Festivali lõpukontsert. Festivali Orkestrigala II / 12. rahvusvaheline muusikafestival ''Klassika Kütkes''

August 18, 2026, 19:00 

Festival closing concert
Festival Orchestra Gala II

House of the Blackheads

The international orchestra “Classical Hugs-2026” will feature 12 soloists from 10 different countries, performing classical concertos by Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns (the latter arranged for saxophone). In addition, true masterpieces from the romantic and contemporary music repertoire will be performed: Eugène Ysaÿe’s “Fantaisie”, American composer Erich Korngold’s violin concerto, Antonín Dvořák’s cello concerto and Maurice Ravel’s “Tzigane”. Two gala concerts will take place on August 17 and 18 at the House of the Blackheads.

Soloists:
Michael Bulychev-Okser, piano (USA)
Mateus Belloni, violin (Brazil)
Miriam Davis, violin (England)
Tina Vercellino, violin (Italy)
Fasbi Yusuf, piano (Indonesia)
Jacky Yi Huan Liu, cello (Sweden)
Misato Hanawa, saxophone (Japan)

Classical Kütkes Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - Anatoli Shtšura

Program
W. A. Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K 219, 1st movement
L. von Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, Part I
A. Dvořák: Cello Concerto - Part 1
C. Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 (arranged for soprano saxophone): Finale
C. Saint-Saëns-E. Ysaÿe:  Caprice after the Study in the form of a Waltz, n. 6, Op. 52
F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Double Concerto for Violin and Piano - Part III (Finale)

Michael Bulychev-Okser is a world-renowned American pianist, composer and producer. A laureate of the "Who's Who in Music" award, Mr. Bulychev-Okser has performed on the most prestigious stages in the world: Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Kennedy Center, Salle Pleyel (France), Wigmore Hall (London), Rachmaninov Hall (Russia), Suur Saal (Estonia) and Centermex Theater (Mexico).

Bulychev-Okser is the organizer of international music events: the Gershwin International Music Competition in New York and the "Classical Hugs" festival in Estonia. Michael is a guest artist at numerous music festivals, competitions and concert series in England, France, Germany, Mexico, Israel, Estonia, Georgia, Ukraine, Austria, Finland, South Korea, China, Serbia, Singapore and the USA.

In 2022, Michael Bulychev-Okser performed Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto with the renowned violin virtuoso Shlomo Mintz. Michael Bulychev-Okser is Professor of Piano and Chamber Ensemble at the Lucy Moses School at the Kaufman Center in New York.

Mateus Belloni was born in Belo Horizonte and began his violin studies at the age of seven. After private tuition, the musician received a full scholarship in violin and piano from the *Fundação de Educação Artística*, studying with Rommel Fernandes (Brazil) and Gotz Hartmann (Germany). Winner of numerous national competitions – both as a soloist and chamber musician – he has distinguished himself in several concert series, including: *Sextas Clássicas* (Classical Fridays) at Minas PUC, Federal University of Minas Gerais, State University of Minas Gerais, *Segundo Programa Musical*, *Funda de Secação de Educação. Música de Câmara* (Chamber Music Weeks) and *Jovem Músico BDMG*. He has produced DVD recordings of Brahms’ violin and piano sonatas and participated in the creation of five CD recordings with the *Orquestra Filarmônica de Goiás*, released on the Naxos label. He is a founding member of *Duo Mineiro* – in collaboration with pianist Bruno Cruz – with whom he gives concerts that have received great critical and public acclaim. He has performed as a concertmaster and guest musician in various professional orchestras and international classical music festivals, including: International Festival of Colonial Music of Brazil (2012/2013 – Concertmaster); *Música na Montanha* (Music in the Mountains) International Festival (2016/2017 – Concertmaster); *Muzik Expedition* International Festival – Brazil/Germany (2017 – Concertmaster); Chilean Patagonia International Festival (2019 – Concertmaster); *Semanas de Música de Câmara* (2011–2017 – Concertmaster); National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Goiás (Concertmaster); Goiânia Symphony Orchestra; *Ciranda Mundo* Symphony Orchestra (2021 – Concertmaster); Belo Horizonte Experimental Repertoire Orchestra (Concertmaster); and the Symphony Orchestra of the Marvão International Music Festival in Portugal, where he is the first violin Tutti. He served as the director of the second violin section of the Orquestra Filarmônica de Goiás and the Camerata Filarmônica de Goiás. As a soloist, he has continued an active career with chamber music, recordings and concerts throughout Brazil, Latin America and Italy. From 2009 to 2012, he taught violin technique and orchestral playing to children at the *Projeto Social Orquestra Escola Escolha* in Belo Horizonte. From 2015 to 2017, he was chosen by the Diocese of Guanhães to be the concertmaster of the EMC Orchestra and to teach at Conceição do Mato Dentro in Minas Gerais. In 2021, he began working as a violin professor at the National Institute of Technology of Goiás (Itego dr. Luís Rassi). Since 2017, the musician has been a member of the violin group of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Goiás. This young musician plays an Enrico Ceruti violin made in Cremona around 1860.

In the 2026 season, Mateus will be the concertmaster of the Klassika Kütkes orchestra.

Miriam Davis is a British concert violinist who has performed worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. She has recently been featured on Classic FM and won first prize at the Agiumus Padova International Competition in 2021. In recent years, she has performed as a soloist at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Stoller Hall in Manchester, Elgar Hall at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Stavanger Konserthus Sommerkoncert series, Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki, Parco Della Musica in Rome, St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, the National Portrait Gallery in London and Sage Hall 1, Gateshead. Miriam has won prizes at numerous international competitions, including first prize at the Grand Virtuoso International Competition (with an invitation to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London), the IMKA Competition, the North Online International Competition and the Virtuoso Belcanto International Competition dedicated to Paganini. As a concert soloist, she has performed with conductors such as Peter Szilvay and Oliver Weder. Festival appearances include: Freedom Festival Hull, Stavanger Chamber Festival, Norwegian Youth Chamber Festival, Cheltenham and Lake District Music Festivals, Tunnell Trust Coll and Prussia Cove International Musicians’ Workshop. Miriam currently collaborates with renowned Jewish-American pianist Michael Bulychev-Okser in a violin-piano duo. She has performed chamber music at festivals with such distinguished musicians as Laura Mikkola, Jelger Blanken, Gabriele Ragghianti, Jan Bjoranger and Amaury Coeytaux. Miriam is a keen advocate of contemporary repertoire, including recently giving the Norwegian premiere of Edward Cowie’s GAD for the NyMusikk Society in Norway. Miriam specialises in romantic repertoire and performance style, following a nostalgic concept of traditional beautiful sound culture combined with effortless virtuosity. In 2022 she will give concerts in Europe and the USA and will record and release her debut album “Ode to Lost Time” on Avie Records. Since 2017, Miriam has studied with renowned French violinist Philippe Graffin, receiving her Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in 2018. She has also completed further training and master's studies with renowned musicians, including Eszter Haffner, Jan Bjoranger and Andras Keller at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. Miriam completed her bachelor's studies at the Royal College of Music in London with a full scholarship. She has participated in master classes with Schlomo Mintz, Pavel Vernikov, Svetlana Makarova, Pierre Amoyal, Felix Andrievsky, Viktor Tretyakov, Natalia Likhopoi, Kaija Saariaho, Benjamin Schmid, György Pauk, Kolja Blacher, Keiko Wataya, Thomas Zehetmair, Amaury Coeytaux, Kungsbacka Trio, Hugh Bean and Emanuel Hurwitz. Miriam is also a dedicated violin teacher with 15 years of teaching experience, her current students include members of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain. She is the founder and artistic director of the online music academy www.virtualvirtuoso.online, which was launched in 2020. Miriam also has considerable orchestral experience, including winning the first violin position in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 23 (with whom she worked for four years and had the honour of performing the complete Mahler symphonies and recording all of Shostakovich's symphonies on Naxos with conductor Vasily Petrenko), and performing with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Oxford Philharmonic, London Chamber Orchestra, Aurora Chamber Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and 1b1 Ensemble. As a youngster, at the age of 12, Miriam performed as concertmaster with the National Children's Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. She also won first prize in the James Etherington Music Competition. At the age of 13, she was accepted into the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, where she later performed as Assistant Concertmaster for the BBC Graduation Ceremonies at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Tina Vercellino
Tina Vercellino was born in 1999. She began her violin studies at the age of eight at the Biella L. Perosi Music Institute. At the age of 15, she was accepted into the three-year program at the Biella L. Perosi Academy under the tutelage of maestro Roberto Ranfaldi, under whom she continues to study to this day. She attended the preparatory program for a bachelor's degree in instrumental music at the Graz University of Music and Performing Arts (Austria) under the tutelage of maestro Boris Kuschnir, one of the world's leading pedagogues. She has participated in various master classes led by renowned masters, including maestro Roberto Ranfaldi, maestro Rudens Turku, maestro Ilja Grubert, Professor Virginie Robilliard, maestro Lukas Hagen, maestro Boris Kuschnir and maestro Marco Rizzi. In 2018, he was selected to participate in the "Professione Orchestra" advanced training course organized by the Pinerolo Music Academy - this is the advanced training course for soloists of the Turin RAI National Symphony Orchestra. He expanded his chamber music repertoire under the guidance of maestro Antonio Valentino, Trio Debussy, maestro Aldo Campagneri and Quartetto Prometeo. In the academic year 2018-2019, he participated in the Italian Swiss Conin the advanced training program at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in the class of maestro Marco Rizzi. In 2020, he studied at the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Portogruaro (Venice), studying with maestro Ilja Gruberti and maestro Eliot Lawson. In 2020, he worked as concertmaster of the first violins section of the Italian Youth Orchestra (Orchestra Giovanile Italiana) in Fiesole (Florence). In this position, he has collaborated with renowned conductors such as maestro Kolja Blacher, Maestro Lorenzo Viotti and maestro Riccardo Abbado, a role to which he was reappointed in 2021. In 2021, he graduated with top marks and honors from the Guido Cantelli Conservatory in Novara. He is currently in the first year of his two-year advanced specialization program under the guidance of maestro Ivan Rabaglia. Since 2021, he has worked as a violin teacher at the L. Perosi Music Institute in Biella. He has won numerous national and international competitions, including first prize *ex aequo* at the André Campra National Competition (Biella); first prize at the 11th *Musica Insieme* International Competition (Venice); first prize at the 15th National Musical Interpretation Competition (Verbania); first prize at the 2nd International Competition "Città di Alessandria" (Alessandria); and first prize *ex aequo* at the 36th International Music Competition "Città di Stresa".

Fasbi Yusuf
Fasbi Yusuf is an Indonesian pianist living in Maastricht, the Netherlands. He has won the American Protégé and Indonesian Piano Competitions and performs actively internationally. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is pursuing a Master's degree in Piano Performance at the Maastricht Conservatory. Fasbi founded the Classical Music On The House concert series, which presents solo and small ensemble performances with a focus on individual artistic expression. He is also involved with the Nefelibata New Music Collective, the Zuyd Baroque Ensemble and the Maastricht Chamber Orchestra, frequently collaborating with singers, composers and conductors.

Born and raised in a non-musical family in Central Java, he has performed as a soloist with the Classical Hugs Orchestra, the Yayasan Musik Jakarta Orchestra and the Volare Chamber Orchestra, and has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall and the British Embassy in Jakarta. His passion for chamber music has led him to participate in the Apple Hill, Zodiac and Jakarta International Summer Music Festivals.

Jacky Yi Huan Liu
Born in Hong Kong in 2009, Jacky is a very promising young cellist, recognized for his mature musical understanding, expressive stage presence and exceptional artistic potential.

He began his cello studies at the age of seven in Prague and is currently under the tutelage of Professor Li-Wei Qin and Professor Jacob at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.

Her performances have taken her to prestigious concert venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, the great concert halls of China, the concert stages of master classes in Berlin, and official royal appearances before His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf and members of the Swedish Royal Family.

She has worked with some of the world’s leading cellists, including Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, David Geringas, Steven Isserlis, Jian Wang, Jan Vogler, and Danjulo Ishizaka.

Her artistic philosophy centers on one belief:

Music is not just meant to be performed – it is meant to be shared.

Misato Hanawa
Misato Hanawa has captured the attention of the international classical music community with her brilliance and emotional depth, earning the admiration of concert programmers, conductors, critics, and music lovers worldwide.
Born in Ibaraki, Japan, he began his musical journey with the piano at the age of three, before discovering the saxophone at the age of eleven, a turning point that revealed his powerful medium for expressive art. In addition to his career as a concert soloist, he studied composition and continues to arrange music for saxophone and piano, breathing new life into his repertoire.
Hanawat, who is appreciated for his brilliance and maturity, is a highly sought-after concertmaster and a frequent guest at prestigious festivals. He has performed at renowned concert venues such as the Japan Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Opera City (B→C series), Wiener Musikverein, Ariel Opera House, Mito Art Tower, and Carnegie Hall in New York. His passion for sharing music also extends to education, having led master classes around the world, including in Granada, Cáceres, Pittsburgh, Sam Houston, Seoul, Columbus, Youngstown, Frostburg, Fairmont, Las Palmas, and Gallipolis.
As a soloist, Hanawa has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Israel Soloists Orchestra, the Japan Century Orchestra, the Cairo Opera Orchestra, the Busan Orchestra, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. His repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary works, with a particular fondness for transcriptions of violin masterpieces such as Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, both gracefully and intensely reinterpreted for the saxophone.

She graduated from the Cergy-Pontoise and Cambrai Conservatories, receiving unanimous gold medals in 2011. She is a laureate of numerous international competitions, including first prizes at the Leopold Bellan International Competition (France), the World Music Competition (Spain), the U.F.A.M. Competition (France), the Nordic International Music Competition (Sweden), the Medici International Music Competition (Italy), the Moscow International Music Competition (Russia) and the Ginastera International Music Competition (Japan).

Her discography includes three recordings: “Hommage à Édith Piaf” and “Rondo Capriccioso” (Octavia Records) and “How Fair This Spot” (Adora Music).

Misato Hanawa is an artist partner of BG France, Vandoren Paris and Selmer Paris.