ANNA-LIISA BEZRODNY (viiul) ja sõbrad / Tallinna Talvefestival

was born into a family of musicians in Moscow. Already at the age of two she began her violin studies with her parents, and at the age of nine she began her studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, in the class of her parents, Prof. Igor Bezrodny and Prof. Mari Tampere-Bezrodny. Her later years took her to London, resulting in winning the most prestigious award in Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Gold Medal (2006), previously won by masters such as baritone Bryn Terfel and cellist Jaqueline du Pre. Over the years Anna-Liisa Bezrodny has performed as a soloist with the London, Helsinki, Vilnius, Jena and Turku Philharmonic, Estonian National, Riga and Moscow Symphony Orchestra TV6 and several other symphony orchestras as well as Gewandhaus Bach Orchestra, Georgian, Keskipohjanmaa (Finnish), Zurich, Madrid, Tallinn and other chamber orchestras. Concerts have taken place in such world-famous concert venues as Moscow Conservatoire Great Hall, St. Petersbugh Philharmonic, Finlandia-talo, Royal Festival, Barbican, Wigmore and Cadogan Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Cologne Philharmonie etc. Cooperation has been with several conductors (Sir Colin Davis, Leif Segerstam, Paavo Järvi, Sian Edwards, Eri Klas, Nikolay Alekseyev, Arvo Volmer, Juha Kangas, Paul Mägi, Tibor Boganyi, Robin O’Neil, Mihkel Kütson, etc.). A.-L. Bezrodny has successfully taken part of many international competitions winning several awards and prizes including Martin Musical Foundation Grand Prize (London, 2003), Musicians Benevolent Fund Ian Fleming prize (London, 2003), J. Heifetz International Competition’s 3rd prize (Vilnius, 2005), J. Brahms International Competition’s 2nd prize (Pörtschach, Austria, 2005), Pro Musica prize (Helsinki, 2006). In 2010 her first solo CD was released in cooperation with Estonia’s one of the most renowned pianists Ivari Ilja. In 2013, ERP Records and A.-L. Bezrodny released a DVD featuring Haydn and Mozart Violin Concertos together, which also gained great critical acclaim. A.-L. Bezrodny currently plays on an Amati violin, kindly on loan from the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

 

IRINA ZAHHARENKOVA

started with piano lessons with her mother when she was four, studied at the Tallinn Georg Ots Music School (Prof Mare Ots, 1991-1995) and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (piano: Prof Lilian Semper; harpsichord: Prof Maris Valk-Falk, 1995-2000) where she got her MA in 2003 (Prof L. Semper). Irina continued at the EAMT doctoral studies in 2003–2011. In 2010 she also got her MA from Helsinki Sibelius Academy in Finland (Prof Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna). Irina has complimented her studies in the master classes of S. Kovachevich, A. Hewitt, A. Schiff, V. Meržanov, H. Dreyfus, P. Hantaï, C. Stembridge, P. Vapavuori etc. Irina has won first prizes in major international piano competitions such as the M. Čiurlionise Competition (Lithuania, 2003), Prémio Jaén Competition (Spain, 2004), “Van Vlaanderen” Festival Piano Competition Brügges (Belgium, 2004), Competition in Epinal (France, 2004), “Praha Spring“ Harpsichord Competition (Czech Republic, 2005), Georges Enescu Piano Competition (Rumenia, 2005), Competition in Genf (Switzerland, 2005), Alessandro Casagrande Competition (Italy, 2006), Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (Leipzig, 2006), Villa-Lobos Competition (Brazil, 2006) and A. Rubinštein Piano Competition (Iisrael, 2008). Irina has performed in several international festivals in Italy, Germany, Finland, Norway and Estonia. She has also performed as a soloist with orchestras such as Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Orchestre National de Lorraine. As an extremely versatile musician, I. Zahharenkova frequently performs on the piano and harpsichord also in solo recitals and chamber music concerts. There have been released two CD’s with Irina interpretations: J. S. Bach “Goldberg Variations” BWV 988 (2010, Classical Recordings) and D. Scarlatti Sonatas (2012, Classical Records) and also DVD "Keyboard Juggleress" (Estonian Records Production 2009). Irina's repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical styles from baroque to contemporary. Today she lives and teaches in Finland and at the EAMT. Irina has also persued organ, chemistry, as well as Estonian and Finnish philology.

 

KRISTINA KRIIT

has obtained her master’s degree in Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (Prof. Mari Tampere-Bezrodny, 2004) and furthered her skills with Prof. Igor Bezrodny, Eduard Schmieder, Pavel Vernikov and Hermann Krebbers. In addition, she has studied in Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg (2001-2002, Prof. Hermann Krebbers). K. Kriit has taken part of several international competitions, from which the most important are Heino Eller Competition in Tallinn (special prize, 1996) and Henryk Wieniawski Competition in Poland (Lublin, 1997). K. Kriit is a valued contemporary musician and she has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician in almost every country of Europe and Scandinavia. She has twice been a scholar of the reputed Holland Music Sessions. In 2005 K. Kriit was one of the founders of Tallinn String Trio and in 2009 trio “Madrigal” with flute and piano. She is a professor and a PhD student in EAMT (Prof. Mari Tampere-Bezrodny) and a II concert master of the Symphony Orchestra of the Estonian National Opera.

 

YURI ZHISLIN

described by The Strad as a “virtuoso with a truly Romantic temperament”, Yuri Zhislin enjoys an active and illustrious career as soloist and chamber musician on violin and viola. In 1991, Yuri entered the Royal College of Music in London, winning the title of the BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year in 1993. The orchestras that Yuri performed with include the Oxford Philharmonic, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, the Lithuanian State Symphony and the Santiago de Chile Symphony, to name a few. Zhislin made his recital debut at the New York Carnegie Weill Hall in 2014 and appeared at the major concert venues throughout Europe, the USA, South America, Australia and Japan. His discography includes a recital CD released in 2005 on the SOMM label, a violin/viola Duos CD for the Naxos label in 2009, and a string trio CD for the Nymbus Alliance label with Dmitry Sitkovetsky on violin and Luigi Piovano on cello. A keen chamber musician, Yuri has worked with such artists as Maria-Joao Pires, Maxim Vengerov, Barry Douglas and Natalie Clein among many others. Formed in 2004 by Yuri, Camerata Tchaikovsky (formerly the Russian Virtuosi of Europe) is an ensemble comprising outstanding string players based in Europe. They have recently completed tours to both South America and Russia and released a debut CD on Orchid Classics, which received great reviews and has been chosen “CD of the month” in April 2016 by the BBC Music Magazine. Yuri is a professor of violin and viola at the Royal College of Music in London and is in high demand as a visiting professor at the European Summer Academies.

 

 

HENRY-DAVID VAREMA

graduated from the Tallinn Music High School in 1987 with Laine Leichter and from the Tallinn Conservatory in 1992 with Peeter Paemurru. After that he furthered his studies in the cello class of Walter Nothas at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and at the Universität der Künste Berlin under the guidance of Wolfgang Boettcher. In 2005 Varema earned his PhD at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT). H.-D. Varema is regularly giving concerts with different interprets. His ensemble partners include Ivari Ilja, Mihkel Poll, Sten Lassmann, Hanna Heinmaa, Age Juurikas, Ralf Taal, Andrus Haav, Anna-Liisa Bezrodny, Mikk Murdvee, Triin Ruubel, Mari Poll, Johanna Vahermägi, Mati Lukk, Toomas Vavilov etc. Previously, H.D. Varema has been the member of Tallinn String Quartet, which has recorded music for Estonian Radio and albums (including “Estonian Composers’ String Quartets”, 2004). H.-D. Varema has also recorded for the labels Antes and Warner Classics. In 2001, he gave the world premiere performance of Eino Tamberg’s Cello Concerto, which he recorded together with the Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Paul Mägi in June 2016. As a chamber musician, H.-D. Varema has also been a part of international collectives. He was a member of the Berlin based Petersen Quartet (2003–2009), with whom he performed in several European countries (including concert venues such as London Wigmore Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Munich (Herkulessaal), in USA (New York Carnegie Hall) and Australia. The quartet has recorded 9 albums, from which the album that was recorded in 2006 with soprano Christine Schäffer was rewarded with the ECHO Klassik award in Germany (2007). H.-D. Varema has also participated in the work of the new music ensemble Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt. H.-D. Varema has worked as the guest concert master of the cello group of the Northern Sinfonia chamber orchestra in the UK, the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra and the Munich Chamber Orchestra in Germany as well as the Auckland Philharmonia symphony orchestra in New Zealand. During the 2014 season he was working as the associate concert master of the cello group with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Since 1995 he has been the concert master of the cello group of the Estonian National Opera Symphony Orchestra and since 2001 he has been working as a lector for cello and quartet at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (since 2016 as a professor). In addition to his work as a pedagogue at EAMT, he has also given several cello and chamber music master courses, including at music universities and festivals in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia and he has been a jury member of many different competitions.