Viktoria Mullova

Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova, a native of Moscow, studied at the Central Conservatory and the Music School as well as at the Moscow Conservatory with Leonid Kogan and began her international career with triumphs in two important international competitions: She won the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 1980 and the Gold Medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1982. After emigrating to the United States in 1983, she made her debut in rapid succession with such leading international orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, London Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic. But she has also pursued her particular interest in authentic interpretations with numerous ensembles devoted to historically informed practice, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, il Giardino Armonico, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. As a chamber music performer, she has performed since 1994 with her own Mullova Ensemble; she also regularly partners with harpsochordist Ottavio Dantone and pianists Katia Labèque and Kristian Bezuidenhout as well as cellist Pieter Wispelwey. Viktoria Mullovas repertoire also includes modern works, jazz, and crossover projects. In the 2008-09 season she has made appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the Philharmonia Orchestra with Paavo Järvi. In the course of the next two seasons she will present her own concert cycle at the Vienna Konzerthaus. Her recordings have been distinguished with the Diapason d’Or, the Echo Klassik Award, and the German Record Critics’ Prize. Viktoria Mullova plays the Stradivari “Jules Falk” from 1723 as well as a Guadagnini.

LUCERNE FESTIVAL (IMF) debut on August 21, 1986 in Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Claudio Abbado.

April 2008