Alexander Vasilievich Alexeev ( rus, Александр Васильевич Алексеев, Aleksandr Vasil'yevich Alekseyev; 10 March 1938 – 7 October 2020) was a Soviet and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n conductor and academic teacher, who received the

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

award. He was head of the department of opera and symphony conducting at the

Saint Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

between 2000 and 2008.

Life and career

Alexeev was born in Belkovo (Novgorod Oblast), Russia. From 1957 to 1966 he studied choral and symphonic conducting with Konstantin Olchov and

Edouard Grikurov Edouard Grikurov (29 March 1907, Tbilisi - 13 December 1982, Leningrad) was a Soviet conductor and People's Artist of the USSR. Grikurov studied at the Conservatory in Tbilisi with Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, and worked regularly with the Moscow ...

at the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

. He was selected by cultural authorities in Moscow and Leningrad, as one of very few Russian conductors like

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he was ...

, for postgraduate studies with

Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975,) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth. Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil, ...

at the

Vienna Music Academy The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

from 1971. He held first positions as conductor at the Ulyanovsk State Symphony Orchestra, the Leningrad State Academic Maly Opera Theatre (today

Mikhailovsky Theatre The Mikhailovsky Theatre (russian: Миха́йловский теа́тр) is one of Russia's oldest opera and ballet houses. It was founded in 1833 and is situated in a historical building on 1, Arts Square in Saint Petersburg. It is named ...

), as well as the Chelyabinsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, before becoming Music Director of the Ulyanovsk State Symphony Orchestra. In 1978, Alexeev was awarded the honorary title of

. Alexeev worked at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

in Moscow from 1982 to 1984. He was offered the post of chief conductor with the

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: ''Radion sinfoniaorkesteri'', Swedish: ''Radions symfoniorkester'') is a Finnish broadcast orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The orchestra prima ...

in Helsinki, but as he never joined the communist party, he had to stay in the Soviet Union where he worked until 1992 as music director of the

Kharkov Philharmonic Orchestra Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine. with whom he won in 1986 the orchestra competition amongst Soviet Republics. Alexeev recorded with different orchestras in Russia for the label

Melodya Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...

, including the

Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network. History Followi ...

, as well performed regularly with leading musicians of the Soviet Union such as

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holoc ...

Oleg Kagan Oleg Moiseyevich Kagan (Russian: Оле́г Моисе́евич Кага́н; 22 November 1946 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russian SFSR – 15 July 1990, Munich, West Germany) was a Soviet violinist, known for his chamber collaborations with such musicia ...

Vadim Repin Vadim Viktorovich Repin (russian: Вадим Викторович Репин, ; born 31 August 1971) is a Russian and Belgian violinist who lives in Vienna.

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (russian: link=no, Юрий Абрамович Башмет; born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Ab ...

David Geringas David Geringas ( lt, Dovydas Geringas; born 29 July 1946 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He also plays the b ...

Natalia Gutman Natalia Grigoryevna Gutman (russian: Наталья Григорьевна Гутман) (born 14 November 1942 in Kazan), PAU, is a Russian cellist. She began to study cello at the Moscow Music School with R. Sapozhnikov. She was later admitted t ...

Dmitri Alexeev Dmitri Alexeev (russian: Дмитрий Константинович Алексеев, ''Dmitrij Konstantinovič Alekseev'', born 10 August 1947 in Moscow) is a Russian pianist. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory, and additionally under Dmitr ...

Mikhail Pletnev Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Плетнёв, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Life and career Pletnev was born into a musical fa ...

Grigory Sokolov Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov (russian: Григо́рий Ли́пманович Соколо́в; born April 18, 1950) is a Russian pianist naturalized Spain, Spanish. He is among the most esteemed of living pianists, his repertoire spanning compo ...

, and

Dmitri Bashkirov Dmitri Aleksandrovich Bashkirov (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Башки́ров; November 1, 1931 – March 7, 2021) was a Russian pianist and academic teacher. Trained in his hometown Tbilisi and Moscow, he began an in ...

. Among numerous productions in Leningrad, he conducted in 1966 Shostakovich's '' Katerina Ismailova'' (''Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District'') at the Leningrad State Academic Maly Opera Theatre with

Larisa Avdeyeva Larisa Ivanovna Avdeyeva or Avdeeva (russian: Лариса Ивановна Авдеева; 21 June 192510 March 2013) was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano, who starred with the Bolshoi Opera for thirty years. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (19 ...

in the title role and Shostakovich involved in the rehearsals. He recorded

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (russian: Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving ...

's Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 2, with pianist Aleksei Cherkasov and the

USSR Radio Symphony Orchestra The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network. History Followi ...

in 1987, published with other works by Arensky. It was one of two Soviet recordings at the time. In 1992 he joined the faculty of the

, and served between 2000 and 2008 as head of the department of opera and symphony conducting. As a conductor, he stood in the tradition of

Aleksandr Gauk Alexander Vassilievich Gauk (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Га́ук; 30 March 1963) was a Russian/Soviet conductor and composer. Biography Alexander Gauk was born in Odessa in 1893. He recalled his first experience as h ...

and Edouard Grikurov, while in his teaching he was a leading advocate of Hans Swarowsky's school in Russia (he translated Swarowsky's "Wahrung der Gestalt" into Russian). Alexeev died in Saint Petersburg on 7 October 2020 at the age of 82. He is buried in

Volkovo Cemetery The Volkovo Cemetery (also Volkovskoe) (russian: Во́лковское кла́дбище or Во́лково кла́дбище) is one of the largest and oldest non-Orthodox cemeteries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Until the early 20th century it ...

, Saint Petersburg. He was married to the concert pianist Olga Michailovna Alexeeva (1955-2015).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexeev, Alexander 1938 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Saint Petersburg 20th-century Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) 20th-century Russian male musicians Soviet conductors (music) People's Artists of the USSR Academic staff of Saint Petersburg Conservatory 21st-century Russian conductors (music) 21st-century Russian male musicians