Viktoria Mullova

Viktoria Mullova (born in 1959) is a Russian violin virtuoso.

Related Topics:
1959 - Violin

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She has become highly regarded for her performances and recordings of a number of great violin concertos, J.S. Bach, and for her innovative interpretations of popular and jazz compositions by Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, The Beatles and others.

Related Topics:
Bach - Miles Davis - Duke Ellington

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After studying at the Central Music School of Moscow and at the Moscow Conservatoire under Leonid Kogan, she won first prize at the 1980 Sibelius Competition in Helsinki and the Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1982.During her touring in Finland in 1983, Mullova and her accompanist Vakhtang Zordania defected,leaving the State-owned Stradavarius on the hotel bed, they jumped into a taxi and crossed the Swedish border. In Sweden they appealied for political asylum. Th At that time, twenty years ago, the Swedish police treated young, on-the-run musicians just like any other political defector and suggested they stay in a hotel over the weekend until the American embassy opened. So for two days they sat under false names in hotel room, not even daring to go down to the reception desk. Wisely, as it turned out, because Mullova?s photograph was on the front page of every newspaper. Two days later they were already walking around Washington D.C. with American visas in their pockets.Mullova lives currently in London, England.

Related Topics:
Leonid Kogan - 1980 - Sibelius Competition - Helsinki - International Tchaikovsky Competition - Finland - 1983 - Vakhtang Zordania - Sweden - Political asylum - Washington D.C. - London, England

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Mullova has made many recordings including her debut release of the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius violin concertos which was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque.

Related Topics:
Tchaikovsky - Sibelius

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She formed the Mullova Chamber Ensemble in the mid-1990s. The ensemble has toured Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands and has recorded the Bach violin concertos on Philips Classics. She was nominated for a 1995 Grammy Award for her recording of the Bach Partitas, and she won a 1995 Echo Klassic award, a Japanese Record Academy Award and a Deutsche Schallplattenkritik prize for her recording of the Brahms concerto. Her recording of the Brahms B major Trio (No 1) and Beethoven's Archduke Trio with Andre Previn and Heinrich Schiff was released in 1995, receiving a further Diapason d'Or.

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Mullova?s international career as a soloist has included performances with The Philharmonia, Vienna Symphony, Montreal Symphony, San Francisco and the Bayrische Rundfunk. She also performed as soloist and director with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

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Viktoria Mullova plays on the "Jules Falk" Stradivarius (1723). Her bows include a Baroque style bow by a modern maker, a Dodd and a Voirin.

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