A tour featuring masters of the Russian music culture took place in Malaysia with active participation from the RCSC for a period of 2 weeks from the 30th of August until the 12th of September. The ensemble comprised of winners of many international competitions: Lisa Smirnova (piano) and Anna Kandinskaya (violin). Both musicians are engaged by the Austrian government to teach in Austria, and regularly travel on concert tours around the world. Both are experienced professors at renowned musical institutions: Lisa at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, while Anna teaches at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna. This is their second visit to Malaysia. The first took place in September last year, also with much assistance from the RCSC. Cellist Robert Choi, who currently resides in Malaysia, performed along with the Russian ladies for the whole tour. Together, their ensemble is known as the “Vienna Chamber Players”, whose repertoire consists of world-famous chamber music pieces.

The trio’s concert activities in Kuala Lumpur were extensive. A major part of it was in collaboration with “H.E.A.R.T. Foundation”, a local charity organization which managed the welfare of young orphans, and which is currently striving towards building a new orphanage in the state of Selangor. The “Vienna Chamber Players” gave three concerts in aid of “H.E.A.R.T. Foundation”.

Aside from the charity mission, the trio also did much music-educational work in Malaysia. The musicians, with the support of “Allegro school of music”, organized an international summer master-class, which was attended by talented young Malaysians from around the country.

An opening concert featuring the Vienna Chamber Players took place on the 4th of September at the RCSC for the Russian expatriates living in Malaysia as well as for the general public. The first half of the evening’s program was performed by the best participants of the master-class (L. Smirnova and A. Kandinskaya’s Malaysian students), while the second half featured the trio’s own masterful playing.

On the 6th of September, L. Smirnova, A. Kandinskaya and R. Choi performed once again at the RCSC for an audience that comprised of the Malaysian royal family, business-elites, and the diplomatic corps. The evening’s opening speech was given by the trio of the Russian Federation to Malaysia L.G. Vorob’eva. She was happy to note the fact that Russian-Malaysian cultural ties are dynamically developing at the moment.

The honored guests were treated to an extensive and carefully selected program of classical music works by Russian and Western-European composers: P. Tchaikovsky, S. Rachmaninov, J. Haydn, G. Ligeti, J. Brahms and F. Mendelssohn.

The trio’s splendid performance was a true festival of the Russian performing arts. The audience literally showered the musicians with applause after every single number. They were all warm in their praises on the musicians’ playing. It was also decided that the tour and series of master-classes by L. Smirnova and A. Kandinskaya in Malaysia would be a yearly event.