony in Scandinavia. He is also the Artist in Residence of the Valencia Orchestra. 

As a recitalist and chamber musician, Pablo frequently collaborates with such artists as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vadim Repin, Martha Argerich, Denis Kozhukhin, Gidon Kremer, Yuja Wang, Nikolay Lugansky, Beatrice Rana, Maxim Rysanov, Ray Chen, Alice Sara Ott, Elena Bashkirova, Luis del Valle and Sara Ferrández. 

Born in Madrid in 1991, in a family of musicians, Pablo Ferrández joined the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía when he was 13 to study with Natalia Shakhovskaya. After that he completed his studies at the Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson and became scholar of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. 

Mr. Ferrández plays the Stradivarius “Lord Aylesford” (1696) thanks to the Nippon Music Foundation.