FOUR STRINGS TO HIS VIOLIN

Many strings to his bow ...
HOWARD SMITH reports on
Marat Bisengaliev's third tour of New Zealand

This year Marat Bisengaliev, one of the world's most brilliant and enterprising virtuoso violinists, returns to New Zealand for his third and most comprehensive tour to date.

During a first visit in 1998 Bisengaliev captivated music lovers with his prodigious artistry and compelling interpretative powers; then in 2004 he gave further recitals and appeared as soloist in the dazzling Khachaturian Concerto (1940) with Wellington Sinfonia.

Critics likened the performance to those by the great, legendary Soviet violinist, Leonid Kogan.

Shortly after the New Zealand tour Bisengaliev and accompanist Alia Alhan performed at the Isaac Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall in a concert dedicated to the victims of the (Boxing Day 2004) Southern Asia Tsunami -- raising money for the International Response Fund of the American Red Cross.

Two years ago Bisengaliev's list of achievements was already breathtaking in its scope.

Yet today as founder and inspirational chairman of the annual Uralsk International Violin Competition he can look back on four years in which it has attracted top adjudicators and young, would-be prodigies from around the world.

Within this same period, in association with the Bisengaliev Foundation, he has formed the West Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra; an ensemble that has already toured in Japan, UK, Italy, India, Poland, Ukraine and Russia while recording to great critical acclaim.

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