Latest issue of Opus Magazine. Must confess that I am extremely pleased about this article. Thank you all for your support.

Stockholm International Music Competition

Am very, very honoured to have been invited to be on the jury for the Stockholm International Music Competition. The competition takes place in April-May and when I was there as an observer last year, I was blown away by the quality of the contestants. More than 600 participants from 32 different countries! Very much looking forwards to being on the jury.

Robert Wells and the Russian philharmonic

Here is a clip of Swedish superstar pianist Robert Wells's performance of my arrangement of David Mnatsakanyan's piece 'My way'. The orchestra is the Russian philharmonic orchestra. Very pleased that Robert and the orchestra decided to play this piece.
Click here to watch the video!

Very pleased that Swedish superstar pianist Robert Wells has decided to play my orchestration of David Mnatsakanyan's 'My way' in his 'Rhapsody in Rock' performance with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra in Moscow.

Rest in peace

Today we mourn one of the greatest conductors ever to have walked on the surface of the earth - Claudio Abbado. I'll miss his energy, charisma and his man management style that created shear magic in the concert halls.

The tickets for Lundaland Philharmonic's two gala concerts on 31st August and 1st September, at Borgeby Castle and Torup Castle respectively, have been released. Suppose that it comes as no major surprise to you that I'll be conducting. With me on stage, I'll have Olga Trifonova who has done leading roles at the Met, Salzburger festspiele and Baden-Baden and Ahmed Agadi who sings main parts at the Bolshoy Opera in Moscow and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. You can book tickets by following this link

Just back from a short trip to St. Petersburg. I was glad to get to see the opening of the second stage of the Mariinsky theatre. It was absolutely incredible and I do not think any opera house in the world can rival the equipment and the facilities that they have. Next to the stage, there are platforms, hundreds of meters of depth where the sets are prepared for the stage. The previous decorations are lowered into the floor in order to get dismantled. The picture shows the foyer which is covered in backlit onyx and thus gives a shining impression. All this in the middle of the financial crisis! Great that some countries see culture and art as an asset rather than an expense.