Unique Violinist Grigory Sedukh to Perform Jacob’s Dream Concerto in Kazan at “Concordia” 15th International Contemporary Music Festival Dedicated to Sofia Gubaidulina
On December 3, Baruch Berliner’s concerto Jacob’s Dream will be performed in an arrangement for piccolo violin and orchestra as part of the “Concordia” 15th International Contemporary Music Festival dedicated to Sofia Gubaidulina. The work will be performed by violinist Grigory Sedukh together with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan under the baton of the ensemble’s artistic director and chief conductor, Alexander Sladkovsky.
Mr. Sedukh is a singular performer—the only soloist in the world to play the violino piccolo, an extraordinary instrument crafted in the mid-20th century by American acoustician Dr. Carleen M. Hutchins. The instrument is the culmination of Dr. Hutchins’s three decades of research into stringed instruments from the 18th through the 21st centuries. The violino piccolo’s range is an octave higher than that of a standard violin. To achieve its high pitch, the instrument uses E strings with a thickness of 0.178 mm, specially designed at Bell Laboratory for NASA in collaboration with the renowned Super Sensitive Musical String Company.
A National Artist of Russia and People’s Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mr. Sladkovsky is a professor at the Department of Opera and Symphony Conducting at the Nazib Zhiganov Kazan State Conservatory. He also serves as the artistic director and chief conductor of Tatarstan’s State Academic Symphony Orchestra.
Directed by Mr. Sladkovsky, Tatarstan’s State Academic Symphony Orchestra became the first regional Russian ensemble to have its performance recorded for the Medici.tv and Mezzo channels. In 2014, the orchestra and Mr. Sladkovsky participated in the La Folle Journée festival in Japan. Two years later, as part of a European tour, the ensemble appeared for the first time at the Brucknerhaus in Linz and the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. In December 2018, the orchestra embarked on its debut tour of China, and in 2019, once again under Mr. Sladkovsky’s direction, it performed at the La Folle Journée festival in France and Japan, appearing later at the La Roque-d’Anthéron international piano festival. The ensemble and Alexander Sladkovsky have toured Turkey (2015), Slovakia (2016), Switzerland (2016, 2017), Germany (2016), Spain (2017, 2020), Dubai (2022), Oman (2022), China (2023), and Vietnam (2025).
Among the partners of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan are renowned performers and cultural figures such as Ildar Abdrazakov, Boris Andrianov, Boris Berezovsky, Igor Butman, Aida Garifullina, Hibla Gerzmava, Veronika Dzhioeva, Plácido Domingo, Barry Douglas, Simone Kermes, Sergey Krylov, Vasily Ladyuk, Nikolai Lugansky, Mischa Maisky, Denis Matsuev, Mikhail Pletnev, Edward Radzinsky, Vadim Repin, Sergey Roldugin, Maxim Rysanov, Chulpan Khamatova, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Nikolaj Znaider, Sumi Jo, and Albina Shagimuratova. Over the years, the orchestra has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Yuri Bashmet, Vladimir Altshuler, Michael Güttler, Ken-David Masur, Christopher Moulds, Andres Mustonen, Krzysztof Penderecki, Marc Piollet, Vladimir Spivakov, Ernst Theis, Vladimir Fedoseev, Dmitry Yurovsky, Kristjan Järvi, Freddy Cadena, and many others.
The orchestra has released recordings on the Sony Music, Sony Classical, RCA Red Seal, and Melodiya labels. These include the complete symphonies and instrumental concertos by Dmitri Shostakovich, the Tchaikovsky–2020 box set featuring all symphonies and concertos, and recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s symphonic works, among others. At present, the ensemble and Alexander Sladkovsky are carrying out Russia’s first studio project to record the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler.
Led by Mr. Sladkovsky, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan is currently the first and only orchestra from a Russian region to be honoured with an annual season ticket at the Moscow State Philharmonic.
Venue: Saidashev Grand State Concert Hall
Time: 6.30 p.m.
Produced by Nachum Slutzker