Andrey Zubenko was born in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region in 2000. He started to learn music at the Children's School of Music No. 1 named after Rimsky-Korsakov in Nizhny Tagil with tutor Lilia Kozlova. He then graduated from the Ural Special Music School with an Honored Worker of Culture Irina Mezrina. Since 2019, he is pursuing his studies at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservaroty in the class of People's Artist of Russia, Professor Vladimir Ivanov. In 2015, he won the VII Demidov International Youth Violin Competition in Yekaterinburg. In 2017 he won twice (Gold Medal) the XVI Youth Delphic Games of Russia and the XII Youth Delphic Games of the CIS countries in Yekaterinburg. He also won in the All-Russian Competition "Young Talents of Russia 2013". Vladislav has a busy concert schedule. He has performed at venues such as the Moscow Philharmonic, as well Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic, Sverdlovsk Philharmonic, Tver Philharmonic, and Tula Philharmonic, the Great Hall, the Small Hall, and the Rachmaninoff Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Svetlanovsky Hall and the Chamber Hall of the Moscow International House of Music, the Zaryadye Chamber Hall, the Beloselsky Belozersky Palace, and the Polytechnic University of St. Petersburg. He made it to the finals of The River of Talents 2021. He is involved in programs of the Saint Petersburg Music House since 2016.

Andrey Zubenko: I should probably start with the fact that I was born in a small town in the Sverdlovsk region - Nizhny Tagil. Although there were not generations of professional musicians in my family, my mother had a lifelong attraction to singing - she sang in a choir, loved to listen to various vocal compositions and had an absolute ear for it. I think I got my musician's traits and talent from her. From an early age my father instilled in me a love for all kinds of art - he read me various books, familiarized me with great masterpieces of world famous artists, took me to concerts at the Philharmonic, left me in the evening to fall asleep to the music of Beethoven, Schumann and Chopin on a tape recorder. All these things contributed to me telling my parents when I reached the age of 6 that I wanted to go to music school and commit my life to music. As to my choice of musical instrument, that's a separate story. At music school, they asked me which instrument I would like to use to begin my acquaintance with the world of music. I instantly responded that it was the violin, because from an early age I had been enthralled by the distinctive appearance of that instrument and its striking, inimitable voice, which constantly sounded in my head after listening to the records my father played for me. So I am very grateful to my parents, because I found myself in the wonderful world of music thanks to them. I won't hide it, my studies were quite easy for me as a child, so I wanted to go out and relax more instead. But I am grateful to this period of my life I met two most important people in my musical life - my first violin teacher at the music school, Liliya Kozlova, and my teacher in the Urals ten-year school Irina Mezrina, who I met few years later, and who fostered my love of work and lessons since my early childhood, shared their experience and celebrated my first achievments.
 
SPDM: How much time do you actually practice now?
Andrey Zubenko: Now that I study at the conservatory and play concerts at the same time, violin practice takes up many hours each day, but I always try to squeeze in time for hobbies and leisure activities, socializing with friends, visiting theaters and concert venues - basically, I try to expand my horizons as much as possible.
 
SPDM: What kind of music starts your day?
Andrey Zubenko: I believe that Mozart and Beethoven are ideal music to start your day - it always has a strong will to motivate you for the new day, light emotions prevail, and it gives a cheerful charge for the upcoming work and socializing with people.
 
SPDM: How long do you own the instrument you play?
Andrey Zubenko: In May 2022, the St. Petersburg Music House gave me the tremendous opportunity to play a unique violin made by the famous violin maker Giuseppe filius Andrea Guarneri back in 1719. I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to Sergei Roldugin for giving me the privilege of playing this instrument. This violin has an absolutely unique tone, which unfolds in its own way in every piece. For example, in Johannes Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 3, it gives a unique and deep bass sound to the G string, and in the third movement of his Violin Concerto it gives a clear and beading sound to every virtuoso passage. It feels very performer-friendly on the menzure and looks elegant and graceful in appearance. I hope I will have a chance to discover new sides and possibilities with this violin even further, as well as to use it to find my unique interpretation in all the pieces of music I play.
 
SPDM: The violin is fondly referred to as an instrument of intellectuals (Einstein played a role here, not least). How often have you encountered fellow violinists who, in addition to their musical talent, possess some other extraordinary abilities? Could you be one of them?
Andrey Zubenko: I absolutely agree with the view of the violin as an instrument of intellectuals. It must also be true for me, as from my earliest childhood I combined musical school with professional chess studies - every day I spent time learning openings and endgames, constantly took part in all kinds of tournaments and played for my school, and at the age of 11 I even received my first qualification as an adult chess player. Unfortunately, it was impossible to continue my chess career later on, as my professional violin occupation was consuming more and more of my time, but even now, when I study at the Conservatory, I already play chess with my violinist colleagues with great pleasure as a lover of this fascinating game. Chess helped me to build skills that were extremely helpful in music - a good memory when learning a particular piece of music, tactical calculation of further action, diligence when practicing the violin and good nervous stamina when going on stage. I really believe that every musician should take the time to develop intellectually, because the word "musician" is not just limited to lessons and performances on stage. As a musician, you must be well-rounded, inquisitive, and erudite in many different areas of life. Look at Yuri Yankelevich, he is a striking example of what I am talking about: a brilliant teacher, professor, who, in addition, was known for his polymathic knowledge, and always fostered it in his students.
 
SPDM: Your programs at the St. Petersburg Music House include one of Mozart's violin concertos. He wrote them when he was 19 years old - Mozart was about the same age as you are now, or a little younger. Listening to and playing his music, can you guess what thoughts and feelings a young man of his time might have had?
Andrey Zubenko: Yes, Mozart did indeed write all of his five violin concertos in just six months, when he was not yet 20 years old. These concertos are very close to me, they are dominated by the mood of youthful carelessness and light-hearted joy of life, and moments of minor contemplation are immediately replaced by major exhilaration. My favorite concerto is his Concerto No. 4. When it is performed, I think of the theatrical action of several characters - mischievous and cheerful, sometimes lyrical, as, for example, in the second movement, and yet united by one image of joy and celebration of life.
 
SPDM: You've been involved with the St. Petersburg Music House since you were sixteen years old. What events over the years have been of particular significance to you?
Andrey Zubenko: While I was still a student at the Urals ten-year school, I was lucky enough to participate in the Embassy of Musical Mastery by the St. Petersburg Music House and gain valuable insights at master classes given by distinguished professors from Moscow and Saint Petersburg. I think that this is a really important initiative to encourage musical art in Russia, because the development of musical education in the regions is very important - there are talented children anywhere in our homeland, and this initiative helps reveal them and provide essential experiences so they can grow and develop. After I graduated from the Urals ten-year school of music and moved to Moscow, I decided to take part in a program offered by the St. Petersburg Music House, River of Talents, where I passed the selection stage and was given the chance first to practice with Mikhail Gantvarg and then to play a concert with an orchestra in St. Petersburg. This is a unique program that gives young musicians a chance not only to meet and study with renowned professors, but also to play their favorite concerto with orchestra. This project became a huge incentive for me, helped me believe in myself and my potential. Throughout my years with the Saint Petersburg Music House I have played quite a few chamber music concertos as well as violin and orchestra concertos, but there is no one in particular that I can think of, for each concert is very special to me and in each one I try to put a piece of my feelings, emotions and experiences into it.
 
SPDM: Do you find projects that synthesize different kinds and genres of art interesting? Which one would you like to take part in, or have you already taken part in one?
Andrey Zubenko: Oh yes, I believe that it's always interesting, and sometimes it can be really huge, whenever different arts come together. Right now I am playing in a project with students and graduates of the Moscow Conservatory, which is a synthesis of various arts, such as painting, music, theater, literature, and even choreography. Before entering the concert hall you can see an exhibition of paintings of the time, which is the topic of the recital, and at the concert itself the music is accompanied by some theatrical production or literary work. I find this type of projects to be of great interest to the public, because all types of art are brought together by one idea - manifestation by the author and an attempt to communicate common thoughts, feelings and ideas to everyone, and when several types of art come together and interact with one another, it brings together the efforts of all the greatest masters of each art form.
 
SPDM: Music, like no other art, awakens noble feelings in man, Tchaikovsky believed. What would be your personal playlist of music that evokes such feelings?
Andrey Zubenko: It's quite hard to single out a few of my favorites among the enormous amount of music that evokes noble feelings, because the vast selection simply scatters one's eyes. Often it depends a lot on my mood and the feelings I have at one moment or another in life. My lyrical feelings are much influenced by Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 3 and Franck's Violin Sonata; Prokofiev's music helps me a lot when I am reflecting on things in my life; I often listen to Mendelssohn and Mozart in my happy moments. The diversity of images is what I see as the beauty of music.
 
Interview by Tatiana Mikhailova

https://www.spdm.ru/solist-fevralya-2023-andrey-zubenkoIN RUSSIAN