The acclaimed InClassica International Music Festival, organised by SAMIT Event Group, marks its return to Dubai on Sunday 6th April 2025, opening its 14th edition with a spectacular concert at Dubai Opera featuring the renowned Spanish violinist María Dueñas. Hailed for her sense of “freedom and joyous individuality”, Dueñas is a multiple-prize-winner at a multitude of international competitions, including First Prize at the 2017 Zhuhai International Mozart Competition, 2018 Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition, and the 2021 Menuhin Violin Competition, and Grand Prize at the Viktor Tretyakov International Violin Competition, amongst many others. A BBC Radio 3 Generation Artist from 2021 to 2023, Dueñas is also a recipient of the prestigious Premio Princesa de Girona de las Artes y las Letras in her native Spain, and has been an Exclusive Deutsche Grammophon Artist since 2022. For this occasion, the violinist will be teaming up with the illustrious Franz Schubert Filharmonia, who shall be performing under the baton of the distinguished Armenian conductor Sergey Smbatyan. About the Festival The InClassica International Music Festival, running from the 6th to the 21st of April 2025, is a celebration of the very best that the world of classical music has to offer. Featuring a series of concerts with some of the most renowned soloists, orchestras and conductors of our time, the festival boasts a multitude of richly diverse programmes ranging from seminal favourites all the way up to contemporary masters, promising a momentous event and an unforgettable experience for all
Armenian conductor Sergey Smbatyan learned to play the violin at the age of 4. He won international violin competitions in Romania, Japan and Italy at the age of 13.
In 2010, Smbatyan made his conducting debut in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra as part of a charity concert organized by HRH Prince Charles which was held at Windsor Castle.
From 2018-2019, he conducted several orchestra performances such as the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Strathmore Music Center, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia and the Moscow State Conservatory among others.
