Violinist Philippe Quint Receives Gateways Ambassador of Arts Award

On Wednesday, March 12, violinist Philippe Quint was awarded the Ambassador of Arts Award at the 16th Anniversary Gala Banquet of the Gateways Organization celebrating The Brownstone Experience. The banquet, held in the Delegates Dining Room at the United Nations, was attended by distinguished elected officials, world business leaders, dignitaries and over 400 prominent guests, also honoring fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin and Virginie and Mark Cohen, CEOs of Stonehouse Capital Management. Unfortunately, Quint was not able to be present at the Award ceremony. On the way to the United Nations, Quint's taxi was hit by another vehicle running a red light and Quint had to be hospitalized. Fortunately there were no serious injuries and he is scheduled to appear next week with the Rhode Island Philharmonic.

To celebrate the award and continue his mission of education awareness, the Russian American Foundation (RAF) will present a special benefit concert titled Philippe Quint and Friends on Tuesday, May 27 at 7pm in the Times Center in The New York Times Building (242 West 41st Street). The concert marks the opening of the 12th Annual Russian Heritage Month and the 35th anniversary of the Russian Jewish immigration, and will include an exhibit of artworks created by children with disabilities from underprivileged areas of New York City. All proceeds from the evening will benefit the Jewish Heritage Education Program managed by Russian American Foundation.

Founded in 1998 by Rabbi Mordechai Suchard, Gateways' mission is to provide opportunity for Jews from all nations to enrich their Jewish heritage through social programs and education. Suchard has devoted his time to building Gateways into a premier educational powerhouse that engages collegiates, young adults, families, singles and Russian immigrants in the United States and abroad to nurture and sustain Jewish identity, strengthen their connection to Israel and make informed decisions about their Jewish future. Gateways' Russian Division of The Brownstone, headed by Marina Kovalyov, President of The Russian American Foundation, has been instrumental in engaging the Russian-American Jewish community to embrace their Jewish identity. The Brownstone Experience of New York City has become a vital force that energizes Jewish meaning to the lives of the next generation. It offers young Jewish men and women from all over the world, an opportunity to strengthen their own Jewish identity through their year round dynamic and engaging immersion learning programs.

Founded in 1997, RAF encourages interest in and understanding of Russian heritage among all communities in the US, as well as promotes reciprocal interest in and understanding of American heritage among global Russian-speaking communities. Over the years, RAF has advocated arts education programs, specifically music, visual art and ballet, in various communities including children with disabilities. RAF has also promoted educational programs for the Chernobyl disaster through art exhibits, documentary films and conversational panels.

Violinist Philippe Quint is a multifaceted artist whose wide range of interests has led to several Grammy nominations for his albums, performances with major orchestras throughout the world at venues ranging from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig to Carnegie Hall in New York, a leading role in a major independent film called Downtown Express, and explorations of tango with his band The Quint Quintet. His recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Sofia Philharmonic led by conductor Martin Panteleev, paired with Anton Arensky's String Quartet No. 2, Op. 35 (for violin, viola, and two cellos) written in memory of Tchaikovsky, will be released in spring 2014.

Highlights of his 2013/14 season include debut performances with the London Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, Kansas Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and the San Antonio Symphony as well as return engagements with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and performances and a new recording of the Glazunov and Khachaturian Violin Concertos with the Bochumer Symphoniker and Steven Sloane.

Quint's live performances and interviews have been broadcast on television by CBS, CNN, ABC, BBC World News, NBC, Reuters, Bloomberg TV, as well as by radio stations nationwide including NPR, WNYC and WQXR. His recordings have received multiple "Editor's Choice" selections in Gramophone, The Strad, Strings, and the Daily Telegraph. His remarkable degree of lyricism, poetry and impeccable virtuosity has gripped the eyes and ears of audiences in Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa, Europe and the U.S. with what The Times (London) describes as his "bravura technique, and unflagging energy."

Philippe Quint is the first classical musician to star in the lead role of a major independent picture. Downtown Express, from Michael Hausman (producer of Gangs of New York, Brokeback Mountain and Amadeus) and multi-Emmy winning director David Grubin, is currently premiering through out the world at various national and international film festivals including Woodstock, New York, Houston, Mons (Belgium), Cuba, Vermont, and Florida.

Philippe Quint's formidable discography includes a large variety of rediscovered treasures along with popular works from standard repertoire. In November 2013, he released Opera Breve with pianist Lily Maisky, a unique collection of opera transcriptions for violin and piano featuring both popular and rare songs, on Avanticlassic. In May 2014, Quint records the Khachaturian and Glazunov Violin Concertos with the Bochumer Sinfoniker.

Quint's first album for Avanticlassic, a recording of the Mendelssohn and Bruch Violin Concertos and Beethoven's Romances with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería led by Carlos Miguel Prieto, was released in 2012. Gramophone described Quint's performance as "pure sound and refined expression. An account well worth hearing." His recordings of William Schuman's Violin Concerto (2007) and Korngold's Violin Concerto (2009) were both nominated for Grammy Awards. Other critically acclaimed albums include the world premiere recording of John Corigliano's Red Violin Caprices, Ned Rorem's Concerto, Miklos Rozsa's Complete Works for Violin and Piano with William Wolfram, Bernstein's Serenade, and a unique compilation of works by Paganini arranged by Fritz Kreisler, which BBC Music Magazine called "truly phenomenal." In addition, Quint is the featured violinist on the soundtracks of David Grubin's documentaries The Buddha, RFK, and The Jewish Americans.

Constantly in demand worldwide, Quint's most recent appearances include performances with the orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, New Jersey, Minnesota, Bournemouth, Houston, Weimar Staatskapelle, Royal Liverpool, China National, Orpheus, Berlin Komische Oper, Leipzig's MDR at the Gewandhaus, Nordwestdeutsche and Bochumer Symphonikers, Cape Town Philharmonic, and Plácido Domingo's Youth Orchestra of the Americas. He has performed under the batons of Marin Alsop, Carl St. Clair, Daniel Hege, Andrew Litton, Kurt Masur, Jorge Mester, Marco Parisotto, Martin Panteleev, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Klauspeter Seibel, Christopher Seaman, Kenneth Schermerhorn, Steven Sloane, Michael Stern, Bramwell Tovey, Gregory Vajda, and Martin Yates.

Philippe Quint has given solo recitals and chamber music performances at the Mostly Mozart, Caramoor, Ravinia, Aspen, Lincoln Center, and Chautauqua festivals, Lukas Foss's Hamptons Music Festival, Kravis Center, UC Davis Presents, Rome Chamber Festival, Moritzburg, El Paso, La Jolla SummerFest and at the National Gallery in Washington. In 2009, Quint formed The Quint Quintet, an ensemble dedicated to exploring the music of Astor Piazzolla and Argentine Tango.

Philippe Quint studied at Moscow's Special Music School for the Gifted with the famed Russian violinist Andrei Korsakov, and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine, performing Wieniawski's Concerto No. 2. After emigrating to the United States, he earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Juilliard. His distinguished pedagogues included Dorothy Delay, Cho-Liang Lin, Masao Kawasaki, and Felix Galimir. He also studied and participated in masterclasses with Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Arnold Steinhardt.

Among his many honors, Quint was the winner of the Juilliard Competition and Career Grant Recipient of Salon de Virtuosi, Bagby and Clarisse Kampel Foundations. Philippe Quint plays the magnificent 1708 "Ruby" Antonio Stradivari violin on loan to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society. He is managed by Arts Management Group and records for Avanticlassic.

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