Viktoria Mullova facts for kids

Viktoria Yurievna Mullova (Russian: Виктория Юрьевна Муллова, IPA: [vʲɪˈktorʲɪjə ˈmuləvə]; born 27 November 1959) is a famous Russian-born British violinist. She is well-known for playing and recording many violin concertos. She also performs music by J.S. Bach. Viktoria is also known for her new ways of playing popular and jazz songs. These include music by artists like Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and The Beatles.

Early Life and Music Career

Viktoria Mullova was born in Zhukovsky. This town is about 45 kilometers from Moscow in Soviet Russia. When she was four years old, her father, Yuri Mullov, encouraged her to start playing the violin. He was a physicist and engineer.

Viktoria studied at the Central Music School of Moscow. Later, she attended the Moscow Conservatory. Her teacher was the famous violinist Leonid Kogan. She won first prize at the 1980 International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki. In 1982, she won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. She found her music education in the Soviet Union very demanding.

A New Beginning

In 1983, Viktoria Mullova was on a music tour in Finland. During this trip, she decided to leave the Soviet Union. She and her accompanist, Vakhtang Jordania, left their hotel in Kuusamo. They left behind a valuable Stradivari violin that belonged to the Soviet Union.

A journalist from YLE helped them. He drove them across the border into Sweden. From there, they flew to Stockholm. The Swedish police helped them find a safe place to stay. They stayed hidden for two days because their photos were in newspapers. After that, they traveled to Washington, D.C. in the United States. There, they could start a new life.

Life in the West

After moving to the West, Mullova made many recordings. Her first album featured violin concertos by Tchaikovsky and Jean Sibelius. This recording won the Grand Prix du Disque award.

In the mid-1990s, she started her own group called the Mullova Chamber Ensemble. This group toured in Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. They also recorded Bach's violin concertos. Viktoria was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995. This was for her recording of the Bach Partitas. She also won several other awards for her music. These include a 1995 Echo Klassik award.

Viktoria Mullova has performed as a soloist with many famous orchestras. These include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. She has also played with the Vienna Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony. She sometimes performs as both a soloist and a director. She has done this with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Mullova plays two special violins. One is the Jules Falk Stradivarius from 1723. The other was made in 1750 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. She uses different bows, including a Baroque style bow.

Personal Life

Viktoria Mullova lives in Holland Park, London, England. She lives with her husband, cellist Matthew Barley. She has three children. Her children are named Misha Mullov-Abbado, Katia, and Nadia. Nadia is a dancer with the Royal Ballet.

Selected Discography

• Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 3, 9 (Onyx 4050). With Kristian Bezuidenhout; 2010
• JS Bach Sonatas & Partitas for violin solo (Onyx 4040); 2009
• JS Bach Sonatas for violin and harpsichord (Onyx 4020). With Ottavio Dantone; 2007
• Vivaldi 5 violin concertos (Onyx 4001). With Il Giardino Armonico; 2005
• Beethoven and Mendelssohn Violin Concertos (Philips, 473 872–2). With Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/John Eliot Gardiner; 2003
• Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 1, 3-4 (Philips, 470 292). With Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; 2002
• Through the Looking Glass (Philips, 464 184–2). With Matthew Barley and Between the Notes; 2000
• Bartók and Stravinsky Violin Concertos (Philips, 456 542–2). With Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/Esa-Pekka Salonen; 1997
• Brahms Violin Sonatas (Philips, 446 709–2). With pianist Piotr Anderszewski; 1997
• Tchaikovsky and Sibelius Violin Concertos(Philips 416 821–2) Boston Symphony Orchestra/Seiji Ozawa; 1985

See also

In Spanish: Viktóriya Mulova para niños

• List of Eastern Bloc defectors