The Foundation > Artistic Counsil And Experts
ARTISTIC COUNCIL
Maestro
Vasily Petrenko
Chairman of the Artistic Council
“I am very glad to participate in such an important initiative, which will give a lot of new opportunities to young Armenian musicians! Helping young musicians was always one of my top priorities and nowadays we need to help them more than ever. My love for Armenia goes back for over 35 years, I’m eagerly looking forward to sharing this love with many more people!” – maestro Vasily Petrenko.
Vasily Petrenko is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (since 2021), and Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra (since 2015). He is Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, following his hugely acclaimed fifteen year tenure as their Chief Conductor from 2006-2021, and has also served as Principal Guest Conductor and subsequently Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (2016-2022), Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (2013-2020), Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (2009–2013), and Principal Guest Conductor of St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre, where he began his career as Resident Conductor (1994–1997).
Ilya Gringolts
Artistic Council Member
“All music was once new music! To me there is no doubt that supporting composers and their creative process should be at the core of any music activity. It is an honour to be able to do my bit in Armenia as well – it is a country with incredibly rich history and culture to which I have strong personal connections. My hope is to help its education and music scene thrive further.” – Ilya Gringolts
Ilya Gringolts wins over audiences with his highly virtuosic playing and sophisticated interpretations and is always seeking out new musical challenges. As a sought-after soloist, Ilya Gringolts devotes himself to the great orchestral repertoire as well as to contemporary and rare works; he is also interested in historical performance practices. His concert programmes include virtuosic early repertoire by Leclair and Locatelli as well as Paganini’s solo and orchestral works. New works by Peter Maxwell Davies, Augusta Read Thomas, Christophe Bertrand, Bernhard Lang, Beat Furrer and Michael Jarrell have been premiered by him. In the summer of 2020, Ilya Gringolts and Ilan Volkov founded the I&I Foundation for the promotion of contemporary music, which awards commissions to young composers.
EXPERTS
PIANO
Dmitry Masleev
Curator
“Super-soloist” is the way France Musique introduced Dmitry Masleev when he made his debut with the Orchestre National de France at the beginning of 2020, laying the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, the work that helped launch his international career, when he won the 2015 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. Dmitry’s solo recital debut at the Philhamonie de Paris in March 2022 confirmed that a new phenomenon has emerged among the most interesting pianists of our time: “What an artist! Everything is so simple, so ingenious, without the slightest attempt to explain the music,” wrote Alain Lompech (Bachtrack).
Dmitry’s return to La Roque d’Anthéron festival last summer was described in La Provence as “a magical eveningwhere virtuosity merged with the innermost workings of the soul.” His recent festival appearances also include Klavierfestival Ruhr, Lucerne, Verbier, Montreux, Rheingau, Bad Kissingen, Bodensee, Bergamo and Brescia.
CHAMBER MUSIC
Irina Krasotina
Curator
Irina Krasotina holds the Professor position at the P.I. Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory and a Ph.D. in Art History. She is the Head of the Ensemble Department at Ippolitov-Ivanov State Musical Pedagogical Institute. Ms. Krasotina also received a Master of Spanish Music degree from the Marshall Academy (Barcelona), a class of the legendary Spanish pianist Alicia de Larro-cha.
Ms. Krasotina felt her passion for classical music when she was six and started her piano studies at seven. Her international performing career was launched after numerous Russian and international piano competitions. She was a laureate of international competitions in Italy (Senigallia, 1992; Ragusa, 1993; Trani, 1997), E. Granados Barcelona International Competition (Spain, 2001), A. Roussel Sofia International Competition (Bulgaria, 1996), D. Lipatti Bucharest International Competition (Romania, 1997) among the others. In many of those, she later served as a jury member.
VIOLIN
Maximilian Simon
Curator
Whether as a soloist, chamber musician or as deputy section leader of the 2nd violins of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Maximilian Simon inspires on stage with self-confident sovereignty, technical brilliance, expressive playing and his noticeably infectious enthusiasm for music. Curious by nature and open to challenges, the charismatic musician and GEWA Music Brand Ambassador manages to convince his listeners offline and online not only with the standard works of the repertoire, but also with contemporary and unknown music.
Highlights of his past appearances as a soloist were concerts with Yuri Bashmet in Rostov am Dom and in the Moscow Conservatory with the violin concerto by Beethoven and the Concerto funèbre by Karl Amadeus Hartmann. In the Berlin Philharmonie, the audience listened to him visibly spellbound as he interpreted the late romantic violin concerto by Erich J. Wolff with the Berliner Symphoniker under the baton of Lior Shambadal – as “sung touchingly, as virtuosically brilliant”, as the press judged and the jubilation in the hall confirmed.
CLASSICAL GUITAR
Nikita Nedelko
Mentor
Nikita Nedelko is one of the brightest representatives of the young generation Russian guitarists. Born in Vladivostok in 1993, he already performed in the USA, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Serbia, and across Russia. Nikita began his guitar studies at the age of six under the guidance of Nadezhda Bushueva. He continued his education at a youth music school and the A.F. Murov Music State College in Novosibirsk, Russia in the class of Honoured Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation Yuri Kuzin. Nikita graduated with a distinction the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music in 2017 with a Bachelor degree, in 2019 with a Master degree, In 2021 with a assistant trainee under the guidance of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation professor Nikolay Komolyatov.
Valeria Galimova
Mentor
«Passionate player and rigorous respecting the musical rules; her patience, perfectionism, dedication and wish to improve make a perfect combination to achieve the highest level of excellence … a big heart and a person determined to make her dreams come true.» – Ricardo Gallen (Spain).
Already at a young age, Valeria Galimova showed her originality and tremendous talent as a guitarist. At the age of 14, and as a student in a Russian music school, Valeria was invited to serve as an artist and a jury member at a international children’s festival competition in Puebla, Mexico.
During the years of her professional activity, she was awarded one of the Prizes of the President of Russia and won the gold medal at the Delphic Games in 2014. She has also won 10 first prizes at national and international competitions.
Vahan Sargsyan
Tutor
Vahan Sargsyan was born on January 30, 2002, in Yerevan. He began his musical journey at the age of 10. He graduated from the P. I. Tchaikovsky Secondary Music School. Following his military service, he continued his education at the Yerevan State Conservatory, named after Komitas, where he is currently in his second year of his Bachelor’s degree.
Vahan is a recipient of numerous international competition awards, including the 2nd prize at the Tbilisi International Classical Guitar Competition, recognition at the Pleven International Guitar Festival-Competition, the Grand Prize at the “Renaissance” International Festival-Competition, and the 1st Prize at the “Art Music” International Festival.
Henrik Melikyan
Tutor
Henrik Melikyan was born on August 21, 1999, in Yerevan. He embarked on his musical journey at the age of 9 and graduated from the musical college named after Arno Babajanyan. After completing his military service, he continued his education at the Yerevan State Conservatory, named after Komitas, where he is currently in his second year of his Master’s program.
Henrik has earned recognition in various international competitions, securing the 1st prize at the Tbilisi International Classical Guitar Competition, the 1st prize in the “Video-Rus” International Competition, the 1st prize at the “Renaissance” International Festival-Competition, and the 1st prize at the “Art Music” International Festival-Competition.He has also conducted a concert tour in Italy.
Philipp Kopachevsky
Mentor
A soloist of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic and a prize-winner at international competitions, the young pianist Philipp Kopachevsky had won tremendous audience admiration and acclaim by the age of 33 He regularly appears in recital in Great Britain, Germany, the USA, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Greece, Poland and Spain as well as throughout Russia. Kopachevsky has won particular popularity in Japan, where especially for NHK TV he recorded a disc of piano music by Chopin.