The exceptionally gifted Russian violinist Maxim Vengerov, who made his American debut in February 1991 with the New York Philharmonic, first came to international attention in the summer of 1989 when, at age 14, he gave a tremendously acclaimed recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Recital debuts at London's Wigmore Hall, Tokyo's Suntory Hall and Salzburg's Mozarteum soon followed, confirming his reputation as one of today's most extraordinary young instrumentalists.
In July 1990, Mr. Vengerov won First Prize at the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition and also took a special prize for interpretation and the "audience prize." During the autumn of 1990, the violinist moved from the former U.S.S.R. to Tel Aviv, and now makes his home in Amsterdam. An engagement with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic led to an invitation by Maestro Mehta for him to join the I.P.O. on its United States tour in March 1991. One year later, he was again the featured soloist with a major international orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, on its transcontinental American tour.
Other highlights of his 1991-92 season included appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, the London Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Yuri Temirkanov in a live televised concert at the BBC Proms. He also made his Salzburg Festival debut with the Mozarteum Orchestra led by Trevor Pinnock.
His schedule for 1992-93 included performances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic led by Vassily Sinaisky, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic on tour in France and Japan with Yuri Temirkanov, the Baltimore Symphony under Ivan Fisher, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta. He also returned to the Berlin Philharmonic, playing the Brahms Concerto under Maestro Abbado, and recitals in London, Paris, Tokyo and Frankfurt.
Following American summer festival debuts at Mostly Mozart in New York and Ravinia in Chicago, he returned to the London Proms with the BBC Symphony orchestra under Andrew Davis and to the Salzburg Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic under Sir Yehudi Menuhin.
His North American engagements during the 1993-94 season included his New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y and concerts with the Atlanta Symphony, the National Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra (both in Philadelphia and in New York), the San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa).
In the 1994-95 season, Vengerov toured with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Italy and South America, and was heard with the Chicago Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Halle Orchestra, the Budapest Philharmonic, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Vienna Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham Symphony.
Maxim Vengerov has made several recordings for Melodiya and released an acclaimed recital album on compact disc for Biddulph Recordings. He became an exclusive Teldec Classics recording artist in September 1990, with seven recordings thus far released; in 1994, Maxim Vengerov was named Gramophone Magazine's "Young Artist of the Yearä, and in 1995, his recording of Shostakovich and Prokofiev Violin Concertos was Gramophone's Record of the Year. that recording has also been nominated for two Grammy Awards - best classical album and best instrumental soloist with orchestra.
Maxim Vengerov was born in Novosibirsk, the capital of Western Siberia, in August 1974. He won first prize in the Junior Wieniawski Competition in Poland at age 10, having studied first with Galina Turtschaninova and then with the distinguished teacher Zahhar Bron in the former Soviet Union.
Mr. Vengerov plays a 1723 Cremona violin by Stradivari that has been loaned to him by Clement Arrison through the Stradivari Society.
