"I have admired Maxim Vengerov since I first saw him some 10 years ago," said EMI Classics president Richard Lyttelton in a statement. "He is without question the finest violinist of his generation and this major signing is a clear indication of EMI's confidence in the long-term future of the classical music industry."
The violinist is currently taking a sabbatical from performing in order to ride his motorcycle across the United States and study jazz improvisation and tango dancing‹the latter is included in a Benjamin Yusupov concerto that Vengerov will premiere in May 2005.