Marianna Vasileva

Marianna Vasileva (Marianna Vasilyeva, Marianna Wasiljewa) Is a Russian violinist and teacher born (in St Petersburg) on November 25, 1986.  In addition to a fantastic technique and a very expressive style of playing, she is known for performing all 24 Caprices by Paganini in a single recital – currently, probably the only female violinist to do so.  As far as I know, she has not recorded the famous Caprices but probably will in the near future.  (The first female to record all 24 Caprices is Bulgarian violinist Vanya Milanova, back in 1985.)** (See comment below.)   Vasileva began her violin studies at age five with her father, a professional violinist.  She has stated that even at that tender age she practiced several hours a day.  Her first accompanist was her mother, a professional pianist, with whom she has performed in recital many times.  At age 7, she began her studies at the St Petersburg Conservatory’s School for Gifted Children with an obscure teacher named Vladimir Ovcharek.  At age 11, she began studying with Dora Schwarzberg at the Advanced School for Music in Vienna.  At age 17 she began studying with Zakhar Bron at the Advanced School for Music and Dance in Cologne.  During all those years, she was also (simultaneously) studying at the St Petersburg Conservatory.  (The St Petersburg Conservatory is where the famous Leopold Auer taught for many years.)  Her performing career actually began at age 8, when she played in public for the first time.  At age 10, she made her formal debut in Russia and Germany playing the first concerto (the one in g minor) by Max Bruch.  In that year, she also won her first violin competition in Russia.  In 2001, she actually won a violin in the International Spohr Violin Competition – I don’t know what violin it was but I’m certain it was a high quality instrument.  She was 15 years old.  In 2009, she won first prize in the International Competition for Young Violinists in honor of Karol Lipinski and Henryk Wieniawski in Lublin, Poland (not to be confused with the well-known Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition held in Poznan, Poland, every five years.)  She was 23 years old.  In 2010 she won first prize in the Prague Spring International Music Competition.  She currently teaches at the Music Academy in Madrid, in addition to teaching masterclasses around the world, as so many other soloists do.  Her concert tours span the entire world and she has played in almost all of the important musical venues and concert halls.  Her repertoire is very extensive although her discography is still quite small.  I know Vasileva has played a Guarneri Del Gesu violin from 1724 and a 1752 Carlo Antonio Testore violin on many concerts but I don’t know if those are her current instruments – I will try to find out and post it as a comment below.  Vasileva is fluent in four languages; Russian, English, German, and Hebrew.  Here is a YouTube video where she plays a well-known piece by Tchaikovsky.  Here is a sound file where she plays the seldom-heard Ysaye sonata for two violins – the other violinist is Dmitri Kogan, grandson of the great Leonid Kogan.  

Antal Zalai

Antal Zalai (Antal Szalai) is a Hungarian violinist, composer, and teacher born (in Budapest) on January 31, 1981.  He is known for what has been described as a perfect technique and refined artistry.  He is a former child prodigy who was offered his first recording contract while still a teenager and his musical education is very broad.  Zalai began his violin studies with his father and mother at age 5.  From age 7 to age 14 he studied, in Budapest, with Laszlo Denes.  His other teachers in Budapest were Josef Kopelman and Peter Komlos.  In fact, it has been said that he acquired his 1733 Stradivarius violin from Professor Komlos.  That violin had been owned by another Hungarian violinist, Gyorgy Garay, who is now almost completely forgotten.  Zalai graduated from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels in 2009.  He was 28 years old.  However, Zalai had been concertizing since age 12.  Along the way, he had participated in masterclasses given by Erick Friedman, Pinchas Zukerman, Tibor Varga, Lewis Kaplan, Isaac Stern, Gyorgy Pauk, and an assortment of other concert violinists.  He made his British debut in Liverpool in 2008.  That same year he made his debut in Berlin.  The venues he has played in include Carnegie Hall (New York), the Musikverein (Vienna), the Philharmonie (Berlin), and the Moscow Conservatory.  Zalai has toured almost the entire globe and played with some of the most famous names in the conducting world.  He also frequently conducts masterclasses wherever he performs.  As are so many violinists, he is a chess player.  The cadenzas he plays are very frequently his own.  Here is a YouTube video where he teams up with Russian violinist Marianna Vasileva to play the violin duos by Shostakovich – Zalai plays the second violin part.  These duos are written in a style which we do not associate with the famous Russian composer.  The (intense and emotional) performance is easily the best on YouTube.  This othervideo is also quite unique and interesting.