Maxim Rysanov

Maxim Rysanov

Conductor, Viola

“Maxim Rysanov is the kind of musician who can do the musical equivalent of reading from the phone book and making it exciting.”
— American Record Guide (Joseph Magil)

Contact

Lorna Neill

+44 (0)7798 531 819
lorna@musicinteralia.com

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Reviews

Reviews Archive

“Maxim Rysanov brings a terrifically full-bodied performance to the concerto’s powerful outer movements, while adventuring deep into the timbral possibilities of the instrument in the work’s more mysterious inner movements.”

Kate Wakeling, BBC Music Magazine (Album Review of “Dobrinka Tabakova: Orchestral Works & Concerti”) December 2023

“Ukrainian-born violist Maxim Rysanov was the fiercely committed soloist in the concerto, giving a performance of fearsome focus and intensity from untold sorrow through fury to – well, perhaps resignation, perhaps transcendence. He’s a breathtakingly perceptive, charismatic player, taking the audience with him on every note of his turbulent journey.” 

­–Scotsman (5 stars), 2017

“Superb player Maxim Rysanov gave the Scottish premiere performances of ... Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. The Ukrainian musician has been garlanded by awards and has a bowing technique is captivatingly graceful to watch as well as listen to.”

–Herald Scotland, 2017

“Agile, expressive and with a mastery of line and dynamics, Rysanov is a prince among viola players, and this is one of his finest albums to date.”

–Gramophone (Rob Cowan) (CD review of "In Schubert's Company"), 2017

“I fell in love with the incredibly beautiful sound of his instrument. In his playing I could feel an uncommonly high emotional tension.”

–Pēteris Vasks (composer), 2016

“In his solos, Rysanov showed great musical challenges playing extended cadenzas… I really enjoyed the Slavic passion and dramatic pauses in his solos that provided a certain atmosphere. After the fast finale, full of almost non-stop polyphony for the viola, both Rysanov and Joost were embraced by the audience.”

–Bachtrack (Par Olli Lehtonen), 2016

“Maxim Rysanov is the kind of musician who can do the musical equivalent of reading from the phone book and making it exciting.”

–American Record Guide (Joseph Magil), 2015

“Words to describe Rysanov's passionate and penetrating performances don't come easily. He is, of course, the main character on stage in all four works on the program, but Sitkovetsky astonishes with his dazzling playing in the duos(..)” 

–Fanfare (Jerry Dubins), 2015

“Maxim Ryasnov's seductive viola in late works by Martinu would grace any sensible Want List.” 

–Fanfare (Phillip Scott), 2015

“Maxim Rysanov's radiant viola playing catches the Bohemian spirit that runs through his Martinu programme.”

–The Gramophone (Adrian Edwards), 2015

“Maxim Rysanov is without a rival.”

–Artamag (Jean-Charels Hoffelé), 2015

“Rysanov's golden song carries us through to another perfect peace.” 

–BBC Music Magazine (David Nice), 2015

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Biography

Grammy-nominated Ukrainian-British violist and conductor Maxim Rysanov has an established reputation as one of the world’s most vibrant and charismatic musicians. As a violist, he is a frequent guest of the crème of the international music scene, whilst his thriving parallel career as a conductor sees him often combine conducting with performing as a soloist within the same concert programme.

A past winner of Gramophone Young Artist of the Year Award and the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Award, Maxim is also a prize-winner at the Geneva, Lionel Tertis and Valentino Bucchi competitions. 

Maxim’s enthusiasm for new music generates exciting collaborations which have extended the viola repertoire, and he has given world premières of works by Dobrinka Tabakova, Pēteris Vasks, Richard Dubugnon and Valentin Bibik. The first performances of his world première of Gabriel Prokofiev’s viola concerto, also marked Maxim’s debut as a conductor with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the two orchestras having co-commissioned the work together with Symphony Orchestra of Milan (formerly La Verdi Orchestra Milan). Other composers with whom Maxim has developed a close working relationship include Benjamin Yusupov, Leonid Desyatnikov, Giya Kancheli, Artem Vassiliev and Elena Langer.

Maxim’s concerto performance career highlights include the Mariinsky Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest the Hague,  Seattle Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Moscow Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, NDR Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra,  Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Turku Philharmonic, Nordic Chamber Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, European Union Youth Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra,  Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Brno Philharmonic and Real Orquesta Sinfónica Sevilla.

As a conductor has appeared as guest conductor with I Musici de Montréal, Canada, the Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra, the Milan Symphony Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Tatarstan State Symphony Orchestra, Spanish Radio Orchestra (RTVE), Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Dala Sinfonietta, Danubia Symphony Budapest, London Mozart Players, Southbank Sinfonia, Riga Sinfonietta, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Detmold Chamber Orchestra, Musica Viva (Moscow), Voronezh Youth Orchestra, Kiev Soloists, Częstochowa Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Chaarts, Budapest Festival Academy Orchestra and Classic FM Orchestra (Bulgaria).

Maxim’s recent highlights included performing debuts with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and CSO Presidential Orchestra in Ankara, a performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko at the Ljubliana Festival and conducting returns to the Milan Symphony Orchestra, I Musici de Montréal, Canada and Croatian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Other season projects included conducting the Pannon Philharmonic in Budapest, a European tour with the Yehudi Menuhin Orchestra where he conducted, recorded and performed.  He was also in the recording studio with the Hallé Orchestra, and the release of the Tabakova Viola Concerto original version is due out in October 2023.    Invitation to festivals included Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Carl Nielsen Festival Odense, OModernt Stockholm, Moritzburg Festival, Lundsgaard Festival and Westport Festival.   He also took part of a major tour of Ireland together with chamber partners Nikita Boriso Glebsky and Dora Kokas.

The forthcoming season 2023-24 will see Maxim tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra in Europe, and also with the Halle Orchestra in the UK. He will premiere the new version of the TabakovaViola Concerto with the Bulgarian Radio Orchestra and the Riga Sinfonietta.  As a conductor he will make return visits to …

 
William BurtonConductor, Viola