British Quality
Oxford Philharmonic
Orchestra
Orchestra
Dubai, UAE
Coming straight from the University of Oxford, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra continues its stay at the 2023 InClassica International Music Festival with a concert at the Coca-Cola Arena on Monday 27th February. Performing under the baton of their Founder and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos MBE (UK), the orchestra will be joined by Swiss violinist Andrey Baranov for this concert, the winner of the Benjamin Britten, Henri Marteau and Queen Elisabeth Violin Competitions, and 2018 “Diapason d’Or” award recipient. Known for his uniquely inimitable style, Baranov and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra will be interpreting a number of seminal favourites throughout the evening in a concert which surely is not to be missed.
Described by The London Times at his 1975 piano recital debut as having ‘all the attributes of one of the world’s greatest players’, Papadopoulos has gone on to enjoy an international career both as pianist and conductor.
He has appeared as soloist with and conducted many of the world’s greatest orchestras and worked with a host of eminent musicians including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Janine Jansen, Evgeny Kissin, Maxim Vengerov, Martha Argerich and Lang Lang. His recordings of the Beethoven sonatas have been set on a level with Schnabel, Brendel, Barenboim and Wilhelm Kempff.
A prolific recording artist, Papadopoulos’s catalogue includes his critically acclaimed Beethoven sonatas, performances of Stravinsky’s Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the 24 Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich. He conducts the Oxford Philharmonic in recordings of the Brahms and Sibelius violin concertos with Maxim Vengerov as soloist. As a pianist, he and Vengerov have recorded the complete Brahms violin sonata.
In the summer of 2021, Papadopoulos published his first book – a memoir titled Beyond Dreams and Aspirations: My Journey to Oxford which charts his early career, the creation of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, and his thoughts on musical interpretation.
Papadopoulos is dedicated to nurturing young talent and imparts knowledge to young artists through his vast experience, particularly during the annual Oxford Piano Festival which he founded in 1999. He served on the jury of the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2015, as well as that of the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in 2016.
Marios Papadopoulos holds a doctorate in music and is a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford. In 2010 and was awarded Oxford City’s Certificate of Honour and in 2014 he was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for services to music in Oxford.
One of the most successful musicians of his generation, violinist Andrey Baranov enjoys an exclusive career as an outstanding soloist and a sought after ensemble partner, performing on main stages and festivals in Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia.
He is the winner of the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition of 2012, the Benjamin Britten and Henri Marteau International Violin Competitions, and a prizewinner of more than twenty other international competitions, including Indianapolis, Seoul, Sendai, Liana Issakadze, David Oistrakh, and the Moscow Paganini Competition.
Since making his debut in 2005 at the Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic Grand Hall under Vasily Petrenko and Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Baranov went on to performing with Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchesra, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, MusicAeterna Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic, Royal Phiharmonic London, Camerata Salzburg under the baton of conductors Teodor Currentzis, Vladimir Fedoseev, Michel Tabachnik, Walter Weller, Emmanuel Krivine, Yuri Temirkanov, Kent Nagano, Thomas Sanderling, Michael Sanderling and Alexander Vedernikov, among others.
Andrey is the first violinist and founding member of David Oistrakh String Quartet, an ensemble established in 2012, which rapidly became one of the leading string quartets currently performing. His other chamber music partners include, among others, Martha Argerich, Julian Rachlin, Boris Andrianov, Pierre Amoyal, Eliso Virsaladze, Liana Isakadze, Alexander Buzlov, Daniel Austrich, Andrey Gugnin and Kirill Gerstein.
His album „The Golden Violin“, released on the MUSO Label and featuring romantic violin pieces, has won the prestigious „Diapason d’Or“ award in 2018.
Aged only 23 Andrey was appointed a teaching assistant to Pierre Amoyal at the Conservatoire de Lausanne and has since been in demand as a teacher at many international masterclasses. He has been invited to institutions in Bangkok, Chicago, Riga, Vilnius, Stockholm, Moscow, Manchester and other musical capitals. Since 2020 Mr. Baranov is Professor in “Academia del Ridotto” in Italy and guest Professor of “Piccoli Virtuosi International Music Boarding School” in Switzerland.
Born in St.Petersburg in 1986 into a family of musicians, Andrey began playing the violin at the age of five. He studied at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Saint-Petersburg and Consevatoire de Lausanne. His teachers were Lev Ivaschenko, Vladimir Ovcharek and Pierre Amoyal.
Since 1998, the Oxford Philharmonic has brought exciting and inspirational classical music performances to Oxford and beyond. Praised as ‘remarkable’ by The Spectator, the Orchestra prides itself on creating exceptional and unique musical experiences, bringing new and engaging interpretations to well-loved works in the classical repertoire.
In June 2022 the Oxford Philharmonic made its Carnegie Hall debut, in a concert ‘enmeshed in soul-enriching playing’ (Oberon’s Grove) of ‘world-class quality’ (Blogcritics).
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is dedicated to the highest standards of artistic excellence and musical integrity, and strives to create bold musical statements with every concert it presents. Its continual search for excellence is underpinned by the uncompromising standards of its Founder and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos and maintained by some of the finest musicians, whom ‘Papadopoulos has moulded into a stunning group’ (ConcertoNet).
The Oxford Philharmonic attracts some of the world’s greatest artists to appear in concert, including Maxim Vengerov, Angela Gheorghiu, Sir Antonio Pappano, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, Sir András Schiff, Lang Lang, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Evgeny Kissin and Sir Bryn Terfel.
In addition to its annual concert season in Oxford, touring performances across the UK, family concerts, annual Oxford Piano Festival, and Chamber Music Series, the Orchestra is proud to present a growing list of international engagements including its debut at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen in June 2019, US debut at Carnegie Hall in June 2022, Munich with pianist Martha Argerich in April 2023, and Haydn’s The Creation in September 2023 at St Thomas Church Fifth Avenue New York, joined by the Choir of Merton College.
The Oxford Philharmonic was appointed the Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford in 2002, the first relationship of its kind between an orchestra and a higher education institution.
World-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov became the Oxford Philharmonic’s first ever Artist in Residence following his remarkable debut with the Orchestra in 2013. Over an unprecedented four-season collaboration, Vengerov performed with the Orchestra across the UK, recorded the violin concertos of Brahms and Sibelius as well as Mendelssohn’s Octet. In July 2018 Vengerov appeared at Cheltenham Music Festival and Saffron Hall with the Soloists of the Oxford Philharmonic – a tight-knit group of musicians described by Jessica Duchen as ‘a line-up to match any top-notch international chamber ensemble and probably beat them on their own turf’.
In February 2023 the Orchestra celebrates its 25th anniversary in a special concert at the Barbican with Maxim Vengerov playing Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and a new commission from John Rutter.
In December 2020, the Orchestra recorded a concert in a tribute to all those working on developing a vaccine for Covid-19 at the University of Oxford, including the world premiere of John Rutter’s Joseph’s Carol, commissioned by the Orchestra for the occasion. In addition to Rutter, the Orchestra were joined in their tribute by Sir Bryn Terfel and the Choir of Merton College, Oxford. The film was presented by John Suchet, and also included a special performance by Maxim Vengerov alongside tributes from Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford Louise Richardson, and the Orchestra’s Royal Patron HRH Princess Alexandra.
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has been firmly committed to outreach work from its earliest days, with projects taking music to areas of social and economic disadvantage, including hospitals, special schools, and partnerships with Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council. In December 2021 the Orchestra’s Sub-Principal Violin Jamie Hutchinson was awarded the prestigious Salomon Prize, a joint prize between the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) and Association of British Orchestras (ABO), in recognition of the educational initiatives she spearheaded with the Orchestra’s education team during the pandemic.
As Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford, the Oxford Philharmonic frequently collaborates with the Faculty of Music in educational programmes with various tuition and performance opportunities for talented young musicians, including the Side-by-Side scheme, which provides an opportunity for young musicians to perform within the ranks of a professional orchestra.
The Oxford Philharmonic has appeared on several recordings including works by Nimrod Borenstein for Chandos, cello concertos by Shostakovich and Mats Lidström (Solo Cello of the Oxford Philharmonic), both conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, on BIS Records, A Merton Christmas with the Choir of Merton College, Haydn’s The Creation with the Choir of New College, and the Handel/Mendelssohn Acis and Galatea with Christ Church Cathedral Choir. The Orchestra’s most recent disc The Enlightened Trumpet with soloist Paul Merkelo was released on Sony Classical in September 2019.
A partnership with J & A Beare provides the Orchestra’s distinguished members with opportunities to play on Stradivari instruments, adding a new dimension to the sound of the Orchestra.
The Orchestra and its Music Director were awarded the City of Oxford’s Certificate of Honour in 2013, in recognition of their contribution to education and performance in Oxford.
