Childhood Memories
Oxford Philharmonic
Orchestra
Orchestra
Dubai, UAE
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra mark the final night of their stay at the 2023 InClassica International Music Festival with a concert at the Coca-Cola Arena on Friday 3rd March. Rounding off their debut appearance, both at InClassica and in Dubai, the orchestra will be joined by Founder and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos MBE (UK), as well as Ukrainian-Austrian pianist Anna Ulaieva, the First Prize winner at the 2018 Malta International Piano Competition, among various other prizes at multiple international competitions. Widely in demand as a soloist, pedagogue and jury member, Ulaieva will be performing in Dubai for the first time during this concert, giving audiences in the Middle East the perfect opportunity to experience a talent that has lit up halls and venues all across Europe.
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.
The Ukrainian-Austrian pianist Anna Ulaieva began her musical studies at the age of 5, receiving instrumental lessons on both violin and piano.
After having won a number competition prizes by the age of 11 for highly gifted children on both instruments, Anna chose the piano as her main instrument and started taking piano lessons with Prof. Nina Naiditsch at the "M.V. Lysenko" high school for gifted children in Kiev (Ukraine).
She then continued her piano studies at the "Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music" in Kiev with Yuri Kot and graduated with distinction. As a laureate of the "New Names of Ukraine" programme, her exceptional talent was honoured by a scholarship awarded by the President of Ukraine.
From 2009 she completed her piano studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Austria) with Prof. Milana Chernyavska and graduated in 2017 with excellent results.
Anna Ulaieva has won prizes at numerous renowned international competitions. Her greatest success to date is the 1st prize at the "Malta International Piano Competition 2018". More than 720 pianists from more than 70 nations competed in the largest competition series in the world to win the largest prize money in competition history (1st prize 100,000€). Another milestone in her remarkable career was to receive a Blüthner Grand Piano as 1st prize after winning the Blüthner Golden Tone Award 2013.
Further competition successes include A. Scriabin Piano Competition Grosseto (2nd prize, 2018), German Piano Open Berlin (1st prize, 2017), Brahms Klavierwettbewerb Detmold (1st prize, 2017), Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial Competition (2nd prize, 2017), Blüthner Golden Tone Award, (1st Prize, 2013), Josef Dichler - Piano Competition (1st Prize 2011), Jeune Talents (1st Prize 2011) as well as Martha Debelli Competition in the categories piano solo and chamber music piano quartet in Graz (1st Prize 2009,2011,2013).
Now she is herself a sought after jury member at numerous international music competitions. Most recently at competitions in Serbia and Ukraine.
Anna Ulaieva made her solo debut in Kiev in 2001 with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. Since then she has performed solo recitals and chamber and orchestra concerts all over the world and is a frequent guest at various festivals. She regularly performs with renowned orchestras such as the Chamber Orchestra of Bavarian Radio, Kiev Virtuosi Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, and such conductors as Dmitry Jablonski and Christian Jarvi.
Her live CD recording of Tchaikovsky’s Seasons and Prokofiev’s sonatas confirms her artistic and pianistic abilities.
Anna Ulaieva is a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, where she leads the highly gifted and preparation piano class. She also teaches at master classes in Austria, Portugal and Ukraine.
A special concern of Anna’s is the advancement of highly gifted children and juveniles. In order to address this, she founded the master class "Gifted in Music" Kapfenberg (www.giftedinmusic.at) and acts as its artistic director.
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.
