Maxim Vengerov
Instagram: @maxim.vengerov
Universally hailed as one of the world’s finest musicians, and often referred to as the greatest living string player in the world, Grammy Award winner Maxim Vengerov is one of the most in-demand soloists today. In the last few seasons, Maxim Vengerov has performed as soloist and/or conductor with all major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, and has toured extensively around the world in Recital. Highlights of 2018/19 saw Maxim opening the season of the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala with Maestro Chailly, a Residence with Monte Carlo Philharmonic and the Philharmonie in Paris. In January 2020, Maxim became Classic FM’s first solo Artist in Residence, and he joined IDAGIO, the world’s leading classical music streaming service to become their Ambassador and to exclusively release his newest recordings.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?: Harmony at home and harmony at work.
Which living person do you most admire?: The Dalai Lama
What is your greatest extravagance?: Going to the moon. Space travel.
What is your current state of mind?: Harmonious, fulfilled and challenged.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?: The one that is meant and not done. Things done unconditionally.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?: When I was 5... (which is when I started playing).
Which talent would you most like to have?: Composing. Or a good political sense.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?: Having more patience.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?: Patience
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?: I would come back as myself and finish off what I started.
Where would you most like to live?: New York
What is your most treasured possession?: My Stradivarius.
What is your favorite occupation?: Playing with my kids.
What is your most marked characteristic?: Being a “do-er”
What do you most value in your friends?: Loyalty
Who are your favorite writers?: Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Tolstoy. I like the Russian classics.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?: Mozart and Shostakovich. If I had to really pick one, I would pick Leonardo da Vinci.
What is it that you most dislike?: Indifference
What is your greatest regret?: That I haven’t yet become a composer.
What is your motto?: Enjoy every minute. Enjoy the struggles. Appreciate it all.