Barber, Khachaturian: Violin Concertos

“Simonyan is a true virtuoso; his playing has a natural, unforced authority and, among other accomplishments, his clear, brilliant spiccato bowing is heard to great effect in the finales of both concertos...this is a performance [of the Barber] of notable power, Simonyan's confident presence - aided by strong support from Kristjan Järvi and the LSO - generating considerable intensity as the climactic moments approach...All in all, a most impressive debut.” --Gramophone Magazine, February 2012

“Simonyan's intention was to bring out the qualities that embody the cultural roots of each composer: thus, he commissioned a new cadenza for Khachaturian's concerto by Artur Avanesov, to emphasise the Armenian flavour, and treated the dashing final movement of Barber's concerto in a looser manner than usual, suggestive of rustic American fiddling.” --The Independent, 20th January 2012

Black Swan Fantasy

A charismatic pianist, with a special unique and as well vituous style.

Nikolai Tokarev was born in Moscow in 1983 and is from a musical family. His father is a concert pianist, his mother a cellist. He began musical training in 1988 at the renowned Gnessin Music School in Moscow, graduating in 2001 with distinction. From 2004 to 2006 he studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He then engaged in postgraduate studies in Düsseldorf with Professor Barbara Szczepanska at the Robert Schumann College of Music.