Sergey Antonov
Encyclopedia
Sergey Antonov is a Russia
n-born cellist, living in the United States
. In 2007 he was the gold prize winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition
.
in 1983 to two cellists, one a teacher at the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory
, the other a Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra cellist, Antonov began studying the cello
at age five. After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, he studied at an advanced level with, among others, the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich
. He is currently an Artist Diploma student at Boston
's Longy School of Music
.
In 2008, he inaugurated, together with pianist
Constantine Finehouse
, the Trieste
Chamber Music Association's Salotto Cameristico to great acclaim.
Hailed as “…a brilliant cellist…” (M. Rostropovich) and “… a complete artist,
both from the point of view of his unimpeachable technique and musically, with a
cantabile quality and an energy that merge in a harmonious whole...” (Alberto Coda,
Vita Nuova, Catholic Weekly of Trieste, Italy. May 2, 2008). Cellist Sergey Antonov
“… literally spellbound the rapt audience ... with an expressive mastery of
extraordinary maturity, realized through a technical skill exhibited without glitz but
with the naturalness that characterizes a genial interpreter…” (Patrizia Ferialdi, Il
Piccolo, Trieste, Italy. May 30, 2008).
In the summer of 2007, Sergey became one of the youngest cellists to win a Gold
medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
He has circled the globe, performing concerts in Japan, Korea, Bulgaria, Poland,
Russia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, United Arab Emirates and the
US. He performs extensively with the most prominent orchestras, in the most
prestigious halls of Russia, his home country, under the management of the Moscow
Philharmony with whom he holds a five year soloist contract.
In the summer of 2008, Sergey had made his American debut at the Newport
Music Festival followed by solo recitals at Estivales de musique en medoc 2008 in
Bordeaux, France, concerts in Savonlinna, Finland as well as in St. Petersburg, Russia. In July, he performed a live concert on the Boston’s radio show “Classics in the Morning” with Cathy Fuller on WGBH 89.7 FM.
Highlights of his 2008 season included a 10-concert tour of Japan and Korea in
January/February, culminating with performances of the Brahms Double Concerto in
Moscow's Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Other performances included
appearances with the Petrozavodsk Symphony, chamber music collaborations with the
Lyrica Chamber Music Series as their "Young Artist of the Year", and the Chamber
Music Foundation of New England. He gave solo concerts in Trieste, Italy and chamber
music concerts in Dubai, that were followed by concerts at the Great Hall of the
Moscow Conservatory in performance of the Schumann cello concerto with Moscow
Conservatory Symphony Orchestra . After his performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto
with the Moscow Philharmonic in its "Stars of The 21st Century” series, a critic wrote “…[Antonov] is …unique…from a different world...a musician who has his own inner space…a performer, who turns each phrase, every deeply felt sound into an event of his own inner monologue…with such consciously developed nuances, sensitivity, such
concentration in combination with the feeling of drama…” (Marina Borisova, Daily
Telegraph, No.91, Moscow, Russian Federation. May 20, 2008).
This season brought Sergey to Switzerland, Russia, Hungary and back to the U.S.
to perform Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Burlington Chamber Orchestra in
the Lane series in Vermont and Longy Chamber Orchestra in Cambridge, Mass. In
January 2009, Sergey has opened a new music series in Boston called “Great Russian
Years” dedicated to the Great Russian composers. In Spring 2009 he is scheduled to
perform extensively in Russia (January, February, March, April), Spain (March), Italy, Sweden (April), and Serbia (May) with summer engagements in the United States at Newport and New Hampshire music festivals in July.
Sergey Antonov was born in 1983 into a family of cellists. His parents guided his
first years, especially his mother, Maria Zhuravleva, a leading cello pedagogue at the prestigious Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory. His late father, Boris, was a gifted cellist and a member of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Natalia Schakhovskaya and chamber music with Alexander Bonduryansky. Presently Sergey is an Artist Diploma
candidate working with the Grammy nominated cellist Terry King at the Longy School
of Music.
Sergey won top prizes in the Dotzauer and David Popper Competitions, was
named “Favorite Artist in the Cello Division” at the Tchaikovsky Competition by Toyota Corp., as well as a recipient of the “2008 Golden Talent Award “ by the Russian Performing Art Foundation. He has triumphed in many other competitions including first prizes at the Swedish Duo Competition, the International Chamber Music Competition of the Chamber Music Foundation of New England and the National ASTA Competition in Detroit (2007).
A great influence on the cellist was his work with the late Mstislav Rostropovich.
Sergey was a frequent participant in his master classes at the Moscow Conservatory,
which led to the maestro's invitation to join him on tours of Europe and Russia. He has collaborated with such artists as Yuri Bashmet, Yuri Simonov, Justus Franz, Dora
Schwartzberg, Vadim Rudenko, Bernadene Blaha, John Lenehan. Spring 2009 will
bring new collaborations with Maxim Vengerov, David Geringas, Eugene Bushkov and
Mikhail Pletnev.
“There are few musicians this talented, with this esoteric ability, being able to
touch the listener so deeply and put them in another dimension. Sergey Antonov is
playing with intuition, he breathes and lives in music; the instrument is a natural
extension of him.” (Sven Bertilsson, Katrineholm Kuriren, Sweden. July 2008)
“…this musician has a serious artistic future.” (Marina Borisova, Daily Telegraph, No.91, Moscow, Russian Federation. May 20, 2008).
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born cellist, living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 2007 he was the gold prize winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition
International Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
.
Biography
Born in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1983 to two cellists, one a teacher at the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
, the other a Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra cellist, Antonov began studying the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
at age five. After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, he studied at an advanced level with, among others, the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
. He is currently an Artist Diploma student at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's Longy School of Music
Longy School of Music
The Longy School of Music of Bard College is a conservatory located near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and Boston...
.
In 2008, he inaugurated, together with pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Constantine Finehouse
Constantine Finehouse
Constantine Finehouse is a Russian-born pianist.Praised by Rhein Main Presse Allgemeine Zeitung for his "interpretations of depth and maturity,” Constantine Finehouse has performed extensively in the US and abroad, including in Trieste, London, St. Petersburg and Odessa...
, the Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
Chamber Music Association's Salotto Cameristico to great acclaim.
Hailed as “…a brilliant cellist…” (M. Rostropovich) and “… a complete artist,
both from the point of view of his unimpeachable technique and musically, with a
cantabile quality and an energy that merge in a harmonious whole...” (Alberto Coda,
Vita Nuova, Catholic Weekly of Trieste, Italy. May 2, 2008). Cellist Sergey Antonov
“… literally spellbound the rapt audience ... with an expressive mastery of
extraordinary maturity, realized through a technical skill exhibited without glitz but
with the naturalness that characterizes a genial interpreter…” (Patrizia Ferialdi, Il
Piccolo, Trieste, Italy. May 30, 2008).
In the summer of 2007, Sergey became one of the youngest cellists to win a Gold
medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
He has circled the globe, performing concerts in Japan, Korea, Bulgaria, Poland,
Russia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, United Arab Emirates and the
US. He performs extensively with the most prominent orchestras, in the most
prestigious halls of Russia, his home country, under the management of the Moscow
Philharmony with whom he holds a five year soloist contract.
In the summer of 2008, Sergey had made his American debut at the Newport
Music Festival followed by solo recitals at Estivales de musique en medoc 2008 in
Bordeaux, France, concerts in Savonlinna, Finland as well as in St. Petersburg, Russia. In July, he performed a live concert on the Boston’s radio show “Classics in the Morning” with Cathy Fuller on WGBH 89.7 FM.
Highlights of his 2008 season included a 10-concert tour of Japan and Korea in
January/February, culminating with performances of the Brahms Double Concerto in
Moscow's Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Other performances included
appearances with the Petrozavodsk Symphony, chamber music collaborations with the
Lyrica Chamber Music Series as their "Young Artist of the Year", and the Chamber
Music Foundation of New England. He gave solo concerts in Trieste, Italy and chamber
music concerts in Dubai, that were followed by concerts at the Great Hall of the
Moscow Conservatory in performance of the Schumann cello concerto with Moscow
Conservatory Symphony Orchestra . After his performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto
with the Moscow Philharmonic in its "Stars of The 21st Century” series, a critic wrote “…[Antonov] is …unique…from a different world...a musician who has his own inner space…a performer, who turns each phrase, every deeply felt sound into an event of his own inner monologue…with such consciously developed nuances, sensitivity, such
concentration in combination with the feeling of drama…” (Marina Borisova, Daily
Telegraph, No.91, Moscow, Russian Federation. May 20, 2008).
This season brought Sergey to Switzerland, Russia, Hungary and back to the U.S.
to perform Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Burlington Chamber Orchestra in
the Lane series in Vermont and Longy Chamber Orchestra in Cambridge, Mass. In
January 2009, Sergey has opened a new music series in Boston called “Great Russian
Years” dedicated to the Great Russian composers. In Spring 2009 he is scheduled to
perform extensively in Russia (January, February, March, April), Spain (March), Italy, Sweden (April), and Serbia (May) with summer engagements in the United States at Newport and New Hampshire music festivals in July.
Sergey Antonov was born in 1983 into a family of cellists. His parents guided his
first years, especially his mother, Maria Zhuravleva, a leading cello pedagogue at the prestigious Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory. His late father, Boris, was a gifted cellist and a member of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Natalia Schakhovskaya and chamber music with Alexander Bonduryansky. Presently Sergey is an Artist Diploma
candidate working with the Grammy nominated cellist Terry King at the Longy School
of Music.
Sergey won top prizes in the Dotzauer and David Popper Competitions, was
named “Favorite Artist in the Cello Division” at the Tchaikovsky Competition by Toyota Corp., as well as a recipient of the “2008 Golden Talent Award “ by the Russian Performing Art Foundation. He has triumphed in many other competitions including first prizes at the Swedish Duo Competition, the International Chamber Music Competition of the Chamber Music Foundation of New England and the National ASTA Competition in Detroit (2007).
A great influence on the cellist was his work with the late Mstislav Rostropovich.
Sergey was a frequent participant in his master classes at the Moscow Conservatory,
which led to the maestro's invitation to join him on tours of Europe and Russia. He has collaborated with such artists as Yuri Bashmet, Yuri Simonov, Justus Franz, Dora
Schwartzberg, Vadim Rudenko, Bernadene Blaha, John Lenehan. Spring 2009 will
bring new collaborations with Maxim Vengerov, David Geringas, Eugene Bushkov and
Mikhail Pletnev.
“There are few musicians this talented, with this esoteric ability, being able to
touch the listener so deeply and put them in another dimension. Sergey Antonov is
playing with intuition, he breathes and lives in music; the instrument is a natural
extension of him.” (Sven Bertilsson, Katrineholm Kuriren, Sweden. July 2008)
“…this musician has a serious artistic future.” (Marina Borisova, Daily Telegraph, No.91, Moscow, Russian Federation. May 20, 2008).