Gramophone Magazine – “Timbrally, the performances are ravishing. Bedenko’s tone is the most luxurious velvet” Award-winning Ukrainian-born American clarinetist Alexander Bedenko has appeared in recital at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Steinway Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and UNESCO in Paris.
A graduate of the prestigious The Curtis Institute of Music, Alexander Bedenko has collaborated with such artists as Vladimir Spivakov, Christoph Eschenbach, Nikolai Lugansky, Kirill Gernstein, Daniel Hope, Nabuko Imai, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Gautier Capucon and with the Borodin, Jerusalem, Alma, Ariel, Endellion, Zemlinsky and Orion string quartets.
His solo appearances include the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestras of Uzbekistan and Ukraine, the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic, the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, and chamber music recitals at the Colmar, Verbier, Spoleto, Lerici, Malta, Miami, Mozaic, and Schubertiade festivals.
In 2019, Alexander Bedenko released his acclaimed debut album on Orchid Classics with Kyril Zlotnikov and Itamar Golan, as well as the album “Finding Home” on Sony Classics in March 2022.
In 2021, Muzyka Publishing worldwide released Alexander Bedenko’s transcriptions of Tchaikovsky’s album of pieces for clarinet and piano.
A former principal clarinetist of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Alexander Bedenko was invited by Riccardo Muti as guest principal clarinetist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s European tour and has performed as guest principal clarinetist with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Philadelphia Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Franz Welser-Möst.
Alexander Bedenko is a woodwind artist for Selmer Paris and D’Addario.
Alberto Bologni, violin, who graduated from the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence with highest honors and later obtained a soloist diploma from the Rotterdam Conservatory, owes his training to the contribution of some of Europe’s most celebrated violin traditions: Sandro Materassi served as a liaison with the Venetian school of Giulio Pasquali and the German-Hungarian school of Jeno Hubay, while Stephan Gheorghiu and Ilya Grubert passed on to him the teachings of the Russian-Soviet school of Oistrack and Kogan.
One of the most versatile violinists of his generation, Alberto Bologni in fact tackles a solo and chamber repertoire that places rarities and rediscoveries alongside the best-known masterpieces as well as a large number of compositions by contemporary composers, often dedicated to him or commissioned by him, performing regularly in major Italian and European centers. He holds the chair of violin at the Luigi Boccherini Conservatory of Lucca. He plays a Santo Serafino ex Cesare Ferraresi from 1734.
Massimo Spada, born in 1986 in Rome, took up the study of piano at the age of six, and graduated with highest honors in 2005, under the guidance of Maestro Pieralberto Biondi, from the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. He then continued his studies at the prestigious Imola Piano Academy “Incontri con il maestro,” under M° Boris Petrushansky and M° Riccardo Risaliti, and later at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, under M° Benedetto Lupo and M° Stefano Fiuzzi. He has participated in various international master classes withLazar Berman, Elissò Virsaladze, Joaquin Soriano and Andrea Lucchesini. In 2009 he graduated with honors in music history from Sapienza University. He regularly performs both in solo recitals, where his repertoire choices, in addition to embracing classics, often go in search of the works of lesser-known or frequented composers such as Albéniz, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Catoire, Medtner, Villa-Lobos or Barber, and in chamber ensembles such as duo and trio. Musicians he has collaborated with include Beatrice Rana, Andrea Obiso, Andrea Oliva, Roberto González-Monjas, David and Diego Romano. His intense concert activity has led him to perform in many festivals abroad and throughout Italy, such as in Rome, at the Parco della Musica, Turin, within the MiTo Festival, in Assisi on the occasion of the “International Festivals for Peace,” within the “Sagra Malatestiana” in Rimini, and in other prestigious musical festivals in Venice, Padua, Bologna, Cuneo, Matera, La Spezia, Sulmona, Catania, Syracuse, Campobasso, and Aosta. In 2008 he was one of the pianists chosen by the Imola Academy to perform the complete sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven, in the piano marathon “32 Pianists for 32 Sonatas,” in Bologna and Imola. He also routinely works in the field of promoting and disseminating contemporary music, often offering pieces dedicated to him. Since 2011 he has been the pianist of the Ensemble Novecento, directed by Maestro Carlo Rizzari, with whom he has dedicated himself to promoting new music by emerging composers. He was the overall winner in numerous competitions, such as the “J. S. Bach” competition in Sestri Levante, the “Rospigliosi” competition in Lamporecchio, and the “Sergio Cafaro Prize.” He carries out an intense teaching activity: he is a piano teacher at the Morlacchi Conservatory in Perugia, and since 2020 he has been teaching in Rome at Avos Project, a school of which he is one of the founders and artistic directors.
One of the most talented and recognized Russian cellists of our times, Alexey Zhilin performs regularly not only as acclaimed Soloist in Russia, Japan, Korea and Europe, but also as member of David Oistrakh Quartet and Principal First Solo Cello of MusicAeterna ensemble under the baton of Teodor Currentzis. Born 1987 in Leningrad, at the age of 11, Alexey held the first victory on the International Music Competition in Moscow. Mr. Zhilin is laureate of many prestigious international competitions such as International Youth Tchaikovsky Competition in Japan, International Isang Yun Competition (South Korea), International Competition Dr. Luis Sigall (Chili) , International Elsky Competition in Minsk (Belarus), among others. The final victory at the international Brahms Competition in Austria (2018) was greatly acclaimed by audience and press. Zhilin’s highlights performances include debuts as soloist with Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra Novaya Rossiya (art. dir. Yury Bashmet), Russian Philharmonic. Mr. Zhilin played under the baton of renowned conductors including Kent Nagano, Teodor Currentzis, Dimitris Botinis etc. Furthermore, Alexey is an avid chamber musician and performs regularly with Eliso Virsaladze, Denis Matsuev, Nikita Boriso- Glebsky, Liana Isakadze, Eduard Bruner, Boris Brovtsyn. He is invited regularly to the main Festivals in Europe and renowned concert halls such as Paris Philharmonie, Flagey Hall in Brussels , Wigmore Hall in London, Pierre Boulez Hall in Berlin, Auditori in Barcelona among others. Since 2013 Alexey Zhilin teaches as Cello Professor at the State Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
