Vadim Repin

»The formality of Vadim Repin’s stage demeanor is at odds with the warmth and emotional commitment of his expressive interpretations, which have become the hallmark of one of the most fascinating musicians of our time.« The Daily Telegraph (London) Born in Novosibirsk in 1971, Vadim Repin began playing the violin at the age of five and made his public debut just six months later. He studied in his hometown with Zakhar Bron. At seven, he made his orchestral debut, and at eleven, his first recital in St. Petersburg. His international breakthrough came in 1989 when he became the youngest winner in the history of the world's most prestigious and demanding violin competition, the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Since then, Vadim Repin has performed with the greatest international orchestras and conductors. He is a frequent guest at festivals such as the Hollywood Bowl, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Verbier, the Rheingau Musik Festival, and the BBC Proms. His "Carte blanche" invitation to the Louvre in Paris resulted in an award-winning live recording of his performance with colleagues such as Roby Lakatos. His chamber music partners include Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Evgeny Kissin, Nikolai Lugansky, Mischa Maisky, and Mikhail Pletnev. The violinist has received numerous awards, including an Echo Prize as "Instrumentalist of the Year 1999," the Diapason d’or, the Prix Caecilia, and the Edison Prize. Vadim Repin plays the "Von Szerdahely" violin, built by Guarneri del Gesù in 1736. 2001/2 Concerts with James Levine and the Munich Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta and the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, and Mariss Jansons and the Berlin Philharmonic; first appearance in New Zealand; performs with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra at a private concert for Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his Argentine-born fiancée Máxima Zorreguieta on the eve of their wedding 2002/3 Concerts with the Baltimore and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras on tour and at Carnegie Hall, and with the Czech Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall; a gala concert at the Berlin Waldbühne with the Berlin Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons before 23,000 listeners is broadcast throughout Europe; recitals in the USA 2004 Performs at two New Year's Eve gala concerts (on the same evening) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing before 9,000 listeners; gala concerts with Mstislav Rostropovich at the Barbican Hall for the 100th anniversary of the London Symphony Orchestra, at the opening of the Olympic Games in Athens, and at Munich's Odeonsplatz before 8,000 listeners with Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; plays Paganini's violin, the "Cannone," at the Paganini Festival ("Paganiniana") in Genoa 2005 Highlights of Repin's concert year include Beethoven's Violin Concerto at London's Royal Festival Hall with Riccardo Muti and the Philharmonia Orchestra to celebrate the orchestra's 60th anniversary; concerts with Christoph Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra; the premiere of Daniel Brewbaker's Violin Concerto "Playing and Being Played" (dedicated to Repin) with Yuri Temirkanov and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In July, Repin's first recording for Deutsche Grammophon is released: chamber music by Sergei Taneyev with pianist Mikhail Pletnev and other outstanding soloists (Gramophone Award 2006 for "Best Chamber Music Recording") 2006 Concerts in London and on a UK tour with Charles Dutoit and the Philharmonia Orchestra, debut in Vienna with the Vienna Philharmonic under Valery Gergiev, in Amsterdam with Neeme Järvi and the Concertgebouw Orkest, and in Dresden with Vladimir Jurowski and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Repin's North American engagements include an appearance at Carnegie Hall with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and a gala performance with Plácido Domingo for the 50th anniversary of the Washington Opera. Concerts in Asia with Edo de Waart and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan tour with Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Guest appearances at festivals including Verbier (with Leif Ove Andsnes and Ralph Kirshbaum), Cortona (with Piotr Anderszewski), and the BBC Proms (with Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra). In March, Vadim Repin signs an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon 2007 Concerts with the New York Philharmonic under Riccardo Muti, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France under Myung-Whun Chung, the NDR Symphony Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi on a German tour and in Budapest, Vienna, and New York (Carnegie Hall), and with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov in Israel. Engagements with three major London orchestras – the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Vladimir Jurowski), the London Symphony Orchestra (Valery Gergiev), and the Philharmonia Orchestra (Vladimir Ashkenazy) – in the UK, with the Concertgebouw Orkest under Daniele Gatti in Amsterdam, London, and Birmingham, and with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov in Paris. Performances with the Vilnius Festival Orchestra at the Vilnius Festival, the Rheingau Musik Festival, and the Menuhin Festival Gstaad. Recitals with pianist Nikolai Lugansky throughout Europe (including London, Brussels, Moscow, Madrid) and with pianist Itamar Golan in Italy and Argentina. For his first solo recording with Deutsche Grammophon, Vadim Repin plays Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Riccardo Muti and the "Kreutzer Sonata" with pianist Martha Argerich. The album is released in the autumn 2008 European concerts including with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier, the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Kirill Petrenko, the Orchestre de Paris with Neeme Järvi, the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, and the Philharmonia under Esa-Pekka Salonen; appearances in the USA with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also undertakes an extensive recital tour in the USA and Europe with Nikolai Lugansky and Itamar Golan and performs at the Salzburg Festival, the Rheingau Festival, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 2009 The year begins with concerts with the Munich Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann, followed by appearances with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and a tour of Israel with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Concerts with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the London Symphony Orchestra in the USA, Germany, and France. Performs at the Verbier Festival with Lang Lang and Mischa Maisky. His Brahms album is released at the beginning of the year and is accompanied by an extensive tour, presenting the recording's program in Europe, Japan, and the USA with various orchestras 12/2008