Valery Tarakanov was born in 1934. He studied at the Moscow State
University Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty (graduated with distinction in
1956). He followed the postgraduate course at the Mathematics Institute of the
Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Since 1961, Valery Tarakanov works in the same
Institute; at present, he is one of the leading scientists at the Institute,
doctor of mathematics, the author of several monographs and more than 150
scientific works.
Mr. Tarakanov's musical talent led him to study music at the Ippolitov-Ivanov
Musical College. Later on, he improved his skills, taking lessons from famous
composers Andrei Volkonsky, Eduard Khagagortyan and Edisson Denissov.
The name of Valery Tarakanov is well known in the musical world. His
compositions – the opera "Antony and Cleopatra", Vespers, Liturgy, violin and
cello concertos, vocal cycles, romances and works for choir - are performed in
the important concert halls of Moscow and other Russian cities. Many popular
radio stations include them in their programs. Among the performers – most
eminent Russian musicians, orchestras, choirs.
Since 1995 Valery Tarakanov is a member of the Composer's Union of Russia; he
participates in its musical and social activities.
The music of this exceptionally talented composer, bright and sincere,
expressive and highly intellectual, cannot leave the listener indifferent; his
works have become widely known among those who love the musical art.
Concerto-baroque for violin and string orchestra
In this work, the composer develops many structural and instrumental methods and
ideas that were typical for music of the first half of the XVIII century - the
music of baroque epoch, but he transfers them, bringing the form of the past
onto the field of modern art.
The Concerto can be heard rather frequently on the concert stages; for instance,
it was performed on the "Russian music Panorama" Festival that was dedicated to
the 40th anniversary of the Composer's Union of Russia (2000). A number of
famous musicians have included this work into their repertoire.
The Seasons.
An orchestra version of the earlier chamber work. It was first performed on
November 12, 2004 by Mikhail Utkin and Chamber orchestra conducted by A.Istomin.
A traditional theme – human reaction to the periods of the year's circle that
follow each other. Four pieces of the suite embody the four seasons.
The spring. The ebullient young forces of the Nature arise after the long
winter's sleep, sweeping off all the obstacles in their way. The picture of
spring is embodied in the energetic and impetuous music of this piece, full of
contrasts of musical themes.
The summer. A nocturne that depicts a poetic night scene. Now, when the nature
is rich and abundant, in the deep of the night a love scene takes place.
Passionate words of confession, declarations of love, tender whisper of the two
lovers are heard.
The autumn. An intermezzo. The music of this movement is full of sadness and
melancholy. These are the moments of extinction, the Nature's farewell: the
Nature, in its beautiful attire, is about to fall asleep.
The winter. The continuos motion of this movement depicts a picture of a
snow-fall, followed by a real snow and wind storm.
Mikhail Utkin was born 1952 in Vilnius (Lithuania). Since 1959 he studied
at the Central Musical School at the Moscow State Conservatory in the class of
professor Stefan Kalianov.
In 1970-75, studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Mstislav Rostropovich and
later with Stefan Kalianov. Since 1975, followed the post-graduate course in the
same class. Winner of the International Competition of the Prague Radio
"Concertino-Praha" (1967). Prize-winner of the International String Quartet
Competition in Liege (1972). Since 1974, Mr.Utkin has been a member of a
well-known ensemble "Moscow Piano Trio". Together with his colleagues -
violinist Vladimir Ivanov and pianist Alexander Bonduriansky - he won the First
Prize in Budapest (1975) and Maurice Ravel Gold Medal at the international
festival "Musical May" in Bordeaux (France, 1976).
Mr. Utkin's concert activity is extensive and diverse. He appears as a soloist
and with orchestras; his interpretation of the 2nd Concerto by Shostakovich with
Gewandhaus-Orchestra under Kurt Masur (1979) was highly appraised by the press.
He plays with "Moscow Trio" and other musicians. Numerous concerts, radio
recordings, performances at major European Festivals brought to Mikhail Utkin a
standing reputation of top-class performer.
Mr. Utkin was always attracted by contemporary music, he was the first performer
of many modern compositions. Later, his creative partnership with famous
composers Alexander Tchai-kovsky and Karen Khatchaturian proved to be very
fruitful.
In 1978, he was invited by the Moscow State Conservatory to lead a cello-class.
He worked at the Conservatory for ten years. Even after he left the post due to
his extensive concert tours, he continues to give master classes in Germany
(Leon-berg, Schwaebisch Hall, Waiblingen, Kirchheim), Switzerland (St.Gallen),
Finland (Kuopio), USA (Hammond, San Marcos, Baton Rouge).
Mr. Utkin's activities were highly appraised. Among other important awards, he
received an honorary title of "People's artist of Russia" , the most prestigious
title for artists in Russia.
Alexander Trostiansky was born in 1972 to a family of musicians. He began
his musical education in Novosibirsk, where his teachers were B. Trostyansky, M.
Liberman. Later, he continued his studies at the Moscow State Conservatory in
the class of Professor Irina Bochkova. He is a prize-winner of the many
international competitions including Premio Paganini (Genoa, Italy, 1990)
Centre d'Arts (Orford, Canada, 1996, 1st prize) F.Schubert and 20th Century
Music (Graz, Austria, 1997, 3rd prize) Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow, 1998,
5th prize)
Mr. Trostiansky participated in "Moscow Autumn", "Musik im Michel", "December
Evenings by S.Richter", "Oleg Kagan Musikfest" (Kreuth) and other festivals. He
recorded with Melodia, Chandos, Dowani, Egan Records, Naxos labels, made
recordings for Radio-1-Russia and Orpheus-Radio. He is the soloist of the Moscow
Philharmonic Society. He performed in Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, the
United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey,
U.S.A., France as well as all over Russia. He appeared in Great Halls of the
Moscow Conservatory and St.Petersburg Phil-harmonic, Concerten Congresgebouw de
Doe-len, Jurriaanse Zaal (Rotterdam, Holland), Linbury Studio Theatre, Covent
Garden (London), Goe-theanum (Dornach, Switzerland), Kravis Perfor-ming Arts
Center (West Palm Beach), Schoenberg Hall (Los Angeles), Herbst Theatre
(San-Fran-cisco), Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York).
Mr. Trostiansky was the member of "Romantic-Trio" at the Moscow Philharmonic
Society in 1997-99. He also played with such musicians as Alexei Lubimov,
Alexander Rudin, Natalia Gutman, Alexander Melnikov, Natalia Trull, Denis
Shapovalov.
Since 1999 he serves as the professor of violin at the Moscow State
Conservatory.
Since 2002 he also teaches at the Department of the Performing on Ancient
Instruments at the Moscow Conservatory. Since 2005 he is the Guest-Professor at
the Kirov Regional College of Arts. He also teaches master classes in the United
Kingdom, France, South Korea, Kazakhstan and over Russia.
Vladislav Bulakhov graduated from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music as
a violinist in 1984. In 1983, he joined the re-established New Moscow Chamber
Orchestra headed by Igor Zhukov. Bulakhov's ten years of experience in this
orchestra, added to the intensive study with his father, a professional
conductor, formed the foundation for the creation of The Seasons Orchestra.
Mr. Bulakhov's artistic manner is characterized by convincing, precise and
rhythmically clear gestures, a natural temperament and the ability to bring out
each individual voice in the musical score. His intimate knowledge of string
instruments enables him to achieve an extraordinary variety of orchestral tone
colors with expressive articulation and a seemingly endless range of dynamic
gradations. The conductor's careful consideration of the composer's score and
his attention to details are displayed in unity with the confident perception of
the architectonics of the musical work in the whole.
Vladislav Bulakhov, conductor of The Seasons Orchestra, is capable of
interpreting works of various musical eras and styles with equal skill. He
possesses the ability to learn new compositions quickly and proficiently, has a
talent for management and the capacity to work hard, all of which promise an
interesting and creative future for this musician.
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