Soloists:
Dogadin
Várdai
Conductor:
Villaume
Programme
Sergei Dogadin
Violin
After bright successes at the most precious violin competitions Sergei Dogadin acquired international fame as one of the best violinist of his generation.
In 2019 Sergei was awarded First Prize and Golden Medal at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Among his other significant victories such major contents as IX Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hannover and Singapore International Violin Competition.
Sergei is the grant-holder of the Russian Ministry of Culture, Prize-winner of the Mozart Society in Dortmund (Germany), winner of the award established by Maestro Yuri Temirkanov and winner of the Prize of the President of Russia.
Since making his major debut in 2002 at the Grand Hall of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonie under the button of Vasily Petrenko and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic orchestra, Dogadin has performed on world’s most renowned venues such as Golden Hall of the "Musikverein" in Vienna, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Cologne Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, "Herkules-saal" and "Gasteig" in Munich, "Liederhalle" in Stuttgart, "Concertgebouw" and "Muziekgebouw" in Amsterdam, "Suntory Hall" in Tokyo, Symphony Hall in Osaka, Concert Hall "Kitara" in Sapporo, "Esplanade" Concert Hall in Singapore, "Festspielhaus" in Baden-Baden, Grand Theatre and Symphony Hall in Shanghai, "Auditorio Nacional" and "Palacio de Congresos" in Madrid, "Alte Oper" in Frankfurt, "Tonhalle" in Zurich and Dusseldorf, "Tivoli concert hall" in Copenhagen, Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, "Berwaldhallen" in Stockholm, collaborated together with London Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Frankfurter Museum Orchestra, Nordic Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, "Kremerata Baltica" Chamber Orchestra, Munich Kammerorchester, Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, "Bruno Walter" Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Polish Chamber Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, National Orchestras of Estonia and Latvia, State Symphony Orchestra of Russia as well as other foreign and Russian orchestras.
Many of Dogadin’s performances have been broadcasted worldwide - on Mezzo classic (France), «Medici.tv», European Broadcasting Union (EBU), BR Klassic, WDR and NDR Kultur (Germany), YLE Radio (Finland), NHK (Japan), BBC (UK), Australian Radio, Polish Radio, Estonian and Latvian Radio.
Sergei has taken part in festivals «Stars of the White Nights», «Musical collection», «Musical Olympus», «Arts Square», «Crescendo», Trans-Siberian Art Festival, Mstislav Rostropovich festival, George Enescu festival, Tivoli festival, Herbstfestspiele Baden- Baden, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, «Festival International de Colmar», Oleg Kagan Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, «Vladimir Spivakov Invites», «Chopin and his Europe», Baltic Sea Festival, «Vivarte», Singapore Violin Festival etc.
He has collaborated with such prominent conductors as Yury Temirkanov, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazi, Vassily Sinaisky, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Bashmet, Yuri Simonov, Manfred Honeck, Andrew Manze, Shlomo Mintz, Aldo Ceccato, Thomas Sanderling, Vasily Petrenko, Anu Tali, Muhai Tang, Ken Takaseki, Dmitry Liss, Alexander Sladkovsky, Alexander Dmitriev, Nikolay Alekseev, Saulus Sondeckis, Michail Tatarnikov, Alexander Rudin, Nicholas Carter, Ken-David Mazur, Kevin Griffiths, Fabio Mastrangelo, Michał Nesterowicz, Jack Martin Haendler and many others.
Sharing the stage with an outstanding musicians is an important part of Sergei's concert life. Among his partners: Elisabeth Leonskaja, Viktor Tretiakov, David Geringas, Boris Kuschnir, Denis Matsuev, Daniil Trifonov, Pierre Amoyal, Alexander Kniazev, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Maxim Rysanov, Plamena Mangova, Nikolai Tokarev, Tatiana Vasileva, Dimitri Illarionov, Vadim Holodenko, Julian Milkis, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Boris Andrianov, Lars Anders Tomter, Gil Shohat, Anna Vinnitskaya and others.
Dogadin had studied in the most famous and significant musical institutions: at the St.Petersburg Conservatory (with Prof. Vladimir Ovcharek), at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad (with Prof. Maxim Vengerov), at the High School of Music in Cologne (with Prof. Mihaela Martin) and at the University of Music in Graz (with Prof. Boris Kuschnir).
Currently, Sergei improves his skills with Prof. Boris Kuschnir at the Music and Arts University in Vienna.
In 2008 he has released his first CD album on the «Solo Musica» label (Munich, Germany), including the compositions by Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergey Rachmaninov, Sergey Prokofiev and Alexander Rosenblatt.
The 2017/2018 season brought the release of two CD albums:
- Shostakovich - Violin concerto № 1 with the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan under the direction of Maestro A. Sladkovsky, («Melody» label); - Shostakovich - Sonata for violin and piano and his 24 preludes (arrangement for violin and piano by D.Tsyganov/L.Auerbach), («Naxos» label).
Since 2017 Sergei Dogadin is a guest professor at the Liangzhu International Arts Academy (China) and the Gracias Music Academy at the School of Mahanaim (USA). At the same time he constantly gives masterclasses in South Korea, Singapore, Latvia and Azerbaijan.
Sergei was invited as a jury member at the 4th Yankelevitch International Violin Competition and Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition.
Sergei Dogadin had enjoyed the honor of performing during several festivals on Niccolo Paganini’s and Johann Strauss’s violins.
At the moment he plays the Domenico Montagnana violin (Venice, 1721) provided by "The Rin Collection" (Singapore).
István Várdai
Cello
István Várdai, who was born in Pécs (Hungary) in 1985, was admitted at the age of 12 to the Franz Liszt University of Music in Budapest and studied in Professor László Mezö’s class for “extraordinarily gifted” students. In 2005 he transferred to Reinhard Latzko at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. He also took masterclasses with Natalia Gutman, János Starker and Natalia Shakhovskaya. In 2010 he was awarded the Boris Pergamenschikow Scholarship during the Kronberg Academy’s Cello Masterclasses.
István Várdai has won awards in numerous international competitions. He won the David Popper International Music Competition in Budapest three times (in 2000, 2003 and 2004). In 2006 he was awarded a special prize at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann in Berlin and won first prize in the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria). He was also an award-winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2007 and won the Geneva International Music Competition in 2008. In 2014 he won first prize in the ARD Competition in Munich.
István Várdai’s debut CD, a recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Prokofiev’s Sonata and Janáček’s Pohádka with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève conducted by Simon Gaudenz, was released in October 2009 (Nascor). In 2010 he recorded the Cello Concerto in C major by Johann Baptist Vanhal with the Camerata Schweiz conducted by Howard Griffith and in 2013 played a selection of Variations in a recording with Walter Delahunt.
Since making his orchestral debut in 1998 in The Hague, István Várdai has performed with internationally renowned orchestras. He has worked, for example, with conductors such as Ádám Fischer, Howard Griffith, Zoltán Kocsis, Josep Pons, Nicolás Pasquet, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Marcus Bosch, Roman Kofman and Simon Gaudenz. In 2010 István Várdai took part in Chamber Music Connects the World, partnering Gidon Kremer, Tatjana Grindenko, Yuri Bashmet and András Schiff. From 2010 to 2013 he studied at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. His studies were sponsored by the Gerlinde Haber-Schaefer Stipendium.
He has been teaching at Kronberg Academy since October 2013.
István Várdai plays a Montagnana cello built in 1720 and the legendary "Ex du Pré-Harrell" Stradivari built in 1673.
Emmanuel Villaume
Conductor
French-born conductor Emmanuel Villaume has led captivating performances with the most prominent opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world.
Mo. Villaume continues his tenure this season as Music Director of the Prague Philharmonia, a position he has held since 2015. He is entering his twelfth season as Music Director of The Dallas Opera.
A frequent collaborator with major opera houses on both continents, Maestro Villaume has performed with the Metropolitan Opera for Tosca, Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Thaïs, Roméo et Juliette, Madama Butterfly, Samson et Dalila, Carmen et Cendrillon; Lyric Opera of Chicago for Faust, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Roméo et Juliette, La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Manon, The Merry Widow and Samson et Dalila; and the Washington National Opera for La Rodine, Norma, Le Cid, Elisir and Les Contes d’Hoffmann. He has conducted Madama Butterfly and Werther with the San Francisco Opera; Les Contes d’Hoffmann, La Rondine, Carmen and La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein with the Los Angeles Opera; La Rondine and Faust with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; and The Golden Cockerel, La Fanciulla del West, Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Carmen and The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein with Santa Fe Opera. At the Dallas Opera, Mo. Villaume has conducted highly acclaimed performances of Das Rheingold, Elektra, The Flying Dutchman, Golden Cockerel, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Der Ring des Polykrates, Samson et Dalila, Eugene Onegin, Moby Dick, Don Carlo, Norma, Faust, Le Nozze di Figaro, Carmen, and Iolanta as well as several world premieres. His participation in music festivals is equally exemplary, highlighted by numerous performances, including world premieres with the prestigious Spoleto Festival USA, where he served as Artistic Director from 2001 to 2010.
On the international stage, Maestro Villaume has appeared with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for Tosca, Manon, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, La Rondine, la Boheme and Carmen, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu for Manon Lescaut; Montreal Opera for La Vie Parisienne; Tokyo Bunka Kaikan for Der Rosenkavalier; Teatro Colón for Pelléas et Mélisande; and Opéra national de Paris for Rigoletto. Other performances in France include: Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse for Mignon; Opéra de Nice for Faust; Opéra national de Bordeaux for Dialogues des Carmélites, and Opéra Marseilles for Pelléas et Mélisande, Samson et Dalila, Carmen, and Norma. Maestro Villaume has conducted for several opera companies in Germany, including the Bayerische Staatsoper for Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Carmen, l’Elisir d’amore and Madama Butterfly; Deutsche Oper Berlin for Tosca and Don Quichotte; Staatsoper Hamburg for Der Fliegende Holländer; Bonn Opera for La Fanciulla del West; and Cologne Opera for La Bohème and Werther. Other lauded performances in Europe took place at Teatro La Fenice for Thaïs, Il Crociato, and L’Africaine; Teatro Regio di Torino for Ariane et Barbe-bleue and Les Contes d’Hoffmann; Martina Franca Opera for La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein; Teatro Real in Madrid for Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Werther; Opéra de Monte-Carlo for La Périchole and Werther; and the Klangbogen Festival in Vienna for Don Quichotte and Menotti’s Goya with Plácido Domingo.
Emmanuel Villaume has led a distinguished career leading renowned symphonies worldwide. He made an outstanding contribution as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the National Slovenian Philharmonic, as well as with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra where he served as Chief Conductor from 2009 – 2016. In North America, he has conducted the Quebec Symphony, the Montreal Symphony in both Montreal and at Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Juilliard Orchestra. He also led the San Francisco Symphony, the Houston Symphony, and the Boston Symphony at both Symphony Hall and the Tanglewood Festival. His performances with music organizations include: the Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Beethovenhalle Orchestra of Bonn, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Kungliga Filharmonikerna, and the Israel Philharmonic. In Australia, Mo. Villaume has conducted concerts with the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane orchestras, and in Asia he has appeared with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and the China National Opera Orchestra for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Emmanuel Villaume’s numerous recordings for Deutsche Gramophone, Decca and Warner Classics have regularly won the most prestigious awards.
Born in Strasbourg in 1964, Emmanuel Villaume studied music at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. He continued his education at Khâgne and the Sorbonne in Paris, where he received degrees in literature, philosophy, and musicology. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Indianapolis.
Maestro Villaume makes his home in Paris and Dallas.