The fabulous laureate of the Reine Elisabeth prize, Alena Baeva, shares insights into her musical process, a fascinating look at her childhood in Kyrgystan and Khazahkstan, and her journey to becoming one of the most in demand violin soloists of our times. With her New York Philharmonic debut in 2023 and her chamber album, Fantasy, released in February 2024, Alena's career is sweeping ever higher and having her spend some moments with me, helping me decide how best to make the perfect Ukrainian borscht, was a delight beyond words. Come peek into this window of Alena's life, it is charming and beautiful...

0:00 - Series Introduction
0:25 - Alena Introduction
0:42 - Interview begins
2:07 - Performance of 10 year old Alena
5:31 - Garden visit
7:09 - Developing personal musicianship
9:04 - Discussing Strauss Violin Concerto, Opus 8, Estonian Festival Orchestra and Paavo Järvi
10:40 - Perfectionism and living in the moment in food and music
15:10 - Memories of a cold cellar and post-conservatory opportunities
18:50 - Reine Elisabeth and the path to Luxembourg
21:06 - Memories of food and tour
25:09 - Upcoming projects including Fantasy chamber album
28:07 - Eating and performance of Grażyna Bacewicz's Polish Caprice
30:22 - Outro with Ni Ensemble


Thank you to Alena for your beautiful insights!
https://alena-baeva.com/
https://www.instagram.com/baevochka?u...

Knight Classical Artistic Management
Many thanks for your support for this video!
https://knightclassical.com

The Estonian Festival Orchestra with Paavo Järvi
https://efo.ee

The Reine Elisabeth Competition
https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en

Fantasy with Vadym Kholodenko
  / fantasy  

Grażyna Bacewicz
https://polishmusic.usc.edu/research/...

Please check out the award winning Ni Ensemble who performed the theme music.
http://niensemble.com/Welcome.html
https://www.instagram.com/ni_ensemble...

Pieter Seyffert and What is Adventure Films, filming and editing
https://www.instagram.com/whatisadven...

Hannah Ni and Weeping Studios, graphic design and branding
https://www.instagram.com/weeping.stu...
https://weepstudio.com/

Borscht recipe based on Olia Hercules recipe from Mamushka
https://www.instagram.com/oliahercule...