Lydia Mordkovitch
was born in Russia and studied at the Odessa Conservatory and at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she was assistant to David Oistrakh. She emigrated to Israel in 1974 and has lived in Britain since 1980. She appears regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé, the BBC Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra under such conductors as Vassily Sinaisky, Neeme Järvi and Richard Hickox. An impressive discography of over forty-five recordings reflects Lydia Mordkovitch’s very wide repertoire, encompassing music from the complete solo works for violin by Bach to the concertos of Shostakovich, her recording of which for Chandos won a Gramophone Award and a Diapason d’Or. Her work has twice been nominated for a Gramophone Award, has received seven Critic’s Choices, and recent recordings have won major nominations or prizes across Europe.

BBC Philharmonic
Based in Manchester, the BBC Philharmonic has established an international reputation, having travelled extensively to the USA, Far East, South America and all over Europe. Its Principal Conductor is Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Edward Downes is Conductor Emeritus and Vassily Sinaisky (Music Director of the Moscow Philharmonic) is Principal Guest Conductor.

The Orchestra records over one hundred programmes annually for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Television both in the studio and in public concerts all over Britain. Under its exclusive Chandos contract the BBC Philharmonic displays an extensive repertoire featuring artists such as Rozhdestvensky, Bamert and Hickox as well as its own conductors.

Vassily Sinaisky
is one of the most individual and charismatic Russian conductors of his generation. Trained by Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatoire, in 1973 he won the Gold Medal at the Karajan Competition in Berlin and now enjoys a thriving career in Europe, Japan and America. He is Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic with whom he has toured Europe and North America, and is Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic. Vassily Sinaisky has been Principal Conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic since 1993 and has appeared with many other orchestras including the Leningrad Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, and the Detroit, Atlanta, San Diego, Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.