BIOGRAPHY
"...Begelman is truly the current star of the baroque violin..." - Le Devoir
Quickly established as one of the most interesting violinists of his generation, Boris Begelman graduated in violin from the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, later specializing in the baroque repertoire in Italy, where he currently lives.
He has performed as a soloist or Konzertmeister on major international stages, including the Berliner Philharmonie, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Théatre des Champs-Elysées, Wigmore Hall, the Liceu Theatre in Barcelona, the Opera Royal de Versailles, the KKL in Lucerne, collaborating with orchestras such as the Complesso Barocco, Kammerorchester Basel, I Barocchisti, Cappella Mediterranea, and B’Rock Orchestra. Since 2017, he has been the Konzertmeister of Rinaldo Alessandrini's Concerto Italiano.
Begelman conducted from the violin Accademia Bizantina, Il Pomo d'Oro, Accademia Montis Regalis, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, B'Rock Orchestra, and soloists such as Vivica Genaux, Max Cenčić, and Simone Kermes.
In 2014, Boris founded his ensemble, Arsenale Sonoro, whose debut recording of a selection of Telemann's Sonatas for Violin and Continuo for Sony DHM was enthusiastically received by critics worldwide. For the same label he released in 2017 "Sei solo" which features a complete recording of J. S. Bach's Sonatas and Partitas, awarded as one of the exceptional recordings by the Spanish magazine Scherzo. His latest solo album dedicated to Domenico Scarlatti has been released in 2022 on Obsidian Records, featuring an interesting interpretation of sonatas traditionally performed on the harpsichord, that were potentially intended for the violin and continuo instead.
Boris has joined the prestigious Vivaldi Edition catalogue with the album "Le nuove vie" (Naïve 2021), where he performs six virtuosic Vivaldi concertos accompanied by Concerto Italiano and conducted by Alessandrini. His performance was called "a dazzling ray of sunshine" by BBC Music Magazine and was featured as the Concerto Choice in the September 2021 issue.
Critically acclaimed is also soprano Francesca Aspromonte’s latest recital album, Un’alma innamorata (Pentatone 2023) featuring Begelman as conductor of Arsenale Sonoro as well as solo violin.
Among his next solo engagements: a concert with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia as soloist and conductor; solo recitals of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas at N&B Mareterra Festival and Amici della Musica in Cagliari; an international tour with Vivaldi’s Estro Armonico with Concerto Italiano.
Future plans with Arsenale Sonoro include: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for the Grandi Interpreti season at Teatro Verdi in Sassari; concert with Francesca Aspromonte at Tage Alter Musik in Regensburg; world premiere performance of an Oratorio by Leonardo Vinci at Elbphilarmonie’s Alte Musik Festival; world premiere preformance of a Parti Oratorio at Tage Alter Musik in Herne.
In addition to his concert activity, Boris is dedicated to teaching. Since November 2023 he has been teaching Baroque violin at Tomadini Conservatoire in Udine and regularly holds Masterclasses, the last one being held at the Domaine Forget&Charlevoix Academy in Canada in July 2023.
February 2024