Elvin is a solo concert violinist with a broad and diverse repertoire who is currently pursuing his Konzertexamen degree at Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen with Prof. Aleksey Semenenko and his second Master’s degree in Instrumentalsolist program of UdK Berlin with Mark Gothoni simultaneously.

He holds a Master’s Degree from Hochschule für Musik Theater und Medien Hannover in Germany, where he studied with Professor Krzysztof Wegrzyn, and also a Bachelor’s Degree from Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Spain, from the class of Professor Zakhar Bron.

Elvin was born in 1997 into a family of esteemed musicians and started playing the violin when he was five years old. At the age of 8, he gave his first orchestral concert with his grandfather Server Ganiyev, and that same year he was admitted to the Zurich Conservatory Young Student program. Since the age of 10, when Elvin made his debut with Moscow Virtuosi under the baton of Vladimir Spivakov at the Kremlin Palace, he has always performed with renowned conductors and esteemed orchestras in prominent concert halls and prestigious international festivals throughout the world.

Elvin has won numerous awards and honors at prestigious international competitions. In 2023, he won the 2nd place at the prestigious Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition. He was the Semi-finalist and the winner of the special iPalpiti Prize at the 2021 George Enescu International Violin Competition. The same year, he was also awarded the Public Prize at the International Jascha Heifetz Violin Competition, where he was a semifinalist.

Elvin is also the laureate of many other reputable international music competitions, including the David Oistrakh Violin Competition, Lipinski-Wieniawski Competition for Young Musicians, Golden Medal Berliner International Music Competition, and Vienna International Music Competition, to name a few.

Some of the orchestras he has played with are Berliner Philharmoniker, Moscow Virtuosi, Shanghai Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Philharmonic, Azerbaijani State Philharmonic, Qatar Philharmonic, Odessa Philharmonic, New Russia Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Musica Viva Moscow, Tchaikovsky Symphony and nearly all the Turkish orchestras; with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Yuri Bashmet, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Zakhar Bron, Sasha Goetzel, Server Ganiyev, Dmitry Liss, Rengim Gökmen, Valery Vorona, Klaus Weise, Placido Domingo… at venues as Carnegie Hall, The Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Kremlin Palace and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall Moscow, Grand Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Opera Garnier Monte-Carlo, De Doelen Rotterdam, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Athena Megaro Hall, Zurich Tonhalle, The Royal Albert Hall, St. John’s Smith Square London…

He released a debut album in 2019, “Say’s 1001 Nights in the Harem Violin Concerto,” and a Single “Chausson, Poème Op.25,” on digital music platforms. He recorded with LGT Young Soloists for the “Italian Journey” album under RCA Red Seal/Sony Music Switzerland.

His latest album, “Voyages, Chapter Istanbul,” where he performed Cem Esen’s and Fazıl Say’s Violin Sonatas, was released in 2021. He is currently developing new recording projects both for classical and contemporary works.

Elvin founded an ensemble of 15 musicians called “Afterimage Ensemble,” whose purpose is to play lesser-known compositions of composers from minority groups. The ensemble is working on the concert programs and planning performances for the upcoming seasons.

Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev is supported by the ÇEV Contemporary Education Foundation of Turkey Young Talents Project. Elvin performs on a 1715 Guiseppe Guarneri “filius Andreae” violin with an Eugène Sartory bow.

TESTIMONIALS

“I’m truly impressed by his tremendous talent.” | Zubin Mehta

“Elvin has shown exceptional talent as a soloist. Apart from his high quality of technical

abilities, he is playing with a variety of colors in his sound and with an expression that

touches every audience.” | Prof. Zakhar Bron

“With his remarkable talents, I certainly believe that Elvin should be considered one of

the few greatest violinists of our time.” | Vladimir Ashkenazy

“Elvin embodies the characteristics of the world’s greatest virtuosos.” | Gennady

Rozhdestvensky

“I would like to give my utmost consideration regarding his distinguished talent and

promising potential for his future career.” | Plácido Domingo

Born in 1998 in Ankara, Umut Sağlam started his cello education with Tufan Tolga at HU Ankara State Conservatory in 2009. Between 2014-2016, he continued his education at MSFAU Istanbul State Conservatory with Dilbag Tokay. In 2016, he was accepted with a full scholarship to the Barenboim – Said Academy in Berlin and graduated from Prof. Frans Helmerson’s class in 2020.

In 2021, he started his master’s degree with Prof. Claudio Bohorquez at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin and completed it in 2024. He has taken part in festivals such as “Aurora Music Festival”, “Kronberg Cello Akademie”, “Istanbul Music Festival”, “Ayvalık International Music Academy”, “Krzyżowa Music Festival”, “Ysayé’s Knokke Music Festival”, “Villa Musica Quartet Lab”; He has had the opportunity to work and perform with esteemed musicians and instructors such as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Andras Schiff, Steven Isserlis, Gary Hoffman, Tabea Zimmermann, Daniel Müller-Schott, Peter Bruns, Maria Kliegel, Jens Peter Maintz and Alexander Rudin. Sağlam, who was supported with an instrument scholarship within the framework of Güher & Süher Pekinel “Young Musicians on World Stages” project from September 2017 to May 2022, has given many solo and chamber music concerts with a cello made by Nicolas Lupot in 1801 during this time.

He has performed as a soloist at home and abroad with orchestras such as, as Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Bursa State Symphony Orchestra, Çukurova State Symphony Orchestra, Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and
Orchestre des Jeunes du CRR de Paris.

In 2022, he was awarded the Aydın Gün Award by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, which supports promising young musicians in the field of classical music. Other awards he has won include; second prize in the International German and Austrian Music Competition held in Bulgaria in 2015 and first prize in the Young Virtuosi Competition held in Italy. In 2017, first prize in the International Young Talents Competition organized by the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, first prize in the Soloist category of the Gaetano Zinetti Music Competition held in Italy and first prize in the “Tremplin” International Cello Competition held in France in November of the same year.

In 2023, first prize and special prize for compulsory works at the 1st National Doğan Cangal Cello Competition,. In the 2024 “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Hochschulwettbewerb” competition, he won the “Freunde Junge Musiker Preis” and first prize with the Viatores Quartet, of which he is a founding member.

Sağlam has also taken part in various tours of the West – Eastern Divan Orchestra, conducted by the world-renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim, from 2018 to the present, and has taken part in concerts of orchestras such as Konzerthaus Berlin, Kammerakademie Potsdam, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, and Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 2019/2020 season, he was one of the 6 cellists selected for the “Classe d’excellence de
Violoncelle” program, a special cello class held at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris under the leadership of French cellist Gautier Capuçon.

Since 2023, Sağlam continues his chamber music graduate studies with the string quartet Viatores Quartet in the classes of Prof. Tabea Zimmermann at Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt and Prof. Oliver Ville at Hochschule für Musik Hannover. He plays a cello made by George Winterling in Hamburg in 1914.

1.Program

Haydn – Gypsy Trio

Shostakovich – Trio No.1

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Schubert – Op.100

2. Program: “Russian Night”

Rachmaninoff – Trio No.1 Elegy
Arensky – Trio

–

P.I. Tchaikovsky – Trio

3.Program

Say – Trio

Schnittke – Trio

–

Schostovich – Trio No.1 & 2

4 .Program: “French Night”

Ravel – Trio

Debussy – Trio

(+ A short french piece)