Alexander Ghindin during his 2007 Competition performance with The Cleveland Orchestra and Jahja Ling. Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Russian pianist Alexander Ghindin won first prize at the 2007 Cleveland International Piano Competition. From the opening rounds, the 30-year-old Ghindin was the clear favorite, as Donald Rosenberg stated in his coverage for The Plain Dealer, “A full week before he won first prize in the 2007 Cleveland International Piano Competition…Russia's Alexander Ghindin leapt to the front of the piano pack." He clinched his victory with a performance of Rachmaninoff No. 3 with the Cleveland Orchestra with Jahja Ling.
Mr. Ghindin’s winnings include the $50,000 Mixon First Prize, a compact disc recording on the Naxos label, a series of engagements under the auspices of the Competition, two years of management service, and a New York recital debut—December 3, 2007 in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Mr. Ghindin graduated from Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory after completing master class studies with Professor M.S. Voskrensky in 2001. By the age of 14 he had already won the Moscow Young Pianists’ Competition, and at 17 became youngest ever winner at the 10th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994, later gaining Second Prize at Brussels International Reine Elisabeth Competition in 1999.
He subsequently joined the Moscow State Philharmonic as soloist in 1999, and has performed in his native Russia, as well as in Europe and Japan. The numerous ensembles and orchestras he has played with include the London and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, Orchester der Stadt Freiburg, New Japan Philharmonic, the Philharmonie de Liège, Flemish Radio, the Swedish Royal Festival Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Rotterdam Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Philharmonie de Luxembourgh, Israel Chamber Orchestra, the ’Moscow Virtuosi’, the St. Petersburg "Camerata", Russian National Orchestra etc. The recitals provided the opportunity to work with a wide range of conductors, including Vladimir Fedosseyev, Saulus Sandeczkis, Vasily Sinaysky, Yuri Simonov, Dimitry Kitaenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Spivakov, Vladimir Verbitsky, Paavo Järvi, Alan Gilbert, Leonard Slatkin, Artur Fagen, Tomasso Placidi and Thomas Zanderling.
Alexander Ghindin has played many distinguished venues, such as London’s Barbican, the Avery Fisher Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, Sumida Triphony Hall in Tokyo, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Gaveau, Théatre des Champs Elysees, and Théatre du Chatelet in Paris, Gasteig in Munich, Rudolfium in Prague, Riksallen in Stockholm, the Teatro Olympico in Rome, the Tel Aviv Opera, the Philharmonic Halls in Warsaw and St. Petersburg, the Moscow Conservatoire, and many others.
In the field of chamber music, Alexander Ghindin has collaborated with Vladimir Spivakov and Nikolay Petrov for many recordings and concerts
Alexander Ghindin has recorded 15 CDs, including a recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos No. 1 and 4 in their original versions with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra led by Vladimir Ashkenazy (2001, on Ondine).
He has also appeared on TV and Radio in Russia, Germany, Belgium, Japan, France, Luxembourg, Poland and elsewhere.
Highlights of the 2005-2006 season include the Berlin Symphony Orchestra at the Konzerthaus performing Rachmaninoff No. 4 with Eliahu Inbal, the Tokyo Suntory Hall with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony performing Chopin No. 1
With James de Priest, and the Brussels Palais-des-Beaux performing Rachmaninoff No. 3 with the Orchestre National de Belgique with Jean-Claude Casadesus.
During the 2007-2008 season, Mr. Ghindin will perform concerti with orchestras in Bordeaux, Ekaterinaburg, Kazan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Moscow, Pau (France), Monte Carlo, Prague, Slovenia, and Vilnius, among others."
PRESS ACCLAIM
At the Cleveland International Piano Competition:
“Ghindin's ability to build inexorably to peaks and instill the music with kinetic energy, especially in the swaggering finale, created heart-thumping excitement that illuminated Rachmaninoff's impassioned psyche.”
“…an electrifying account of Liszt's Sonata in B minor, which he shaped as the spiritual war of heavenly and diabolical forces that the music insinuates.”
“He has the power and speed of a virtuoso, plus the perception and poise needed to explore the inner workings of a score.”
-The Plain Dealer, reviewed by Donald Rosenberg
In Recital at the Kennedy Center:
"Alexander Ghindin is an uncommonly musical pianist…his performance was searching, solemn and clean. The climactic tarantella brought the capacity crowd to its feet."
-The Washington Post, reviewed by Tim Page
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 4 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall:
"Mr. Ghindin gave a clean, incisive, and, yes, rhapsodic account of the piano part."
-The New York Times
CD - Scriabin: 24 Preludes, Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 10:
"Every piece is played with inimitable scale, profoundness and dignity. Not only its grandeur, but also the thoughtful attention to fingertips, the strength of pianism attacking every single note, and the battle-tank-like tremendous power, derserves attention."
-Gramophone |