Nikita Koller and Sophie Branson, two award-winning violin students from the professional program at the Zakhar Bron School of Music in Zurich, performed with Moldova’s National Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Mihail Agafita. The concert took place at the Palace of the Republic, the main concert hall in Chisinau.
Thirteen-year-old Nikita Koller, a talented young violinist, opened the concert with Wieniawski’s renowned ‘Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor’. He captivated the audience with his fast tempos and remarkable virtuosity.
Seventeen-year-old Sophie Branson, another professional program violin student, followed with her interpretation of Sibelius’s ‘Violin Concerto in D minor’. Her performance was rich in depth, beautifully capturing the diverse emotions and characters of this monumental work.
The audience warmly applauded our soloists, showing great appreciation for their excellent performance, which left a lasting impression. This was our students’ first concert in Moldova, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Maestro and his orchestra.
The concert took place at the Palace of the Republic, the main concert hall in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, on Friday, October 13.
Both Sophie and Nikita study violin in the class of Liana Tretiakova, the school’s founder and leading violin teacher. They also take regular violin masterclasses with the legendary Professor Bron, our Honorary President and co-founder of the school. Sophie had her first violin lesson with Liana at the tender age of three, and has remained her student ever since.
Nikita joined our school a few years ago and has made significant progress since then. Unlike Sophie, who studies violin exclusively with Liana, Nikita also takes lessons with Anica Vieru, another violin teacher at the Zakhar Bron School of Music. Liana and Anica teach him to play violin together, and their combined efforts have produced remarkable results.
In addition to teaching at the school, Anica accompanied our young musicians on their journey to Moldova. She worked with them for several hours each day to ensure they were well-prepared for the concert and could perform at their best.
Photo credit: Dascal Eugen