The World’s Greatest Rhapsodies

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Participant of the Pushkin Card programme

On November 21, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory will host a concert featuring winners of prestigious international competitions: Alexander Ramm (cello), Anastasia Makhamendrikova (piano), and Graf Murzha (violin).

Audiences will hear acclaimed masterpieces of the world classical repertoire — the finest rhapsodies by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ernest Bloch, Maurice Ravel, and Béla Bartók.

The evening will be accompanied by the Moscow Conservatory Concert Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Honored Artist of Russia Anatoly Levin.

Alexander Ramm

Cellist Alexander Ramm is regarded as a brilliant virtuoso and one of Russia’s most promising musicians. “Ramm’s interpretations are distinguished by enormous expressive power. Unlike most young musicians, he plays thoughtfully and is not afraid of reflection, lyricism, or long pauses. He has phenomenal technique,” wrote The Cape Times.

A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, Ramm is a laureate of numerous international competitions, including the Cambridge International Competition in Boston, the Beijing International Music Competition, the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition, and many others.

In April 2013, he won Third Prize at the prestigious Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki, becoming the first Russian musician to receive a prize at the competition. In June 2015, he won Second Prize and a Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Anastasia Makhamendrikova

Pianist Anastasia Makhamendrikova is a student of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music and a pupil of distinguished pianist Vladimir Ovchinnikov. Her name is well known to those who follow emerging talents and the development of piano performance in Russia.

Anastasia has won First Prizes and Grand Prix awards at numerous competitions and festivals, including the Nota Bene International Youth Competition of Classical Solo Performance, Crystal Heart of the World, Musical Ascent, Grand Prize Virtuoso (United Kingdom), Pietro Argent (Italy), and the A.N. Scriabin Competition (France).

She also received Third Prize at the 10th International Tchaikovsky Youth Competition, where she was additionally awarded a special prize — a Yamaha Avant Grand piano.

Anastasia has performed at all major concert venues in Moscow, as well as prestigious halls around the world in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Malta, Italy, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.

Graf Murzha

Graf Murzha is considered one of the world’s most brilliant, gifted, and distinctive violinists. He began studying music at the age of three under the guidance of his father and later entered the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied in Professor Irina Bochkova’s class.

While still a student, he became a prizewinner and winner of two international competitions: the N. Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa (1990) and the Vianna da Motta International Violin Competition in Lisbon (1991).

He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1997 and later completed postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, receiving the highest grade in the academy’s history.

Murzha is a laureate of numerous international competitions, including the 10th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1994), the Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris (1996), the Pablo Sarasate Competition in Pamplona (1997), and the Rodolfo Lipizer Competition in Gorizia, Italy (2000), where he received four special prizes.

In June 2010, Murzha won the Gold Medal and Grand Prix at the prestigious Violin Masters Competition in Monte Carlo.

He collaborates with renowned record labels including Harmonia Mundi, Alpha, Integral, Naxos, Chant du Monde, Classical Records, Fuga Libera, and Melodiya.

Graf Murzha is an Associate Professor at the Moscow Conservatory. He performs on an Alessandro Gagliano violin dating from 1719, made in Naples.

In 2004, Graf Murzha was awarded the honorary title of Honored Artist of Russia.