UE composers from Mexico

Born in Uzhgorod (former Soviet Union, now Ukraine), Anatoly Zatin graduated from the Leningrad State Conservatory of Music as composer, orchestral conductor, and concert pianist. He became the youngest member in the history of the Leningrad Union of Composers in 1979 and a few years later made his conducting debut with the Leningrad Philharmonic. He continues the traditions of the European school, having studied, collaborated, and being influenced by musicians like Sergei Slonimsky, Ilya Musin, Ravil Martynov, Evgeny Mravinsky, Pavel Serebriakov, Yury Ananiev, Abraham Logovinsky, Alexandra Vavilina, Anatoly Nikitin, Timofei Dokshitzer, Vladimir Kafelnikov, Yury Kramarov and many others.

Dr. Zatin has been awarded numerous prizes in the artistic and musical environment: first prize at the Kiev Competition for Young Composers and Pianists (1968); second prize at the Sergei Prokofiev International Piano Competition (1979); prize of the Brass Bulletin for his Triple Concerto for French Horn, Trumpet, Piano and orchestra (1981); prizes of the USSR Association of Musical Theatre Artists for the best musical of the year (1987 and 1990), among others. He was presented with the prestigious Mozart Medal in 2015 and in 1990 with the UNICEF Medal of Honour for his activities as pianist and conductor. In 2021 he joined Mexican Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (SNCA).

He served as artistic director of the Ekaterinburg Musical Theatre and principal conductor of the B-A-C-H Chamber Orchestra in Russia. As guest conductor with the Moscow Philharmonic he made recordings for the USSR Central Radio station, for ‘Melodiya’ and for Azzurra Music in Italy. In 1990 he was presented with the UNICEF Medal of Honour and in 2015 with the prestigious Mozart Medal in Mexico.

Throughout his career Dr. Zatin has performed at the most prestigious music festivals in the world: International Festival of Contemporary Music in Hungary, Musical Spring in St Petersburg, International Art Festival in Korea, Shakespeare Festival in Stratford upon Avon, UNESCO Festival in Leningrad, Black and White Piano Festival in Mexico, Musicalta in Alsace, Silver Lyre Chamber Music Festival in St Petersburg, Mozart Festival in Shanghai and many others. He has toured over 20 countries performing at many of the world’s most important concert venues: National Arts Palace and National Auditory in Mexico, Opera City Hall in Tokyo, St Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, First Concert Hall in Stockholm, Liszt Academy in Budapest, Carnegie Hall in New York and Foro Confalone in Rome.

Dr. Zatin frequently serves as member of the jury at music competitions in Mexico, the United States of America, Canada, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, and China. In 2001 an international piano competition was established in Ukraine bearing his name.

His master classes can be appreciated at the Petrof Fest in Czech Republic (where he serves as Artistic Director), Semper Music Festival and Cremona International Music Academy in Italy, at Zell an der Pram Austrian Master Classes, the Summer Music Academy in Kiev, at the International Piano Festival of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, as well as United States of America, Japan and Mexico.

Since 1991 he lives and works in Mexico. From 1999 to 2023 he taught at the University of Colima, where he established the professional music programs, served as Chairman of the Music Department (2001-2011) and as Dean of the Fine Arts Institute (2011-2016). Many of his students have pursued successful international careers. With wife pianist Vlada Vassilieva he formed Duo Petrof in 2003. The ensemble quickly attained international recognition, winning numerous awards for their recordings, touring in Europe, Asia, and America, and being praised by audiences and critics alike (www.duopetrof.com). Since May 2020 Vlada Vassilieva and Anatoly Zatin are presidents of the WPTA Piano Duo association.

Mexican-born composer, conductor and pianist Arturo Rodríguez has been creating symphonic works since his first orchestral piece Mosaico Mexicano was premiered by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in the year 2000 while he was still an undergraduate in college. His music has reached concert halls around the world and has been an active film and tv composer and conductor for the past two decades. Arturo Rodríguez is the winner of Mexico’s Mozart Medal (1996) for his piano career. The award was presented by the Austrian Embassy in México and The Domecq Cultural Foundation. He was a Sundance Film Institute Composer Fellow in 2010.

Carlos Ramirez is a Mexican-Australian composer born in Mexico City in 1967. He is a self-taught composer with orchestral and chamber music in his repertoire. Carlos studied classical guitar at the State of Mexico Fine Arts School in 1986. From 1986-1992 he studied violin and music lessons with Professor Virgilio Valle, the assistant director of the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and a former student of Sergiu Celebidache. In 1986 Carlos joined the youth chamber orchestra SOFIJUM, touring parts of Mexico and reaching the principal violin chair. He started composing music without any formal composition education with a trio of two violins and a cello. This first piece was premiered by Carlos himself in Toluca, Mexico.

In 1987 he composed his First String Quartet and Symphony. In 1988 he composed the overture Silence Impressions Op.5 for which he received the 1988 CREA National Composition Prize in Mexico. Carlos also received the second award in the 1990 Felipe Villanueva National Composition Contest, which led to its premiere in 1991 with the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra (OSEM) under Enrique Bátiz. In 1991 he composed the “Jupiter” Variations for string orchestra on a theme by W.A. Mozart. This has been performed by youth ensembles in the State of Mexico Conservatory and the Orchestre de Chambre de Carthage in Tunisia. In 2013 he composed 11:15, Jubilee for Orchestra, in Warsaw, Poland. This is based on a trumpet call played every day at 11:15 am in the Warsaw Castle. In 2022 he composed September, Idyll for Orchestra.

His music has received positive comments from notable musicians such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Manuel Enriquez, Mario Lavista, Arturo Márquez, Francoise Legrand, Agustin Cullel, Enrique Bátiz, and Eduardo Diazmuñoz. Several of Carlos’s compositions are available in well-known music streaming platforms.

Carlos lived from 2012-2023 in Perth, Western Australia where he joined the violin section in the Fremantle Symphony Orchestra. In November 2014, the Orchestra performed Carlos’s Silence Impressions Overture. Carlos has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, and two Master of Science degrees from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Carlos now resides in Monterrey, Mexico where he works in the manufacturing industry and actively composing music.

Hailed as ‘an astonishing composing talent’ (Apple Music), Rodrigo Ruiz’s music, streamed in 150+ countries in the five inhabited continents of the globe, fills a void left by most new music. This ‘unabashedly tonal’ (BBC Music Magazine) and ‘impeccably crafted [music]’ (Apple Music), instantly appeals to musicians and audiences alike, but doesn’t wear after repeated listening. Perhaps this explains why it is in high demand amongst top artists and ensembles around the world.

Rodrigo’s award-winning compositions are published by Universal Edition, with recent commissions coming from soprano Grace Davidson, violinist Kerenza Peacock, violist Ismel Campos, and Mexico’s National System of Musical Endowment (SNFM). His works have been performed in three continents by world-class musicians and ensembles the likes of Huw Watkins MBE, Laura van der Heijden (BBC Young Musician Award 2012), Christopher Glynn (GRAMMY® Award Winner), Francesca Chiejina, Jocelyn Freeman, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, Alison Farr, Massimo Spada, José Miguel Rodilla, Iván del Prado and Rodrigo Sierra Moncayo, to name a few.

As part of Signum Classics star-studded artist roster he made his debut in 2021 on the Billboard Classical Charts with his album Behold the Stars, which quickly positioned itself as iTunes UK № 2 Bestseller, and iTunes US № 3 Bestseller; it was included in Apple Music’s Top 10 Albums of the Month, and given a stellar review (★★★★) from BBC Music Magazine.

In 2002, just shy of 14 at the time, the Mexican composer won the State of Baja California’s Outstanding Composition Award at the Second Piano Biennal Competition. In 2008, still in his teens, he became the first generation of Young Artist Fellows at Talentos Artísticos: Valores de Baja California, a programme of Mexico’s Cultural Institute of Baja California (ICBC).

Rodrigo holds a Bachelor of Music cum laude in Piano Performance from Lawrence University and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he was the recipient of the merit-based scholarship of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, studying under Kenneth Kiesler. He then spent five years specialising in composition under the eminent Francesco Telli of the Conservatorio Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy. Later, through the generous help of the prestigious Joseph Campbell Scholarship, he attended the intensive Mythological Studies programme at Pacifica Graduate Institute during 2020/21.

Besides composing, Rodrigo conducts —he was assistant conductor in Naxos Records’ recording of Milhaud: L’Orestie d’Eschyle, nominated for the 2015 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Opera Recording— and writes about music and mythology. He is fascinated by literature and languages; he speaks fluent Spanish, English, French and Italian, as well as some German.

For more information please visit: www.rodrigoruiz.com