<<  -- 2 --  Gordon Rumson    VIOLIN MASTER

When relations were better established with the West in the late 1950s these musicians astounded audiences, critics and musicians in Europe and America. To this day the Russian musical and pedagogic tradition has enormous influence and prestige. It is from this tradition and these very times that Mark Lubotsky comes. He brings with him a connection with some of the most important musicians and music of the century and not least his own innate talent and artistry. He is also connected to this inner source of music in a way that many Western artists are not.

Of special importance is that Mark Lubotsky and the composer Alfred Schnittke were friends from student days and Lubotsky must be accounted the premier interpreter of the composer's string music. Lubotsky is the dedicatee of the Second Violin concerto and all three violin sonatas.

Lubotsky gave the premières of the First and Second Violin Concertos, the Piano Trio -- performed with Irina Schnittke (piano), the composer's wife and Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) -- and the Third Violin Sonata again with Irina Schnittke. The close connection of composer and violinist is important for the authenticity that this gives to Mark Lubotsky's interpretations.

Lubotsky was also connected with the great Benjamin Britten, as he gave a performance of the Violin Concerto Op 15 at a 1970 Promenade Concert. Britten conducted a recording with Lubotsky and said 'This is the performance I have been waiting for.'

With performances around the world Lubotsky has played with a prominent constellation of orchestras including The Moscow Philharmonic, The English Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The London Symphony Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam) and Detroit Symphony. He has collaborated with Kondrashin, Ormandy, Rostropovich, Haitink and Rozhdestvensky.

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