Artists who are taking Shor’s shilling
NewsDescribing itself as ‘as one of the world’s most notable classical music festivals’, InClassica International Music Festival will be resident next April at Dubai Opera ‘with a special edition dedicated to marking the 55th birthday of renowned contemporary composer Alexey Shor’.
Shor is a US hedge-fund millionaire who has drawn a slate of renowned performers to Dubai, among them: violinists Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Lozakovich, Gil Shaham and María Dueñas; violist David Aaron Carpenter; pianist Mikhail Pletnev; cellists Edgar Moreau and Gautier Capuçon; and conductor Lionel Bringuier.
See Van’s recent investigation for further particulars.
There is something very dodgy indeed about this cult of Shor, and InClassica, and any of this organisation that are actually Russian, with ties in Malta and Dubai.
Shor is also deliberately evasive in interviews, claiming to be a simple mathematician who loves creating music. No doubt to try and draw less attention to his dubious background.
Word on the grapevine is that he’s somehow managed to procure five different passports from five different countries (Ukraine, Russian, Maltese, Israeli and American). Why may that be, I wonder.
Is he a good composer? Heavens no. It is subpar gcse standard, and much of it sounds like it was generated by AI.
Good on you Norman for raising a light on him. I think it’s time to discuss who he really is, and where is this money coming from.
Are you offended that they don’t allow you to play or something ?
Maybe his music is not the best, but does it really bother you so much? Is your life so pathetic ?
You need to try to make conspiracy theories for some special reason? Do you need more passports ? What’s your issue ? Or is better than he would spend his money in sports or wonderful politics ?
I always wonder, what does really bother to people who write and complain about his music?
Are you also complaining about the musical performing standards that are very very, let’s say, questionable ?
He donated and support a wonderful music institution, among many other staff, giving and helping young kids, does his “not” great music writing bother you so much and is better not to help the young kids with “real” talent and future ?
Please find something to do and stop criticising people out of jealousy….
Aaand just like that…their PR agents come to the defence of Alexey Shor (which by the way never was his real name). It’s quite telling how this particular PR agent comes along like how Scientologists defend their cult of a religion, with a hysterical amount of question marks.
Funny thing is, with your attitude, you actually confirm something indeed fishy is going on.
I hope they’re paying you nicely to rebuke claims about Shor and his dubious money.
“Word on the grapevine is that he’s somehow managed to procure five different passports from five different countries (Ukraine, Russian, Maltese, Israeli and American). Why may that be, I wonder.”
There are so many people from the former USSR who hold a Russian passport by birth, an Israeli passport because they first emigrated there, and then an American passport because they moved on to the USA. With regard to Malta, passport collecting through citizenship-by-investment programs became very common among ultra-wealthy individuals during the 2010s. Financial advisors often suggested acquiring further citizenships, if under their umbrella was a firm that specialized in doing all the paperwork for many tens of thousands of dollars; it was a common upsell.
One is right to be suspicious considering how many people using programs like Malta’s gained their vast wealth through dodgy means, but the original VAN investigation did not find that to be the case for Shor, at least not until recently with those links to Russia. Shor’s crime is merely bad taste and corrupting various performers who were once trustworthy barometers for good taste.
A shame Pavel Vernikov, who has been helping himself handsomely via Shor & co. (as VAN details), or Boris Brovtsyn aren’t involved in the birthday bash
Not quite as Shor as he’d have us believe.
And, how does millionair music sound?
Let’s hear.
A violin sonata:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC5QFwXyE0k
A cello concerto:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBcJBD6PCP0
A piano concerto:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyAwdJVsh04
A violin concerto (hilarious):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBeUSj0ab5w
For the professional ear, this is all fake music, full of voice leading mistakes, in fact: cheap entertainment music dressed-up as ‘classical’.
With money you can buy everything, including your performers. except talent.
What a shame that an august institution such as the Yehudi Menuhin School seems to have unwittingly(?) become involved with Shor’s shady arena of dodgy dealings and “funny” money. Shor was appointed Associate Composer at the school in 2022. The Director of Music, Ashley Wass, speaks highly of his work.
I work in Armenia and Shor is currently the Composer in Residence of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. A decent orchestra but Shor features in every single concert, sadly – almost weekly; not least in that there is a lot of very good Armenian music that needs to be better known and publicised.
Thanks for that, Tara.
Finally Slipped Disc is talking about the absolute best living composer of the Eastern Block!
I feel so sorry for the musicians who agreed to perform his music and congratulate to the fine musicians who rejected learning Shor’s so called music!
Some keywords for people who like to dig more:
Wagner konservatorium, Del Gesu foundation, Khachaturian competition, Armen/Sergey Smbatyan.