Percussion

Maksim Sanin

In the orchestra since 2023

Maksim Sanin graduated from the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (class of Professor, Honoured Artist of Russia Alexander Suvorov). He is the winner of All-Russian and international competitions, including the All-Russian Competition for Symphony Orchestra Artists (Moscow, 2019-2021 – III Prize, 2022 – I Prize); the ‘Drum Wave’ International Competition-Festival of Percussion Instruments, Marching and Brass Bands (St. Petersburg, 2019 – I prize); the International Grand Video Competition GRAND MUSIC ART (Moscow, 2018 – II Prize, 2020 – I prize). He was awarded a grant from the President of the Russian Federation.

Since 2014, he has been an artist of the Belgorod Academic Russian Orchestra of the Belgorod State Philharmonic. Since 2019, he has been an artist of the orchestra of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre. Since 2021, he has been teaching at the Gnesin RAM Children’s Music School.

As a guest artist, he has collaborated with such ensembles as the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic, the ‘Novaya Rossiya’ State Symphony Orchestra, the ‘Russian Philharmonic’ Moscow City Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Russian State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography, the State Kremlin Orchestra of Russia, the Chamber Orchestra of the Moscow Conservatory, OpensoundOrchestra, and others.

He actively conducts concert and contest activities. He took part in such projects as the international tour of the Russian-British Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra conducted by Jan Latham-Koenig (2019); the world premiere of the musical drama in seven parts by Sergei Akhunov based on the text by Sergei Zavyalov ‘Christmas Fast’ (2021, Zaryadye Hall, the Musica Viva Moscow Chamber Orchestra); performance of Steve Reich’s works Music for 18 Musicians and Drumming as part of the Moscow Percussion Ensemble (2022, 2023, Zaryadye Hall, Dom Radio, etc.).

WHAT BROUGHT YOU INTO THE WORLD OF MUSIC?

Music has been around me literally since I was born. My mom works at a music school — she used to teach accordion and later switched to teaching percussion. She also played guitar and violin, so there were always different instruments at home. It’s no surprise that I wanted to do something similar as a kid. I remember sneaking into the storage room, grabbing pots of different sizes, stretching plastic bags over them, and drumming away for hours. I started music school at age seven, though my first instrument was actually the clarinet. Two years later, I switched to percussion, and after a while, I joined my mom’s class. That’s when my professional journey in music really began.

IF YOU WEREN’T A MUSICIAN, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?

I actually started doing folk dancing at the age of six — even before I got into music. For about ten years, I performed with various groups and took part in competitions all over Russia. At one of those events, I was noticed and invited to join a professional dance company. So, the very first job listed in my work record is “ballet artist.” When I entered music college, I realized I had to choose: dance or music. I chose music. Still, the dance experience stayed with me — especially since rhythm and movement are so closely connected to percussion.

WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSIONAL DREAM?

I’m really interested in projects that mix dance and percussion. One example is body percussion — using your body as an instrument. I once came across a piece by Alexey Gerassimez called COSONI, written in this style, and I immediately knew it was for me. I ordered the sheet music, started rehearsing, and later performed it in concert. The piece has a section where the performer is supposed to improvise, so I started diving into the work of modern choreographers like Mats Ek, Akram Khan, Ohad Naharin, and others. I think the result was quite balanced, and colleagues from musicAeterna Dance who saw the video gave me really kind feedback.

WHAT’S THE MOST UNUSUAL INSTRUMENT YOU’VE PLAYED?

The most unusual percussion instrument I’ve ever played is probably a censer — the kind used in churches. There’s actually a part written for it in one of Teodor Currentzis’s pieces. He specifically wanted incense to be burning — it’s even marked in the score. During rehearsals, I learned that different censers produce different sounds. Teodor showed me exactly how to move it, how to get the sound he wanted, how to mix and light different types of incense. It was a fascinating experience.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PIECE?

One of my favorites from the musicAeterna repertoire is Boléro by Maurice Ravel. It has a very prominent snare drum part, which I usually play. I loved Teodor’s idea to start the piece as a kind of meditation — timeless, calm, continuous. To me, it’s one of the most challenging snare drum parts — not technically, but psychologically. The rhythm is simple, but you have to play it in a loop for around 20 minutes, keeping it perfectly steady and confident. Performing Boléro with musicAeterna was a great honor and an unforgettable experience.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR ENERGY FROM?

Sometimes people joke that percussionists get lots of rest because we often have long pauses in symphonic music. But of course, that’s not really true — you always have to stay focused and in the music. Plus, percussion instruments are so diverse that we prepare for each new program from scratch. That’s why I keep myself in creative shape. I practice every day, work with music scores, study recordings. Staying physically fit is also key — I do daily exercises, bodyweight workouts, breathing techniques, and more.