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It was Yehudi Menuhin who first spotted Nicola
Benedetti, and saw in her a potentially world-beating
talent. In May 2004 the Ayrshire-born violinist won the BBC's
Young Musician of the Year competition after a captivating
performance of the Violin Concerto by Szymanowski, broadcast
live on BBC television. The violinist has gone on to perform
with the command and authority of one twice her age. Benedetti
makes her London Philharmonic Orchestra debut with the first
performance of a new concerto by John Tavener, Lalishri, on
Wednesday 26 September
2007.
Lisa Batiashvili is from
Georgia, a country which continues to inspire her, and whose
beauty and warmth infuses her performances. Political troubles
led to the Batiashvili family's forced exile in 1991, and
now the violinist's base is Munich. Not that she spends a
huge amount of time there, for her diary is as full with prestigious
engagements as the finest violinists on the planet: all the
major orchestras seem to want her back again and again. Osmo
Vänskä conducts her performance of Beethoven's Violin
Concerto on Wednesday 30
April 2008.
Julia Fischer is an amiable,
unpretentious and superbly talented musician. Much of the
text on her website is written by her rather than a PR guru
- demonstrating a personal commitment to audiences and fans,
a quality that finds its most natural home in Julia's performances.
She plays with immense commitment, vigour and determination.
Her recent recorded collaboration with conductor Yakov Kreizberg,
with whom she performs on 16 April, was described by BBC
Music Magazine (which cited it as disc of the month) as
'perfectly judged' and 'incredibly mature'.
'I would be satisfied with a good position in a major orchestra',
said Yossif Ivanov after
he had claimed victory at a sixth major violin competition,
the Jeunesses Musicales Montreal, in 2003. Ivanov was spotted
at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (in his home town of Brussels)
where he was the runner-up in 2005, by Timothy Walker of the
London Philharmonic Orchestra, who was immediately convinced
by his talents. Not yet twenty at the time of writing, here
is one violinist to watch, and one who is bound to become
very busy very quickly. Don't miss him at the final concert
of the season on Friday
13 June 2008.
Wednesday 26 September
2007 Nicola
Benedetti plays Tavener's Lalishri for violin >
Wednesday 16 April 2008
Julia Fischer plays
Dvorák's violin concerto >
Wednesday 30 April 2008
Lisa Batiashvili
plays Beethoven's violin concerto >
Friday
13 June 2008 Yossif
Ivanov plays Prokofiev's violin concerto 1 >
An audio sample of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto 1 can be accessed
from the performance calendar page.
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