Renowned violin virtuoso SERGEJ KRYLOV with LNSO: Esa-Pekka Salonen - Violin Concerto

"One of the five most prominent contemporary violinists in the world" – this is how the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich described violinist Sergej Krylov. On November 7, the renowned violin virtuoso will perform at the National Philharmonic and, together with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, will perform one of the most significant violin concertos of the 21st century – the Violin Concerto by the famous conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, which will be heard in Lithuania for the first time.

Sergej Krylov stands out among other top-tier violinists not only for his exceptional technique and virtuosity, but also for the special beauty of his sound, the intensity of his expression, and his enchanting musicality. He is constantly invited to play at the most famous festivals and concert halls. In recent years, Krylov has played with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä, the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Juraj Valčuha, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste, the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop. The performer has also played with the Royal Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and many other top-tier orchestras. His stage partners also include world-renowned conductors Charles Dutoit, Vasily Petrenko, Simone Young, Tõnu Kaljuste, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Poga, and others.

Krylov's recordings have been released by major classical music labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, and EMI. The performer also recorded Krzysztof Penderecki's Violin Concerto "Metamorphosen" under the baton of the composer himself. This recording became an important part of a project dedicated to recording all of Penderecki's works.

Krylov's activities encompass not only a solo career but also a career as a conductor. Since 2008, he has been the artistic director of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra; he also conducts various European and world orchestras, and his repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary music. He has conducted the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, the Zagreb Philharmonic, Kremerata Baltica, I Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

This time, Krylov will step onto the stage of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic as a soloist and perform a special work – one of the most significant violin concertos of the 21st century, the Grawemeyer Award-winning Violin Concerto by Esa-Pekka Salonen. In the work written in 2009, the traditional concept of a virtuoso concerto merges with contemporary sound aesthetics and an extremely wide emotional scale. "I wanted to cover the widest possible spectrum of expression – from virtuoso and spectacular to aggressive and brutal, from meditative and static to nostalgic and autumnal," Salonen has said about his Concerto.

The creation of the work was influenced by Salonen's collaboration with world-renowned violinist Leila Josefowicz, who will also perform in Vilnius this autumn (at the concert on October 22 at the National Philharmonic) and to whom this Violin Concerto was dedicated. The composer has said that this performer constantly encouraged him to push the boundaries of artistic expression. Therefore, the work became not only a portrait of the violinist but also a personal narrative of Salonen himself – a reflection of his creative and personal experiences.