The Jury
Aleksey Semenenko
Violin (Ukraine, Germany)
The refined, impassioned and commanding playing of Ukrainian violinist Aleksey Semenenko identify him as inheritor of the great Odessa violin tradition and earnt him places on both the BBC New Generation Artists scheme and Young Concert Artists in New York, bringing him to the attention of audiences across Europe and the US.
He has given recitals at Snape Maltings, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and Alice Tully Hall, and performed concertos with orchestras including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Seattle Symphony, Orchestra of St Luke’s, National Orchestra of Belgium, Ulster Orchestra, Kyiv Symphony, Hamburger Symphoniker and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. His festival performances include invitations at the Hay, Cheltenham and Edinburgh festivals. A recent highlight for Semenenko has been a UK tour with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, under the baton of Volodymyr Sirenko.
The most recent addition to Semenenko’s discography is his new album ‘Crossroads’ on BIS, with pianist Artem Belogurov, featuring sonatas by Previn, Schemmer and Gay. The launch of the album was marked by a Wigmore Hall recital in which the duo performed a selection of American works.
Semenenko began his violin studies at the age of six with Zoya Mertsalova at the Stolyarsky School, making his solo debut with orchestra only a year later with the Odessa Philharmonic. He completed his studies with Zakhar Bron and Harald Schoneweg at Cologne’s Hochschule für Musik and was a prize winner in the 2015 Queen Elizabeth Violin Competition. Alongside his performing career, Semenenko is Violin Professor at the Folkwang Universität der Künste. He is kindly supported by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
Raisa Musahajaeva
Violin (Kazakhstan)
Honored Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Honored Worker of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Professor at Kazakh National University of Arts. She graduated with honors from the Republican Special Music School named after Kulyash Baiseitova in the class of Professor N. M. Patrusheva and the Saint-Petersburg’s Postgraduate School (Leningrad) State Conservatory in the class of M. Weiman and M.Belyakov professors.
Over the years, she worked as an artist of the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Kazakhstan, deputy director of the Republican Music School named after K. Baiseitova.
Since 1998, in the position of Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, she has been actively involved in creating Kazakh National Academy of Music in Astana. Then she was the pro-rector for the concert work and international relations.
Students of Professor R.K. Mussakhajayeva are laureates of prestigious international contests: Youth Competition named after P. Tchaikovsky, competition named after A. Yampolsky, named after L. Beethoven in Vienna, named after Michelangelo Abbado in Milan, «Rovere dOro» in Italy, competition of Zakhar Bron in Novosibirsk, “Astana violin”, “Shabyt” and others. They also work in prestigious orchestras and universities in Europe, America and Kazakhstan.
Since 1998 Professor has been conducting International master classes at the festival “Musica in Lagoon» in Venice, Italy, international master classes at the Ost West Musik fest in Vienna, Austria. R.K. Mussakhajayeva is a jury member of international competitions: named after A. Yampolsky in Moscow, named after Eduard Grach in Moscow, «Violin of the North» in Yakutsk, Russia, named after Michelangelo Abbado in Milan, Italy, named after L. Beethoven in Vienna, «Remember Georgi Enescu» in Bucharest, Romania, Astana-Merey in Astana.
Alexey Ludevig
Viola (Russia)
Alexey Ludevig was born in Leningrad. He studied viola with his father, the violist Alexei Ludevig Sr., Yuri Bashmet and Dmitry Shebalin. He studied conducting with Maris Jansons.
Alexey Ludevig has performed in many countries around the world. He has performed as a soloist with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Camerata Orchestra, the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Orchestra and many others. He played with such famous musicians as Arnold Katz, Saulius Sondeckis, Mikaela Martin, Liana Isakadze, Arto Noras, Marty Rousey, Alexander Rudin, Pascal Moraguez, Sergey Stadler… He took part in many music festivals in Russia, Germany, France, Switzerland, America and other countries.
Together with Konstantin Orbelyan, Alexey Ludevig was the head and the creator of the St. Petersburg Palace Festival and also the artistic director of the New Silver Age festival.
He has worked as a concertmaster of the violas of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Lyon Opera (at the invitation of Kent Nagano), the Chamber Orchestra of Toulouse and the Academy St. Martin in the Fields, in London.
The repertoire of the violist includes compositions created over the last three centuries. Alexey Ludevig is honored with high-profile premieres of works by many Russian composers — Ouspensky, Slonimsky, Sapozhnikov and others, as well as works by contemporary American and French authors, many of which were written specifically for him.
Alexey Ludevig is also the founder of the Chamber Ensemble «Camera Soloists of St. Petersburg.» Upon his return to Russia, he began teaching at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the St. Petersburg College of Music, continuing to perform as a soloist and chamber performer.
He plays on the viola created by Antonio Mariani in 1661.
Mark Drobinski
Cello (France)
Mark Drobinsky born in Baku, Russia, Mark Drobinsky studied with Mstislav Rostropovich at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. He was awarded the first prize at the International Competition of Munich. He taught at the Gnessine Institute and left the USSR in 1974 to go to Israel before finally setting down in Paris.
Mark Drobinsky has been a guest performer at the most prestigious festivals. He has been hailed by the critics as one of the masters of the cello. Although he has a firm hold on the classical repertory, he also passionately interested in discovering new works, and is an ardent champion of 20th-century music: H. Sauguet, H. Dutilleux, A. Schnittke, D. Milhaud, J. Dorfman, F. Kaufman, A. Rabinovitch, G. Zanon.
He performed with many illustrious musicians: Martha Argerich, Misha Majsky, Lilya Zilberstein, Patrice Fontanarosa, Dora Swarzberg, Bruno Giuranna, Alain Meunier, Renaud Capucon, and conductors like Valery Gergiev, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Saulius Sondetskiss, Eduardo Mata, Dominique Fanal, Charles Dutoit, Alexandre Rabinovich, Dmitri Liss, Arjan Tien, Arnold Katz, Salvator Brotons, Maxime Schostakovitch, etc. Since 2000 he has participated in the Martha Argerich Festival in Lugano (Switzerland) every year and also performed with Martha Argerich at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, in 2003. In 2009 participated at LUGANO-PARIS Festival at La Salle Pleyel performing together with Martha Argerich.
In 2010 he played at “Mozarteum”–Salzburg Festival, La Roque d’Antheron, Pietrasanta Festival, as well at the Festivals de Savoy and Mediterranean.
Many CDs edited by EMI, Talents-Record, Gallo, Cypres etc.
He gave master-classes in South Korea, Monaco, Sau Paulo, Mexico–City, Buenos-Aires,
In Japan, Bahamas, in Johannesburg, Geneva, Siena, Portogruaro (Italy) etc
Drobinsky is playing an Italian cello made by Carlo Antonio Testore in 1748.
Vladimir Ovchinnikov
Bass (Israel)
Vladimir Ovchinnikov was born in Sarapul, Soviet Union. He studied violin at The Specialized Music School in Kazan. In 1976 studied at the Faculty of Architecture at St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. At 1979 Ovchinnikov majored in double bass at Rimsky-Korsakov Music College in St. Petersburg. In 1981 he continued study double bass with Professor German Lukyanin at St. Petersburg Music Conservatory, simultaneously working on the restoration of string instruments. From 1985 to 1989 worked at Mikhailovsky Theater, Zazerkalye Theater, and in the Hermitage chamber orchestra as a double bass soloist. In 1989 he moved to Israel. Worked at the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with such conductors as Zubin Mehta and Claudio Abbado besides many others. Soloist of the Galilee Camerata of Israel as a double bass soloist. Solo concert on Israel Radio. In 1994 worked at the Las Palmas Philharmonic. From 2003 to 2005 worked at the Aalborg Philharmonic. Performed with such soloists as Maxim Vengerov, Misha Maisky, Shlomo Mintz. In 2006 moving to Cremona, dedicating himself to restoration work and production of new bowed instruments. Works in various orchestras as a freelancer.
Rufolf Barshai 2nd international strings competition