RNO Wind Quintet

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The Ensemble

The Russian National Orchestra Wind Quintet has been described by the press as "youthful and versatile musicians, acclaimed for their innovation and virtuosity." The ensemble received top honors in the May 2005 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, one of the most prestigious competitions in the chamber music world, earning the Quintet the distinction of being the first Russian ensemble ever to win the top prize (the Quintet's founding members were Maxim Rubtsov, Alexey Serov, Andrey Rubtsov, Andrey Shuty and Andrey Snegirev).

Led by RNO Principal Flute Maxim Rubtsov, the RNO Wind Quintet includes the orchestra's Principal Bassoon Alexey Sizov, oboist Vitaly Nazarov, clarinetist Alexey Bogorad and French horn player Alexey Serov, a founding member of the quintet. The RNO Wind Quintet's extensive repertoire includes works for quintet, for ensembles with additional instruments and with dancers, and for wind instruments and orchestra. The ensemble performs works composed by Andrey Rubtsov, the young composer-conductor who was a founding member of RNOWQ.

The RNO Wind Quintet has toured widely since its 2000 debut, with performances in Russia, Spain, Bermuda, Asia and the United States, where it has toured with trombonist and composer Chris Brubeck and the Brubeck Brothers Quartet. Its concerts have been featured on Russian television and radio. The ensemble has premiered numerous works in Russia, including Hindemith's Concerto for Woodwinds, Harp, and Orchestra, Chris Brubeck's Crescent City Suite and Andrey Rubtsov's Three Moods.

Active in youth outreach, the Russian Wind Quintet has performed its special arrangements of Peter and the Wolf and Wolf Tracks in Russia, Bermuda, the USA, the UK and Singapore for delighted audiences of all ages. Narrators for these performances have included actors Diana Douglas and Sean Dill, Russian model Tatiana Sorokko, Singaporean violinist Min Lee, and BBC anchor Seva Novgorodtsev.

In Summer 2005 the Russian Wind Quintet toured the East and West Coasts of the United States.

In March 2009, the ensemble will premiere a new arrangement of Peter and the Wolf, composed for RNOWQ by Andrey Rubtsov. The free concert, at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital at New York Presbyterian, will be narrated by Gregg Whiteside, classical music host on WRTI Philadelphia and previously one of New York City's most popular radio hosts. Wolf expert Maggie Howell of Salem New York Wolf Conservancy will lead the audience question and answer session, following the concert. In conclusion, the musicians will lead the audience in a Wolf Howl.

Also in March 2009, the RNOWQ with soloist Maxim Rubtsov will lead a charity benefit entitled "Moscow Meets Manhattan," at New York's Middle Collegiate Church. The program, curated by contemporary dancer Germaul Barnes and featuring organist Cameron Carpenter, will benefit Classical Action/AIDS and Dancers Responding to AIDS.

The Musicians

Maxim Rubtsov, flute
Alexey Bogorad, clarinet
Vitaly Nazarov, oboe
Alexey Serov, french horn
Alexey Sizov, bassoon

Biographies

Maxim Rubtsov
Flute

Maxim Rubtsov was appointed Principal Flute of the Russian National Orchestra in 2003. Born in 1977 in Bryansk, Russia, he began his studies in music and choreography there and later transferred to Moscow's Gnesin Institute of Music. He graduated with an advanced degree in music from the Moscow Conservatory. Rubtsov joined the flute section of the RNO in 1999 and was appointed Associate Principal the following year, at the time the youngest ever to hold this position in the history of the orchestra.

Rubtsov's solo performances with the Russian National Orchestra have included the Russian premiere of John Corigliano's Pied Piper Fantasy in 2004. Of the performance the composer said, "Maxim Rubtsov is the perfect Pied Piper. He has both the charm and excitement that a great performer must have. His extraordinary musicianship and perfect technique resulted in a magnificent performance." In 2006, he was featured soloist in the RNO's performance at Mondavi Center, Davis, California, which was rebroadcast to a nationwide audience on National Public Radio. In March 2007, in Worcester, MA, he performed Mozart's Flute Concerto as soloist with the RNO. Of that performance, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette wrote, "Rubtsov was absolutely impeccable... A dialogue between the flute and orchestra in the lively final movement came across with an exuberance that at the same time was well-measured." December 2007 marked Rubtsov’s US debut recital presented by Friends of Chamber Music of Miami. The Miami Herald called his playing "virtually faultless" and stated "he possesses a stellar technique."

At the invitation of Michael Tilson Thomas, Rubtsov was in residence at the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for its July 2002 Russian Festival and performed each of the festival’s four musical programs. This residency opened a series of professional exchanges between the RNO and major US orchestras under the Cultural Allies initiative of the Russian Arts Foundation.

In addition to his extensive orchestral work, Maxim Rubtsov regularly performs in chamber ensembles and is the leader and a founding member of the Russian National Orchestra Wind Quintet, which took top honors in the Fifth Annual Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in 2005. Together with the Wind Quintet, Maxim has explored jazz and classical connections with the Brubeck Brothers in the US, and performed in Washington D.C., Spain, Singapore, Malaysia and Bermuda. He has also performed chamber music with pianists Mikhail Pletnev and Francesco Schlimé, among other soloists, in Moscow, London and Spain, and has led string quartet performances in the US and several Russian cities.

In October 2008 Maxim Rubtsov created a series of solo flute performances for children presented by the Bryansk Philharmonic. His recent collaborations with contemporary dance masters have included performances with Denis Boroditsky and Germaul Barnes.



Alexey Bogorad
Clarinet

Born in March 1979 to a family of musicians, Alexey Bogorad started studying music at the age of 3. After graduating from the Central Music School in 1996, he entered the Moscow State Conservatory (under Professor Sokolov).

In 1997, Alexey joined the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, where he was appointed principal clarinet in 2002. Since 2001, Alexey has also been a soloist in the Russian National Orchestra.

Alexey participated in and won a number of National and International clarinet competitions. He continues to perform as both a soloist and a chamber player.



Vitaly Nazarov
Oboe

Born in 1983 to a family of musicians, Vitaly Nazarov graduated with honors from the music high school attached to Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He is presently completing advanced studies at the Conservatory.

Vitaly was a laureate at Moscow's 1998 Oboe and Chamber Ensemble Competition, and at Moscow's 2000 International Festival of Young Soloists. He also received a grant from the 2000 All-Russian Open Competition "New Names." In 2000, he became one of the youngest ever laureates of the All-Russian Competition of Wind and Percussion Instruments (St. Petersburg). In 2005, he was awarded a European Cultural Prize.

Vitaly took part in master classes of Professor A. Ogrintchouk in Ferrara (2006) and Portogruaro (2006), regularly performs as a soloist, and has a broad solo and chamber music repertoire. He is a frequent guest soloist at the Moscow Conservatory and in other concert halls throughout Moscow and Russia. Since 2001, he has been a soloist with the contemporary music ensemble "New Music Studio" (artistic director, Igor Dronov).

Nazarov joined the Russian National Orchestra in 2003. That same year, he founded the chamber ensemble RNO Camerata.



Alexey Serov
Horn

Alexey Serov was born in Moscow in 1983. He completed studies at the Central Music School (a course of studies by associate professor I.B. Lifanovskiy), and entered Moscow State Conservatory in 2000, which he finished with distinction. The same year he also joined the Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre. In 2005, he graduated from Moscow State Conservatory and in 2008 he completed the Conservatory's postgraduate program (a course of studies by associate professor I.V. Makarov).

In 2001, Alexey won first prize in the Fifth International Competition of Young Performing Musicians on Wind and Percussion Instruments (Togliatti). That same year, he won first place in the Open International Competition of Soloists and Ensembles (Moscow). He has since been a featured soloist with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Musica Viva chamber orchestra and others.

Alexey joined the Russian National Orchestra in 2003 and is presently Associate Principal Horn in the orchestra. He is a founding member of the RNO Wind Quintet.

Alexey performed Eshpay's Concerto for French Horn at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, and later recorded it with the TV and Radio Symphony Orchestra (CD released in 2004). In August 2005, he was an honoree of the European Foundation for Culture in Germany, Wiesbaden. In 2008 he taught a master class for students at Penn State University.

Alexey plays in Vladislav Lavrik's Master Brass ensemble as well as in the Russian Wind Quintet. In 2005, at the 5th International Chamber Music Competition in Osaka (Japan), the Russian Wind Quintet (A. Shuty, A. Rubtsov, M. Rubtsov, A. Serov and A. Snegirev) received first prize. The quintet has toured Malaysia, the U.S., Great Britain, Spain, Singapore and Russia.

In addition to ensemble performances, Alexey also performs as a soloist with the Moscow State Symphonic Orchestra and with the chamber orchestra "Musica Viva."



Alexey Sizov
Bassoon

Alexey Sizov began his professional career while still a student at the Moscow Conservatory — first in the orchestra of the Russian Ministry of Culture, and later in the Moscow Symphony. He has been principal bassoon in the Russian National Orchestra since 1995.

Throughout his career, Alexey has collaborated with the most prominent conductors and soloists of our time, including Svetlanov, Spivakov, Bashmet, Nagano, Dutoit, Pletnev, Rostropovich, Jurowski and others. He has also performed with the Moscow Ensemble of Contemporary Music and with "Modern-Ensemble" (Germany). He has won numerous woodwinds competitions, including the International Woodwind Competition held in Caltanissetta, Italy (1992) and the Grand Prixe at the International Moscow Competition of Chamber Ensembles (2001).

Alexey gives master classes in Russia and abroad (California State University, 2008) and regularly records — for both radio and CDs — modern composers' solo pieces for bassoon and for bassoon and strings.