Pavel Milyukov,
Alexander Buzlov,
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra,
Sergey Roldugin

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).

Alexandre Bouzlov is one of the most vivid and talented cellists of the next generation, one who represents the Russian performing school with honour at the world’s leading music venues. 

Alexandre Bouzlov was born in Moscow in 1983. In 2006 he graduated from the Moscow Conservatoire itself in the class of Natalia Gutman. At master-classes, he has received instruction from such renowned cellists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniil Shafran, Natalia Shakhovskaya, Boris Talalay, Eberhard Finke and Bernard Greenhouse.

Alexandre Bouzlov has won 1st prizes at Young Concert Artist competitions in Leipzig (2000) and New York (2001) and the Grand Prix in the categories “Cello” and “Chamber Ensemble” at the New Names All-Russian Open Competition (Moscow, 2000). In 2005 he took 2nd prize at one of the most prestigious music compositions in Europe – the ARD International Cello Competition in Munich (Germany), while in 2007 he was the undoubted favourite at the XIII International Tchaikovsky Competition at which he took the Silver Medal, the prize for the best performance of a work by Tchaikovsky and the special prize of the Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya Foundation. One year later the cellist took 2nd prize at the LXIII International Cello Competition in Geneva, the oldest cello competition in Europe. In 2010 he was awarded Grand Prix and Audience prize at the Emanuel Feuermann Cello Competition in Berlin. Alexandre Bouzlov has won 3rd prize at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition (2015). 

He has worked with conductors including Valery Gergiev, Yuri Bashmet,Vladimir Fedoseyev, Karel Maria Chichon, Paavo Järvi, Yakov Kreizberg, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Thomas Sanderling, Leonard Slatkin, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Temirkanov, Christoph Poppen. As a soloist he has performed with numerous American symphony orchestras, travelling to almost each and every American state while on tour. Alexandre Bouzlov’s debut at the renowned Carnegie Hall took place in 2005, while May the same year saw a gala at the Lincoln Center in New York with the Orchestra of St Luke’s under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. 

Alexandre Bouzlov performs with such acclaimed musicians as Natalia Gutman, Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Leonidas Kavakos, Martha Argerich, Julian Rachlin, Dmitry Sitkovetskiy. 

The cellist takes part in international festivals including Verbier Festival (Switzerland), Musical Kremlin, Moscow Autumn, December Evenings of Svyatoslav Richter (Moscow), the Stars of the White Nights, Arts Square and Musical Olympus (St Petersburg), festivals in Ludwigsburg, Mecklenburg Vorpommenn, Usedom (Germany) and festival in Menton (France), the Oleg Kagan Memorial Festivals in Moscow and Kreuth (Germany), international chamber music festivals in Colmar, Menton and Montpellier (France), Crescendo (Israel). 

He has recorded for Russian TV and radio as well as radio stations in Germany, Switzerland, France, the USA and Austria. He currently teaches at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire where he has his own class and is an assistant to Professor Natalia Gutman; he runs master-classes in Russia, Europe and the USA. 

Bouzlov’s engagements for the current season include performances at the Trans-Siberian Art Festival and the Moscow Easter Festival, concerts with Stanislav Kochanovsky, Nikita Borisoglebsky, Valery Sokolov, Andrei Usov, Yury Favorin, Vadim Repin, recitals in various cities of Russia and Europe.

Throughout its history, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra has ranked among the best national orchestras and has been a worthy representative of Russian musical culture abroad. 

The orchestra was founded in September 1951 under the Soviet Radio Committee and joined the Moscow Philharmonic Society in 1953. Its artistic image and performing style were built under the guidance of renowned Russian conductors. The ensemble's first Artistic Director and Principal Conductor was Samuil Samosud (1951–1957). In 1957–1959, the orchestra, led by Nathan Rachlin, was considered as one of the best in the USSR. In 1958, at the 1st International Tchaikovsky Competition, the orchestra, conducted by Kirill Kondrashin, accompanied a triumphant performance by Van Cliburn, and in 1960 it was the first Russian symphony orchestra to tour the USA.

Kirill Kondrashin led the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra for 16 years (1960–1976). Those years were important milestones in the ensemble's history: the maestro conducted the premieres of Shostakovich's 4th and 13th Symphonies, his poem The Execution of Stepan Razin, Prokofiev's Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution, performed and recorded many Mahler symphonies. In 1973 the orchestra was awarded the title of Academic. Under Dmitry Kitaenko (1976–1990) the orchestra extended its 20th century repertoire, premiering works by Khrennikov, Denisov, Schnittke, Butsko, and Tishchenko. Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, Stravinsky's King of the Stars (Zvezdoliki) and Requiem Canticles were performed for the first time in the USSR. The ensemble was subsequently led by Vasily Sinaisky (1991–1996) and Mark Ermler (1996–1998). 

The orchestra has collaborated with leading Russian and international conductors including André Cluytens, Igor Markevitch, Charles Munch, Zubin Mehta, George Enescu, Neeme Järvi, Mariss Jansons, Dzhansug Kakhidze, Kurt Mazur, Evgeny Svetlanov and composers Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky, and Krzysztof Penderecki. It is with this orchestra that Sviatoslav Richter made his sole appearance as a conductor. Virtually all major soloists of the second half of the 20th century have appeared with the orchestra, including Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Glenn Gould, Emil Gilels, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Daniil Shafran, Yakov Flier, Nikolai Petrov, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Krainev, Maurizio Pollini, Eliso Virsaladze, and Natalia Gutman. The orchestra has recorded over 350 LPs and CDs, many of which have received the highest international recording awards and are still in demand today. 

A new stage in the history of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra began in 1998, when it was taken over by People's Artist of the USSR Yuri Simonov. Under his leadership, the ensemble has achieved tremendous success. Today the orchestra is one of the mainstays of Russian philharmonic life, frequently performing in cities across Russia (over the last ten years they have appeared in more than 40 cities) and successfully touring Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and Korea. 

In recent decades, the orchestra has played with such outstanding musicians as: Marc-André Hamelin, Valery Afanassiev, Yuri Bashmet, Boris Berezovsky, Yuja Wang, Maxim Vengerov, Stefan Vladar, Hibla Gerzmava, David Geringas, Barry Douglas, Lilya Zilberstein, Sumi Jo, Laura Kleikomb, Alexander Kniazev, Sergey Krylov, John Lill, Nikolai Lugansky, Konstantin Lifshitz, Oleg Maisenberg, Denis Matsuev, Ekaterina Mechetina, Viktoria Mullova, Daniel Pollak, Vadim Repin, Sergey Roldugin, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Viktor Tretyakov; Conductors Luciano Acocella, Semyon Bychkov, Alexander Vedernikov, Michael Güttler, Alexander Dmitriev, Marco Zambelli, Thomas Sanderling, Alexander Lazarev, Andres Mustonen, Vasily Petrenko, Benjamin Pionnier, 

Gintaras Rinkevičius, Alexander Sladkovsky, Leonard Slatkin, Saulius Sondeckis, Antonino Fogliani, Mariss Jansons and many others. 

One of the orchestra's priorities is working with the new generation of musicians: as part of the Stars of the 21st Century series, the orchestra plays with gifted soloists entering the big stage and invites young performers to join its philharmonic subscription programmes. The orchestra is a regular participant of international and Russian master courses for young conductors by Yuri Simonov, organized by the Moscow Philharmonic society. 

The activities of Maestro Simonov and the orchestra also aim at educating young listeners. The subscription series Tales with an Orchestra, taking place in Moscow and many Russian cities and featuring theatre and film stars, has become hugely popular. Guest stars have included Marina Alexandrova, Maria Aronova, Alyona Babenko, Valery Barinov, Sergei Bezrukov, Anna Bolshova, Olga Budina, Valery Garkalin, Sergei Garmash, Nonna Grishaeva, Ekaterina Guseva, Evgenia Dobrovolskaya, Mikhail Yefremov, Evgeny Knyazev, Avangard Leontiev, Pavel Lyubimtsev, Dmitry Nazarov, Alexander Oleshko, Irina Pegova, Yulia Peresild, Mikhail Porechenkov, Evgeniya Simonova, Grigory Siyatvinda, Daniil Spivakovsky, Yuri Stoyanov, Evgeny Stychkin, Victoria Tolstoganova, Mikhail Trukhin, Gennady Khazanov, Chulpan Khamatova, Sergey Shakurov. This project brought Maestro Simonov the Moscow Mayor's Arts Award in 2008, while in 2010, Yuri Simonov and the orchestra received the National Newspaper Musical Review Award in the Conductor and Orchestra category. 

In recent years, the ensemble has presented several Moscow, Russian and world premieres of works by Andrei Eshpai, Boris Tishchenko, Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Glass, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Sergei Slonimsky, Valentin Silvestrov, Eduard Artemyev, Gennady Gladkov, Sofia Gubaidulina, Alexei Rybnikov, Efrem Podgaits, Kuzma Bodrov and other composers.

Sergey Roldugin was born in Riga in 1951. He began playing the piano at the age of five and the cello at the age of eight. While he was at the Leningrad Conservatoire he successfully auditioned for a seat in the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky.

After graduating from the Conservatoire he began postgraduate studies with Nikitin and later became his assistant at the Conservatoire as well as teaching the cello at the Special Music School.

In 1980 he won the bronze medal in the Prague Spring International Cello Competition.

In 1984 he became the principal solo cellist in the Kirov Opera Theatre Orchestra and in 1991 was appointed associate professor of cello at the St.-Petersburg Conservatoire.

From 2002 to 2004 Sergei Roldugin was rector of the St.-Petersburg State Conservatoire.

Sergei Roldugin has taken part as a soloist in many music festivals in Russia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Finland and Scotland. His solo repertoire is extensive, ranging from Bach to Schnittke. Much of it he has recorded for Russian radio, television and the Melodiya label. He currently also gives international masterclasses in Weikeersheim in Germany and in Savolinna in Finland.