Maxim Vengerov

Child prodigy turned violin star Maxim Vengerov (born in Siberia on August 20, 1974) made his debut under the auspices of Professor Zakhar Bron in Russia, then in London and Lübeck. A pupil of the Royal Academy of Music in London, he set the classical music scene alight with high-profile performances in Moscow, New York, London and Paris. In 1995, his recordings of the Shostakovich and Prokofiev concertos with Mstislav Rostropovich and the Tchaikovsky concerto with Claudio Abbado earned him two Gramophone Awards. The first musician to be appointed Unicef ambassador, the gifted violinist recorded extensively until 2009, when he turned to the artistic direction of the Gstaad Festival and the Yehudi Menuhin Academy. In 2013, he released the Bach - Beethoven recital, recorded at London's Wigmore Hall. His instrument of choice is a 1727 Stradivarius "Kreutzer", which he acquired.