Roman Simovic and Yekwon Sunwoo Shine in Stunning Display of Virtuosity at InClassica

InClassica 2021 is the biggest and most ambitious music festival to ever take place in the Middle East, welcoming a staggering 37 world-renowned soloists, 7 celebrated orchestras and 11 leading conductors to Dubai for a 30-day celebration of sublime musicianship, world-class performance and international collaboration. InClassica is pleased to present the biggest names in classical music today, featuring performers from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, for an unrivalled programme of phenomenal concerts taking place at the Dubai Opera and Coca-Cola Arena. The festival features a range of music from distinguished historical European composers, as well as works from the event’s Composer-in-Residence, Alexey Shor. 

Last night at InClassica

The Greatest Virtuosos
Coca-Cola Arena

Alexander Borodin and Sergei Prokofiev – two very different aspects of Russian creativity. Borodin's Symphony No. 2 is a fascinating example of how the composers of the circle The mighty little heap integrated Russian influences and subjects into their works. With its ethereal and lyric passages and beauty of tone, Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 seems as if it had been composed for a gifted and profound musician like Roman Simović. Sergei Prokofiev's Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2, premiered in 1912, is of such virtuosity and difficulty that many pianists refuse to play it in live concerts. Young Korean pianist Yekwon Sunwoo defied the technical difficulties of this intimidating concerto under the baton of Mikhail Kirchoff.

Roman Simovic (violin)
 - How did you enjoy the performance? “The Prokofiev is a tricky piece — it’s very short but it requires a lot of things to work. One of them is acoustics, and that’s tricky to do in a massive place like this, but I think we did a good job. I think the orchestra did a great job, they’ve performed a lot of concerts in the festival [and Middle East Classical Music Academy] and they must be very tired, but they’re still going — they’re real heroes. But yes, the moment I say I’m super satisfied, I never improve, I suppose [laughs]. There are things that one can always do better — and worse! It’s very subjective.”
 - I understand you’ve visited the region before, how are you enjoying this trip? “It’s crazy, I played the piece a few years ago in Kuwait, and I’ve also played in Abu Dhabi before...It’s been very hot so I haven’t been out much, but I’ve seen many friends and many musicians I know from before. It’s amazing what they’ve done here, and the festival is massive, huge, it has so many of the greatest names of classical music and it’s an honour to be part of it.”
 - How do you find shifting between your roles as Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra, and playing as a soloist? “It’s so tricky...it’s an amazing orchestra and I’ve learned a lot from them. We’ve spent hundreds of hours on stage together, but now, finally, I can combine those two, you know. I’ve reduced my work in the orchestra. One has to balance things, otherwise it can become very monotonous — you don’t want that, it’s the worst choice, you shouldn’t do the same thing all your life. So for us as musicians, we have to combine things. Until the end of this year I will only play solo — they’ll miss me and I’ll miss them. But yes, it’s a great orchestra, it’s not a typical ensemble, it’s like Ferrari.” 
 - How has the experience been for you at the festival from an organisational perspective? “Perfect, it’s like coming home. They care too much, I would say [laughs]. I don’t remember having people around with so much care and warmth, asking all the time if everything is okay — it’s more than okay, it’s a fantastic job they’re doing here, the organisation is top level and everything is more than we could wish for. I feel quite spoiled!”

Yekwon Sunwoo (piano)
 - How was the experience of the concert for you? “It was very enjoyable, very intense. We just had one dress rehearsal so it was a very tight schedule but everything worked out great in the end. It was very good with Maestro Kirchhoff, and the orchestra was quite magical. There was a lot of emotion”
 - How did the collaboration with the orchestra and conductor go? “It was a very good collaboration. I’m hoping I’ll have the chance to play with them again. Hopefully next time we’ll have more rehearsal time because with more rehearsal you can discuss even more details and there’s never enough details so I’m curious to see what more we could have done with the piece if we had more time together.” 
 - What did you think of the arena as a venue? “I’m curious how it sounds from the audience actually, because I haven’t had time to attend a concert yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to come tomorrow. From the stage during the rehearsal, it sounded a little bit somewhat dry but then tonight with the audience there it sounded just perfect. I could hear myself and also the orchestra very well and I could feel the resonance. The encore needed good acoustics to work as well, and I think it worked very well.”
 - How are you enjoying your time in Dubai? “Yeah it’s been amazing. I only wish I could play another concert here, but unfortunately I have to leave soon although I hope to be back before long. Everyone I met here, in Dubai, at the festival, all the staff members, everyone was very friendly and very supportive so that really made my stay here in Dubai more memorable” 
 - Was everything ok for you from an organisational perspective? “Everything was fantastic, very, very nice. They’re extremely flexible and we’re very well taken care of. It’s probably the best festival to come to really I think, as an artist”

Mikhail Kirchhoff
 - What are your reflections on this evening’s concert? "Our stay at the InClassica Festival and the Middle East Academy of Classical Music is coming to an end. We have 17 concerts behind us, tomorrow we will play the last one, the 18th. Today we were surprised to meet the wonderful violinist Roman Simovich and the pianist from Korea, Yeokwon Sunwu. The fact that they played with us the most difficult concerts of S. Prokofiev speaks about their high professionalism. The proof of my words was that after the performance, the audience did not let them go for a long time. The Kaliningrad Symphony Orchestra also performed the Second Symphony of A. Borodina, which is also called "Heroic", and I think that here we have fully shown Russian culture with all its originality, epicness, fabulousness."

Quotes From Those in Attendance: 

“It was a great performance and really nice to hear two concertos as part of the performance.” — audience member

“This was the first time in a while that I’d been to a concert and I thoroughly enjoyed it, thanks to everyone.” — audience member

“Great orchestra and great soloists, a lovely evening.” — audience member 

Tonight at InClassica*

Adventures in Music with Maxim Vengerov
Coca-Cola Arena

For this very special concert, world-renowned master of the violin, Maxim Vengerov, joins the Russian National Orchestra for an expansive programme of music traversing rich and colourful soundscapes. Directed by Sergey Smbatyan, these iconic performers will begin the concert with Massenet’s emotionally powerful Meditation from the opera Thaïs, before journeying into the imaginative and reflective sound world of contemporary composer Alexey Shor. The first half of the concert ends with Ravel’s Tzigane, an exotic and virtuosic rhapsody that begins with an extended passage for solo violin before the joyous addition of the orchestra later in the work, before the return of the orchestra after the interval to perform Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No.2 in E Minor. The symphony is characterised by the composer’s masterful orchestration and effortlessly melodic writing, yet demonstrates a startling inventiveness from the work’s dark opening. The second movement displays a direct yet almost playful character, with the third known for its haunting beauty supported by lush string writing and rich textures. After a brief sojourn following its flourishing start, the energetic fourth and final movement ascends inexorably to a thrillingly grand conclusion, leaving audiences in no doubt as to the composer’s masterful skill and boundless creativity that is such a defining feature of his work. 

 - Maxim Vengerov (violin)

 - Sergey Smbatyan

 - Russian National Orchestra

*Full details (including quotes from performers and attendees) will be available tomorrow. For any enquiries regarding tonight’s performance, please contact us.

Organised by the European Foundation for Support of Culture and SAMIT Event Group, the 2021 Edition of the InClassica International Music Festival is currently underway, with daily concerts taking place until the 26th of September. For more information or to book tickets, please visit the official website at inclassica.com.