Japanese Violinist Fumiaki Miura Stars at InClassica 2023 with Works from Bruch and Alexey Shor

The acclaimed Japanese violinist Fumiaki Miura, First Prize Winner and recipient of the Critics’ Prize and Audience’s Award at the 2009 Joseph Joachim Hannover International Violin Competition, made a stop in Dubai on the 12th of February, headlining the opening concert of the 2023 InClassica International Music Festival alongside the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra and Italian conductor Massimiliano Caldi.

This 12th edition of InClassica saw hundreds of musicians gathering in Dubai to present 26 evening concerts between the 12th of February and the 10th of March. Included amongst them were some of the most celebrated orchestras and soloists active today, with revered names like Maxim Vengerov (Monaco), Ashley Wass (UK), Piotr Anderszewski (Poland/Portugal), Yeol Eum Son (South Korea) and Andrey Baranov (Switzerland), to mention a few, accompanying Miura on the festival’s roster.

Taking to the stage of Dubai’s illustrious Coca-Cola Arena, the violinist opened the evening with a performance of Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, arguably the Romantic composer's most famous work, which premiered in 1866 and has remained incredibly popular ever since. This was then followed by Phantasms for Violin and Orchestra, from the pen of Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor. Composed over three movements, this concerto perfectly exhibits the evocative and mellifluous style that the contemporary composer has become famous for, and is renowned for the virtuosic demands it makes upon the soloist.

Alexey Shor, Composer-in-Residence for InClassica 2023 (Credit: InClassica Festival)

This proved to be no issue In the skilful hands of the Japanese maestro, with the latter piece in particular proving to be a popular entry among the audience present in the packed hall, who rewarded Miura’s performance with raucous applause and a lengthy standing ovation.

“This work by Alexey Shor is not just any modern piece”, Miura observed. “There are many charming and beautiful melodies in the music and people enjoy it a lot. I like it, it’s very unique and very up-tempo in the finale…it’s fun, although it can be quite challenging music. It was especially demanding to make the notes in the high positions sound beautiful, and they were used very often especially in the last movement.

After a brief interval, the concert was then concluded with a rendition of Tchaikovsky’s beloved 1870 Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, and the hugely popular Hungarian Dances No. 1 and No. 5 from the German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms.

Following his stay at InClassica, Fumiaki Miura will now continue his concert season with various engagements and performances around the world. For more information about his upcoming events, please follow his official platforms here.

*Top Photo: Fumiaki Miura performing at Coca-Cola Arena at InClassica in Dubai 2023
(photo credit: InClassica Festival)