Performance by Eloisa-Fleur Thom

Maxim Vengerov is recognised as one of the world's most exciting violinists. He gave his first recital at the age of five and, after studying with Galina Tourchaninova and Professor Zakhar Bron, went on to win First Prize in the Junior Wieniawski Competition at the age of ten. In 1990, aged fifteen, he won the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition, confirming his reputation as a musician of the very highest order. In May 2000, following a ten-year recording contract with Teldec Classics, Maxim Vengerov signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics. His awards and prizes have included Gramophone Young Artist of the Year and Ritmo (Spain) Artist of the Year in 1994; Gramophone Record of the Year and Grammy Award nominations for Classical Album of the Year and Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra in 1996; the Edison Award for Best Concerto Recording in 1997; Gramophone Artist of the Year in 2002; and both an Edison Award and a Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with Orchestra) for his recording of the Britten Violin Concerto and the Walton Viola Concerto. In 1997 Vengerov was the first classical musician to be appointed Envoy for Music by UNICEF. In this role he has met and performed for disadvantaged children in Uganda, Harlem, Thailand, and on both sides of the Kosovan ethnic divide - work that has allowed him both to inspire children worldwide and to inspire others to raise funds for UNICEF-assisted programmes. Another passion of Vengerov's life is his involvement with young people through giving masterclasses. One such event was recorded by Channel Four Television as part of a documentary on Vengerov called 'Playing by Heart', shown at the Cannes Television Festival in 1999. Since June 2005 he has been Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music, London. That same teaching passion runs through his MusicGurus masterclasses, where Vengerov takes you inside the great violin repertoire - from Ravel's Tzigane and Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy to the concertos of Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Britten and Shostakovich - sharing the technique and musicianship behind every phrase. read more