Anna-Liisa Bezrodny

Profile: Violinist

Anna-Liisa Bezrodny was born into a distinguished family of musicians in Moscow, currently in great demand as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.
At the age of two she had already began her violin studies with her parents, and at the age of nine she entered the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, in her parents class, Prof. Igor Bezrodny and Prof. Mari Tampere-Bezrodny, later studying for MMUS degrees in both Sibelius Academy and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Krzysztof Smietana, later winning the most prestigious award in Guildhall, the Gold Medal in 2006, previously won by masters such as Bryn Terfel and Jaqueline du Pre.

Anna-Liisa has appeared as soloist and recitalist with orchestras in most prestigious concert venues in Russia, Finland, Holland, Germany, UK, Spain, USA, Estonia and others, including the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Cologne Philharmonie, Cadogan Hall, Finlandia Hall, Estonia Hall, St. Petersbugh Philharmonic Hall, Moscow Conservatoire Great Hall as well as Small Hall and Rakhmaninov Hall, and many others.
Most recently Anna-Liisa performed the Bruch Violin Concerto no.1 with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, on 6 days notice.

Anna-Liisa is repeatedly invited to countless festivals, playing in both chamber ensembles as well as solo, such as The Oistrakh International Festival, Die Russische Musik Festival Dortmund (Germany), Malta International Music Festival, Lincoln Festival (UK), Tallinn Chamber Music Festival, Sibelius Festival in Michigan, USA, Liana Isakadze Festival in Batumi, Georgia, Iitti Chamber Festival in Finland and many others. Anna-Liisa is a recipient of countless awards and prizes, for example winner of special prize of the Rotary Club (1999), winner of the Ian Fleming Charitable Award of the Musicians Benevolent Fund (London,2003), winner of the Martin Musical Scholarship Award, (London,2003), Hattori Foundation and Myra Hess Trust prizes, (London, 2004), Ricci Foundation Winner 2009, Young Artist of the Making Music Foundation 2009, Heifetz International Violin Competition (2005, 3rd prize), Brahms International Competition (2005, 2nd prize), Haverhill Soloists Competition in UK. In 2006 Anna-Liisa won the prestigious Guildhall Gold Medal, playing Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1 in the Barbican Hall with Sian Edwards. In 2005 Anna-Liisa Bezrodny was awarded the PROMIS Award for talented young musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra, and in the same year received an honorary prize from the Pro Musica Foundation in Finland.

Anna-Liisa’s playing has been heard on several occasions on Finnish and Estonian National TVs and National Radio, NBC and BBC Radio 3. in the United Kingdom. She has given concertos with orchestras such as the Moscow Symphony Orchestra TV6 (in the Moscow Conservatory´s Great Hall), Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Turku Philharmonic, Bachorkester Gewandhaus Leipzig, Estonian National Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Vanemuine Orchestra, Pärnu Philharmonic Orchestra, Jyvaskyla Chamber Orchestra (Finland), Vaasa Philharmonic Orchestra, Liepaja Symphony Orchestra (Latvia), Haydn Chamber Orchestra, Georgian Chamber Orchestra, Vilnius Philarmonic (Lithuania), Pecs Philharmonic (Hungary), Jena Philharmonic, South Bank Symphony, London Ensemble (at Wigmore Hall, world premiere), Guildhall Symphony Orchestra (Barbican Hall) and others.

As a soloist Anna-Liisa has worked with maestros such as Leif Segerstam, Nikolay Alekseyev, Eri Klas, Olari Elts, Sian Edwards, Juha Kangas, Mihkel Kutson, Jason Lai, Robin O’Neil, Arvo Volmer, Paul Magi, Jyri Alperten, Tibor Boganyi etc, and she plays extensively with the renowned pianist Ivari Ilja (pianist to Dmitry Hvorostovsky), and Matilda Kärkkäinen.
Additionally, since 2007 Anna-Liisa teaches in both the Estonian Music Academy as well as at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Anna-Liisa’s future plans this year include playing Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Beethoven, Shostakovich and other concertos with such maestri as Neeme Jarvi, Paavo Järvi, Markus Huber, Sascha Goetzel, Tibor Boganyi, Mihkel Kutson and others. She released her debut CD for ALBA Records in Finland, available world-wide, in collaboration with the pianist Ivari Ilja, which has received most exciting reviews is USA, Gemany, Finland and elsewhere.

In late 2010 she released another CD of Eino Tamberg Violin Concerto, an Estonian composer, in collaboration with Vanemuine Theatre and maestro Mihkel Kutson, as a celebration for the composer's 80th birthday year.

You can find out more about Anna Liisa Bezrodny from her website http://annaliisabezrodny.com

Anna Liisa will be performing with Milton Keynes City Orchestra in January's Music of Emotion concert. For more information and to book tickets for this concert. Please call the box office on 01908 558311