Maxim Viktorovich Beitan (Latvian:Maksims Beitāns) (Russian: Максим Викторович Бейтан) (born 25 November 1986), known as Max Beitan, is a Latvian cellist. He is the winner of 18 international competitions, five of them Grand Prix Awards. Max Beitan tours and performs extensively in Europe, the US and Asia and is famous by his virtuosic repertoire. Beitan currently resides in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, Switzerland.

Early life

Beitan was studying with Johannes Goritzki, Victoria Yagling and Natalia Gutman. When Beitan was four, he began his first cello studies in Latvia with Irina Titarenko in

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

, Latvia. At the age of five, Beitan had his first solo concert and at the age of six, he was invited to perform at a concert that was broadcast on National Latvian Television (Latvian:

Latvijas Televīzija Latvijas Televīzija (''Latvian Television'', LTV) is the state-owned public service broadcasting, public service television broadcaster in Latvia. LTV operates two channels, LTV1 in Latvian language, Latvian and LTV7 (previously called LTV2) in ...

) where he was awarded by the Latvian composer Raimods Pauls. Since early childhood, Beitan has performed all over Europe and has won 18 international music competitions, five of which were the highest ''Grand Prix'' Awards, including the ''Grand Prix'' of the National Competition "Talent of Latvia", ‘’Liezen cello competition’’ ''Grand Prix (''as an additional prize he received 19th century cello from the

Soros Foundation Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the st ...

as a gift), Teodor Reiter international competition ''Grand Prix'', the Dotzauer Prize in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and the "New Names" in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, which led to him studying with Daniel Shafran. In 2006 he graduated from a Musical College in Latvia and began attending The

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where Beitan obtained a Higher Education Degree. He obtained Master's and Soloist Degree at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana

SUPSI The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI, ) is a public vocational university located in Ticino, Switzerland. It offers over 30 bachelor's and master's programs, blending theoretical scientific knowledge with pra ...

Career

In 1997 he was awarded at the

Tchaikovsky International competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

for youth and performed at the Great Hall of the Rimsky-Korsakov conservatory in St.Petersburg. In the 1997 he was personally awarded by the

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n President

Guntis Ulmanis Guntis Ulmanis (born 13 September 1939) is a Latvian politician and the fifth President of Latvia from 1993 to 1999. Biography Early life Guntis Ulmanis was born in Riga on 13 September 1939. His great uncle Kārlis Ulmanis was one of the most ...

for the international achievements. In the 2007 he was invited to perform on the Latvian Independence Day where he met a new president of Latvia

Valdis Zatlers Valdis Zatlers (; born 22 March 1955) is a Latvian politician and former physician who served as the seventh president of Latvia from 2007 to 2011. He won the Latvian presidential election of 31 May 2007. He became President of Latvia on 8 July ...

. In 2008 Beitan met and had an open lesson with a

Bernard Greenhouse Bernard Greenhouse (January 3, 1916 – May 13, 2011) was an American cellist and one of the founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio. Life and career Greenhouse was born in Newark, New Jersey and began playing the cello at the age of eight. He ...

during Maestro's visit in

. In 2010 he met

Ivo Pogorelich Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

which has resulted in many years of collaboration. Max Beitan guests with the orchestras such as The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra,

Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana The Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (OSI; literal translation, Orchestra of Italian Switzerland) is a Swiss orchestra based in Lugano. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the ''Auditorio RSI''. The OSI also gives a concert series at the Sa ...

, Sinfonietta Riga, Saint Petersburg State Academic Cappella, The Latvian National Opera Orchestra, The Latvian National Opera Choir,

Dresdner Philharmonie The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the '' Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche and the Frauenkirche Dresden. It receive ...

, Evian Festival Orchestra, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. Max Beitan has appeared in concert with a conductors such as Rafael Frühbeck,

Nicholas Milton Nicholas Christopher Milton (born 1967 in Sydney) is an Australian conductor and violinist. Career Milton studied violin with Gillian McIntyre, Robert Pikler and Harry Curby, graduating from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He accepted a sch ...

, Alexander Vilumanis, Normunds Sne, Aigars Merijs-Meri, Andris Vecumnieks,

Vladislav Chernushenko Vladislav Alexandrovich Chernushenko (; born January 14, 1936) is a Soviet and Russian conductor, People's Artist of the USSR and State Prize laureate. He was educated at the , where his teacher was , and later moved to the Leningrad Conservato ...

, Rimas Geniusas, Laurence Dale. Max Beitan was performing on the pre-opening of the

Lugano Arte e Cultura Lugano Arte e Cultura (LAC) is a polyfunctional cultural centre dedicated to music, visual and performance arts in Lugano, Switzerland. It houses the Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana (MASI Lugano) and hosts events such as "LuganoInScena" and " ...

LAC Lugano concert hall. He is a participant of the Lugano Festival, Baltic Musical Seasons, Summertime Festival Jurmala, Evian Festival and others. He performed on the Venetian Film Festival Musical awards with Erika Lemay as well as opening Latvian Musical Awards ceremony together with the violinist Raimonds Ozols.

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, ...

Andris Nelsons Andris Nelsons (born 18 November 1978) is a Latvian conductor. He is currently music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'' of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was previously music director of the Lat ...

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (; ; 10 December 1938 – 2 November 2023) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, named a People's Artist of the USSR. Early life Born in 1938 in the North Caucasus city of Nalchik, Temirkanov attended the Saint Petersburg ...

Heinrich Schiff Heinrich Schiff (; 18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. Early life Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria. His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers. H ...

, Maria Kliegel and

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Clas ...

have admired his playing.

Activities

Mr. Beitan is passionate in charity activities and is working with the cultural foundations to bring artist and instrument together by encouraging philanthropists and investors to acquire the finest Italian instruments. To assist and promote young musicians, as well as renowned artists, with their careers by loaning them top-class instruments created by

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', a ...

Guarneri del Gesu Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...

and other famous historical Italian violinmaker. In collaboration with Fondo Ambiente Italiana and Fine Violins Vienna he has organized an exhibition at the Villa del Balbianello on the Como Lake in 2014. In 2016 he presented a quartet of Stradivari instruments in Villa Mozart in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 2017 in collaboration with the Baltic Musical Seasons and Fine Violins Vienna Beitan brought an Italian stringed instrument collection to The Art Museum Riga Bourse in Latvia.

Recognition and awards

* Grand Prix, National Competition "Talent-Latvia", Riga, Latvia, 1992 * Grand Prix, International Cello competition, Liezen, Austria, 1996 * Award, International P.Tchaikovsky Competition in St.Petersburg, Russia, 1997 * Grand Prix, National Competition "Talent-Latvia", Riga, Latvia, 1998 * 1st prize, International Competition "Valsesia Musica" in Italy, 2002 * Grand Prix, T. Reiter International Competition in Riga, Latvia, 2002 * 1st Prize, International Competition "Olimpo Muzikale" in Kaunas (Lithuania), 2005 * 1st prize MBF Education Awards London, UK 2007 * 1st prize, Anna Shuttleworth Prize, London, UK 2008 * Award, Credit Suisse Prix, Luzern, Switzerland 2012 * 2nd International Dotzauer Competition in Dresden, Germany, 2001 and 2005 * 2nd prize International E.Bloch Competition, London, UK 2009 *ESKAS Swiss Government Scholarship, May 2010, 2011

Instruments

Instruments he has played includes: *

cello “Archinto” from 1689 *

cello “Magg” from 1698 * David Tecchler cello from 1698

References

External links

Max Beitan Web page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beitan, Max 1986 births Latvian classical cellists Living people