NICOLAS BALDEYROUS
Over the past few years, French clarinettist Nicolas Baldeyrou has naturally established himself as one of the most remarkable soloists of his generation. Carving a unique path in today's musical landscape, this "concert artist armed for any challenge" (Diapason) demonstrates a mastery and versatility that transcends eras and styles, navigating with ease through all repertoires, on both historical and modern instruments.
Winning prestigious competitions like the Munich ARD Competition in Munich (Germany), the Dos Hermanas Competition in Sevilla (Spain), and finally, the ICA Young Artist Competition (United States) opened to Nicolas the doors of the most prestigious concert halls all over the world - Carnegie Hall in New York, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Philharmonie de Paris, Salzburg Mozarteum, Wiener Konzerthaus, Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
As a soloist he is regularly invited to perform with renown orchestras: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Czech Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia and Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Starting his career at a very young age he had the chance to work with the legendary conductors – Carlo-Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur. Nowadays, Nicolas performs with Myung-Whun Chung, Alain Altinoglu, Pablo Heras Casado, Mikko Franck, Fabien Gabel.
Today Nicolas is one of the most demanded partners for chamber music – he shared the stage with such musicians as the pianists Bertrand Chamayou, Nikolai Lugansky; violinists Renaud Capuçon, Svetlin Roussev; violist Antoine Tamestit; Modigliani, Ébène, and Chiaroscuro quartets.
His encounter with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Sir Roger Norrington was to prove a shock to his musical life and naturally led him to take an interest in historical instruments and to constantly seek greater authenticity in his historically informed interpretations. Nicolas has recently appeared as soloist on period instruments with the Musiciens du Louvre-Marc Minkowski and the Concert de la Loge conducted by Julien Chauvin. has also signed a five-year contract with Alpha Classics to record Mozart's complete music for clarinet, including concertante and chamber music using only historical instruments.
Recent performances of Nicolas include his collaboration with Mannheim National Theatre Orchestra with Benjamin Reiners, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Thomas Rösner, the ADDA Simfònica and Rune Bergmann at the Auditorio de la Diputación de Alicante. He was also invited to the prestigious festivals: Festival Ravel in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Colmar International Festival, Les coups de Cœur in Château de Chantilly where he shared the stage with Martha Argerich, Gérard Caussé, Edgard Moreau.
His wide-ranging and eclectic discography covers all aspects of the clarinet repertoire – from the early works on period instruments till the most radical contemporary repertoire. Every of his albums was highly acclaimed and won all major French awards.
Nicolas Baldeyrou graduated from the CNSMD of Paris (class of Michel Arrignon, Jérôme Julien-Laferrière and Jean-Noël Crocq for bass clarinet). He has held the clarinet chair at the CNSM in Lyon since 2007 and has been visiting professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland since 2019. He is also heavily involved in research and development for the famous wind instrument manufacturer Buffet Crampon, of which he has been an ambassador and tester since 2006. Nicolas is also a Vandoren artist.
More details: https://www.nicolasbaldeyrou.com/
KSENIIA VOKHMIANINA
Hailed as a performer with an “artistry of the highest order” by Straits Times and “maturity of musicianship and virtuosity” by Pianomania, multi-award-winning Ukrainian pianist Kseniia Vokhmianina has gained critical and audience attention as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Kseniia’s latest performances brought her to prominent international venues including Seoul Arts Centre (South
Korea), the Auditorium Olivier Messiaen (France), Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie (Belgium), Mendelssohn-Haus Leipzig and Schumannhaus Bonn (Germany), Yunduan-Tianfu Music Hall (China), Guarnerius Concert Hall (Serbia), Österreichisches Kulturforum and Notre-Dame de Sion Istanbul (Turkey). Ms Vokhmianina opened the 27th edition of the Singapore International Piano Festival
with her solo recital “…in a grand manner of pianism in the tradition of her birthplace’s classical greats, such as Shura Cherkassky, Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter…” Being a versatile collaborative pianist, Kseniia regularly travels on tours with international instrumental and vocal artists. Her dynamic collaboration with Roberto Álvarez has spanned a diverse repertoire, leading to a critically acclaimed CD album, The Whirlwind Within.
Besides her international performing career, Kseniia is a dedicated music educator, working for several years at the Music Faculty at School of The Arts (SOTA) and recently joining Madison Academy of Music.
More details: www.kseniiavokhmianina.com
