Count Murzha

violin

Graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky and postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Winner of many international competitions, including the competition named after P.I. Tchaikovsky, named after J. Thibaut in Paris, named after P. Sarasate in Pamplona. Winner of the Grand Prix at the Violin Masters violin competition in Monte Carlo.

He gives solo concerts and with symphony orchestras of Russia and Europe in the largest concert halls. He has recorded three CDs for Harmonia Mundi, has repeatedly collaborated with record labels Alpha, Integral, Naxos, Chant du Monde, Classical Records, Fuga Libera.

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Associate Professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Conducted master classes in Russia, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands. Served as a member of the jury of international performing competitions. Artistic director of the Violin-Vagabond festival in Yekaterinburg.

Gruf Murzha about music and life. Quotes from interviews over the years.

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There is nothing easier than playing the violin. But! Only after you have learned to play it. From an interview with Musical Klondike

I am an eighth generation violinist. My ancestors played not only the violin, but also other instruments. They lived in Transcarpathia, on the territory that until 1944 was part of Hungary, and until the 1920s belonged to the Czech Republic. That's where I was born. My dad was sure that he would have a boy and that he would definitely become a famous violinist, so he gave me an unusual, very memorable name.  From an interview with the Krasnoyarsk News newspaper

When I said I wanted to be an astronaut, my dad remarked, "Spaceships sometimes explode." Then I decided that I wanted to be a pianist. Papa shook his head: “And if you come somewhere, and there is no piano there?” I thought about it and declared that I would be a cellist. But my father again convinced me: “Every time you travel, you will have to buy a ticket for the cello. And with a violin, you will feel good everywhere.” From an interview with Tyumen News

You have to get used to the violin, you need to know it from the inside, feel and agree with it. Otherwise, if you don't love it, it won't sound. The violin is almost alive. From an interview with Musical Klondike

I was lucky to play the instruments of Niccolo Paganini, Heinrich Wieniawski, David Oistrakh and other outstanding musicians. What distinguishes a Paganini violin? Despite the fact that she is very many years old, this is a completely universal tool, I would say - this is a universal weapon. Even an orchestra of a hundred instruments cannot override it in sound. She seems to rule over everything. Of course, it is an amazing feeling to realize that this instrument was once held by a genius, to know that some scuffs, a pizzicato mark, were made by his hand. From an interview with the Krasnoyarsk News newspaper

Folk music is a special page. There is no such thing as "difficult". This music, like life itself, flows easily and freely. There are a hundred people in my native village, and everyone can play instruments and do it well. They can play knocking for twenty-four hours without stopping. Folk music gives a special hardening. From an interview with the Krasnoyarsk News newspaper