Sergey Malov

Hailed by critics as "the master of strings", SERGEY MALOV was born in St. Petersburg in 1983. This versatile virtuoso plays the violin, viola, baroque violin and violoncello da spalla. His repertoire ranges from early Baroque music and the works of Johann Sebastian Bach to classical and Romantic violin concertos and world premieres of contemporary music. His interpretations focus on style and historically informed performance practices. He has won numerous international competitions, including first prizes in the violin category at the Jascha Heifetz Competition in Vilnius (2009), the Mozart Competition in Salzburg and the Michael Hill Competition in New Zealand (2011), as well as in the viola category at the Tokyo International Competition (2009). As a soloist, he has performed with renowned orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra in Bucharest, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, the Auckland Philharmonic, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Münchener Kammerorchester, and the Philharmonia of St. Petersburg. He has also performed with early music ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music (Berlin), the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Musica Viva (Moscow), the Baroque Orchestra (Seville), the Camerata Salzburg and the Baroque Orchestra (Halle). In previous seasons, he's been invited to perform with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played Sibelius’s Violin Concerto under the direction of Klaus Mäkelä on the composer’s birthday. He also performed at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and gave a solo recital in Japan. During the 2023/24 season, he travelled the world as both a conductor and soloist. His debut with the Budapest Festival Orchestra in Hungary resulted in an immediate repeat invitation, leading to subsequent concerts in Bruges, Budapest, and Spoleto. He performed with La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, and the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen. He also performed at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Nelson Arts Festival in New Zealand, and the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland. During the 2024/25 concert season, he has been invited to perform with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic, and the Philharmonic of the Republic of North Macedonia. He has appeared at the L’Aquila Chamber Music Festival and the Festival de Música Antigua de Sevilla, as well as at the Konzerthaus Dortmund and the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, where he performed in the acclaimed Igudesman & Joo show. His recordings of works by composers such as J. S. Bach, Paganini, Ysaÿe, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Bartók have been released by labels including DECCA, EASonus, Hänssler Profil, Alba, Pan Classics, and Solo Musica. His interpretation of J. S. Bach’s Six Suites for Cello earned him the OPUS Klassik 2021 award. Critics have praised him highly for his performances on the violoncello da spalla, a small five-stringed instrument played resting on the shoulder — possibly used by Bach and his contemporaries. His videos featuring the instrument have garnered over a million views online. In 2019, he recorded Paganini’s 24 Caprices, further demonstrating his technical mastery and interpretive depth. Sergey Malov began playing the violin at the age of six, receiving his early musical training in St. Petersburg under Tatiana Liberova. He later continued his studies at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where he worked with Helmut Zehetmair, Igor Ozim, Thomas Zehetmair, and Thomas Riebl. He went on to specialize at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid and the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. Sergey Malov performs on a range of original and replica master instruments, including a 1678 Baroque violin by Gioffredo Cappa, generously provided by the Jumpstart Jr. Foundation in Amsterdam. He also plays a Baroque violin and violoncello da spalla crafted by luthier Dmitry Badiarov, along with Badiarov’s Baroque bows. A polyglot, Malov is fluent in German, English, Italian, Spanish, and Hungarian. He is also actively engaged in sports such as football, gymnastics, and martial arts. In addition to his career as a concert musician, he has served as professor of violin at the Zurich University of the Arts since 2017.