Last weekend, November 23 and 24, our talented young violinists performed Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ in two remarkable concerts with the chamber orchestra ‘I Tempi’, conducted by Gevorg Gharabekyan. The performances took place in the historic St. Martin Churches in the Swiss cities of Liestal and Basel.
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, written in the early 18th century, is a timeless masterpiece of Baroque music. While it is often performed with modern bows, achieving the authentic sound envisioned by the Venetian composer requires using Baroque bows and playing in the Baroque style.
This is exactly how all four concertos—‘Spring’, ‘Summer’, ‘Autumn’, and ‘Winter’—were brought to life by the young violin soloists, accompanied by ‘I Tempi’ chamber orchestra under the baton of its founder and conductor, Gevorg Gharabekyan. Both the orchestra and the soloists performed with Baroque bows and adhered to historical performance practices.
The concert opened with 10-year-old Timmy Wang performing ‘Spring.’ He was followed by 12-year-old Sophie Gringolts, who delivered a powerful rendition of ‘Summer.’ Tatiana Filimonova, also 12, gave a vibrant performance of ‘Autumn,’ and the series concluded with an expressive interpretation of ‘Winter,’ played by Nicolas Künzi, one of Gevorg Gharabekyan’s students.
Tatiana and Timmy study violin with Inna Khriplovich at the Zakhar Bron School of Music, while Sophie studies under Liana Tretiakova, the school’s founder and leading violin teacher.
Despite his young age, Timmy has already performed in numerous concerts, including with orchestras. He has played Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ twice before, with orchestras in Moldova and Switzerland. For Tatiana and Sophie, this was their first time performing this repertoire on stage with an orchestra—a program they learned in under two months.
Both concerts drew full houses. The Liestal venue, with around 350 seats, provided a familiar setting for the students. In contrast, the larger Basel venue, with over 700 seats, was an exciting challenge. By Swiss standards, this is a significant venue, and it was especially gratifying to see it filled to capacity. The audience warmly applauded the young musicians, even between movements, and repeatedly called them back to the stage after each concerto.
Timmy Wang began violin lessons at four years old, growing up in a family of musicians. His father is an internationally renowned violin soloist, while his mother transitioned from violinist to opera singer at the Zurich Opera House. Timmy’s older sister, 12-year-old Aurea, also aspires to a professional violin career and studies with Inna Khriplovich at the Zakhar Bron School of Music. Aurea is also a member of the Zurich Opera House children’s choir.
Tatiana Filimonova is deeply committed to her violin studies. Starting at age six, she took three lessons per week, an intensive schedule for her age. Now, at twelve, she devotes four hours weekly to the violin lessons. Tatiana dreams of becoming a professional violinist and has already achieved success in national and international competitions, both as a soloist and chamber musician.
Sophie Gringolts comes from a musical family. Her father is a world-class violinist, and her mother is a violinist at the Zurich Opera House. Sophie’s two older sisters are also accomplished musicians. One studies piano with Rafael Lipstein, the leading piano teacher at the Zakhar Bron School of Music, while the other studies violin with Liana Tretiakova and performs regularly in Switzerland and beyond.
Violin lessons in a music school are usually private, one-on-one sessions without an audience. However, performing for a teacher is a completely different experience from playing on stage.
Many students at the Zakhar Bron School of Music aspire to professional careers as soloists on violin, piano, or cello. Solo careers inherently involve performing with orchestras, a skill that cannot be learned in a music school classroom. True experience comes from rehearsing with orchestras and performing on stage in front of an audience.
Such concerts provide a sense of purpose, demonstrating why it’s essential to strive for excellence in playing the violin, piano, or another musical instrument. They motivate students to practice more seriously, foster growth, and encourage them to reach new heights of musical mastery. Moreover, performing on stage brings joy to audiences.
Playing on stage before an audience is a celebration—filled with adrenaline, applause, and an energy that cannot be replicated in the classroom. While some young musicians feel nervous on stage, the others thrive, performing on stage even better than they do in lessons.
The latter indicates true musical talent. Regular concerts with orchestras are crucial to nurturing this talent and helping it flourish.
That’s why, at the Zakhar Bron School of Music, we do our best to ensure our students perform in such concerts as often as possible. We fully understand that concerts like these are essential to nurturing talent and helping young musicians reach their full potential.