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Born in Russia in 1977, Sergei Nakariakov first studied the piano and was obliged to give up playing it after a car accident in 1986. The nine-year-old youth chose to concentrate on playing the trumpet instead. He began studying it with his own father, from whom he acquired his remarkable technique and exceptional feel for music. His debut performance with an orchestra given at the age of only 10 was reported in the press all around Russia as “the arrival of a new big star”, and led him into the spotlight. He was soon invited to appear in Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands and New York. Wherever he performed, he astonished audiences with the exceptional virtuosity of his trumpet performances.
In 1991, Nakariakov moved with his family to Israel and made his debut at the Salzburg Festival the same year. The following year he performed for the first time at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and was awarded the Prix Davidoff. Since then he has appeared in many of the world's leading music halls and festivals.
He has performed Shostakovich's Concerto for Trumpet and Piano with the world’s renowned artists such as Evgeny Kissin in Moscow and Finland, Tatyana Nikolaieva at the Salzburg Festival in 1991, Martha Argerich and the Lyon Opera Orchestra under Kent Nagano. Nakariakov is also very popular and has performed regularly in Japan. Recital venues are always filled with excited ardent fans, more than 800 of them rush to the autograph session after his recitals. In 1998, he recorded the theme music “Urara in the Sky” for a NHK’s popular TV serial in the morning “Ten-Urara”, followed by his screen debut in the Japanese film “Taiga no Itteki” in September 2001, for which he also played the theme music.
His recording career started in 1992 when he signed an exclusive contract with Teldec Classics International and made his CD debut at the age of 15. His recordings for Teldec include virtuoso trumpet works by Bizet, Sarasate, Tchaikovsky, Paganini and others; trumpet concertos by Haydn, Hummel, Jolivet and Tomasi; as well as three recitals and Baroque concertos by Bach, Marcello, Neruda, Telemann and Vivaldi. All these CDs became worldwide hits. He also astounded music fans around the world with his outstanding performing technique in the CD “No Limit” recorded with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra. In 2004, “J-Themes”, a CD featuring Japanese TV/film music was released by avex-CLASSICS.
Nakariakov has frequently visited Japan and given performances in Japan, including the concerts with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Saulus Sondeckis) and with La Garde Republicaine Band in 2001, participation in “The Argerich's Meeting Point in Beppu” in 2002 and 2008, and the world premiere of contemporary musical works composed specifically for Nakariakov as soloist by Jorg Widmann. He has been exploring the other possibilities of trumpet.
Nakariakov now lives in Paris, France. He plays on “Antoine Courtois” trumpets, including the 4-valved “Nakariakov Model” flugelhorn specially made for him.
Info
Official Sergei Nakariakov website
Solo transcriptions
1. J. Haydn - Cello Concert No.1
2. Tchaikovsky - Andante Cantabile Op.11
4. Mozart - Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra in B flat major K.191
6. Arban - "Variations on Theme from Bellini's Norma"
11. Paganini - Moto Perpetuo op. 11
4. Ravel - "Pavane pour une Infante defunte"
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Alison Balsom has cemented an international reputation as one of classical music's great ambassadors. She was named Best Young British Performer at the 2006 Classical BRITs and was honoured with the Classic FM Listener's Award at the September 2006 Gramophone Awards. In 2007 the Echo Klassik Awards hailed her "Rising Artist of the Year" and in 2009 she became the first ever Briton to be crowned "Female Artist of the Year" at the Classical BRITs.
Whilst represented by the Young Concert Artists Trust, Alison caught the ear of EMI Classics, with whom she records exclusively. Her internationally celebrated Bach Trumpet and Organ disc of 2005 was quickly followed by the Caprice album which won her further critical acclaim. Alison's most recent recording which includes the gems of the trumpet repertoire, the Haydn and Hummel's Trumpet Concertos was named among the 24 records of 2008 by the New York Times.
Under the auspices of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme, Alison performed at the Wigmore Hall and with all of the BBC orchestras. Recent debuts included appearances with the Los Angeles, Japan and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, the San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre de Paris and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.
09/10 highlights include performances and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Queensland and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras as well as tours with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Dresdner Kapellsolisten and Alison's own Balsom Ensemble. Alison headlined classical music's most celebrated concert - The Last Night of the Proms in September 2009 which reached its biggest ever global audience of an estimated 150 million.
In 2009 Alison became an ambassador for the international charity War Child and in November 2009 she will curate a ground breaking concert at London's Bloomsbury Ballroom bringing together some of the world's most celebrated artists from both classical and popular culture to raise funding and awareness for the charity.
Alison studied trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music, the Paris Conservatoire, and with Hĺkan Hardenberger. She was previously a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Britain. Alison was a concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musicians Competition in 1998 and received the Feeling Musique Prize for quality of sound in the 4th Maurice André International Trumpet Competition. She is Visiting Professor of Trumpet to the Guildhall School of Music. Alison performs a wide range of recital and concerto repertoire, from Albinoni to Zimmermann and performs on both modern and baroque trumpets.
Info
Official Alison Balsom website
Solo transcriptions
1. Concerto in D major after Vivaldi, BWV 972
2. Suite for Cello solo no 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: Sarabande
3. Suite for Cello solo no 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: Gigue
4. Aria Variata in a, BWV 989 "In the Italian Style"
5. Partita for Violin solo no 3 in D major, BWV 1006, Gigue
6. Trio Sonata for Organ no 5 in C major, BWV 529
7. Concerto in D minor after Alessandro Marcello, BWV 974
9. Concerto for Oboe d'Amore in A major, BWV 1055
10. Suite for Orchestra no 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: Badinerie
11. Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Agnus Dei
15. Violin Concerto No.1 - Andante
Erik Veldkamp