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By Olga Fyodorova
The year 1986… An international violin competition is drawing to a close
in Tokyo having brought together young performers from the United States,
Europe and, of course, Japan which has recently been taking the music world
by storm. Participants and fans are all waiting for the jury’s verdict.
Finally, the door opens, the competition’s secretary walks out and announces:
“The first prize and gold medal are awarded to Maxim Fedotov, the USSR.
A special prize for the performance of a new competition piece is awarded
to Maxim Fedotov, the USSR. A special Yamaha prize for virtuosity is awarded
to Maxim Fedotov, the USSR. A special prize instituted by music journalists
is awarded to Maxim Fedotov, the USSR. A special public preference prize
is awarded to Maxim Fedotov…”
Maxim Fedotov was born in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, into the family
of a well-known ballet conductor with the local Mariinsky Theater.
He staked on a musical career early on following his father’s advice to
take up the violin – not the easiest instrument to play but a real boon
to those who manage to tame it. Really, good violinists are never
without a job. Even if they fail to make it on their own, they will always
find a place with an orchestra or string ensemble.
At the age of six, Maxim entered the Conservatory music school attending
the class of Professor Boris Sergeyev who was the best violin teacher they
had there. He knew the secret of instilling in his students an overpowering
love for both the instrument and their future profession.
Effusive and lively, Maxim was also very diligent, his professional ambition
apparently gaining the upper hand over the natural boyish desire to have
fun running around with his peers. Before very long his devotion bore fruit
putting him at the top of his class and then the whole school of musically
endowed children…
Finishing the Conservatory school, Maxim continued his education in Moscow
whose school of violin playing was traditionally better than St. Petersburg’s.
Easily passing the entrance exams, he joined the class of Professor Dmitry
Tsyganov and, still a student, started playing in competitions, first winning
a national one, then bowing out with a silver medal at the prestigious
Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and, shortly after, sweeping all the
awards in Tokyo…
Those early victories opened him the way to the world’s best venues, such
as the Barbican Center in London, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Gewandhaus in
Leipzig, Megaro Hall in Athens, Muzikferein in Vienna, Santari Hall in
Tokyo and the biggest concert halls in America, Mexico, Australia and South
Korea…
And he never missed a chance to play in his native Russia, his name regularly
gracing the billboards of the Big Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Society, the Conservatory Big Hall in Moscow and other major venues, playing
with the best symphony orchestras and giving solo concerts.
In 1992 Maxim Fedotov started playing with pianist Galina Petrova who suited
his playing manner like no one else ever did. Quickly appreciating
her amazing ability to follow the tiniest nuances of his playing and tempo
changes, Maxim made her his steady partner during each and every chamber
concert he played…
Before long, this on-stage partnership developed into a hearty affection
and the two tied the knot…
Boasting a vast repertoire of violin and piano classics, Maxim and Galina
are equally good playing highbrow classical numbers and inspired romantic
things while also taking up modern music always adding spice to everything
they play.
Having played the traditional repertoire many times over, they started
thinking about expanding their program. Galina’s mother, Aida Isakova,
a well-known composer and arranger, suggested they take up popular vocal
and orchestral classics and offered to make violin and piano arrangements.
The first such program of all time evergreens was a resounding success
and, buoyed by that triumph, they were now all set to keep working
on throwing in ballet suites by Tchaikovsky and operas by Wagner and Verdi…
The Fedotov-Petrova duo was receiving glowing reviews everywhere hailed
by journalists for their mastery, virtuosity and innovative playing manner.
One critic admired their “tiger-like temperament”…
The successful husband-and-wife team was now a welcome guest at leading
concert venues and foreign embassies taking part in a series of millennium
celebration concerts. In the year 2000 they played in the spectacular Millennium
concert in the Big Hall of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Along with his busy concert schedule, Maxim Fedotov has been teaching at
the Moscow Conservatory since 1987, his pedagogical clout boosted by his
own and his students’ performing success. They were now inviting
Maxim to sit on the juries of prestigious international competitions and
hold master classes in Germany, Spain, Croatia, Japan and Australia.
And recently he was elected member of the Peter the Great’s Arts and Sciences
Academy in St. Petersburg and Vice President of the association of winners
of the Tchaikovsky international competition.
Maxim Fedotov also spends much time in the studio partnering with
leading European recording companies like Art & Electronics, Distronic,
Gold Club, DML-Classics and others.
Maxim Fedotov is at the height of his career and I do hope he will keep
his fans happy for many years to come…
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