Alexander Gilman is a German violinist, academic teacher and artistic director of the LGT Young Soloists. He has been performing internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and regularly conducting masterclasses.

Early life and education

Alexander Gilman was born on September 16, 1982, in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

, Upper Franconia,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He grew up in a Jewish-Russian family of musicians and began learning violin at the age of six. Gilman gave his debut performance at the

Gasteig Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most of the events of the Fi ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

at seven. Beginning in 1998, he attended masterclasses of

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine Lodg ...

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

Aaron Rosand Aaron Rosand (born Aaron Rosen; March 15, 1927 – July 9, 2019) was an American violinist. Life and career Born in Hammond, Indiana, he studied with Leon Sametini at the Chicago Musical College and with Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institu ...

Igor Ozim Igor Ozim (born 9 May 1931) is a Slovenian classical violinist and pedagogue, based in Salzburg, Austria. Career Igor Ozim was born in 1931 in Ljubljana. He came from a musical family: both parents played the piano and his brother the violin. At ...

, Akiko Tatsumi,

Mikhail Kopelman Mikhail Kopelman is a Russian-American violinist. He was born in 1947 in Uzhhorod and studied at the Moscow Conservatory with professors Maya Glezarova and Yuri Yankelevich. In 1973, he was awarded 2nd prize in the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competit ...

and

Zakhar Bron Zakhar Bron (russian: Заха́р Ну́химович Брон ; born 17 December 1947, in Oral, Kazakhstan) is a Russian violinist and violin pedagogue of Jewish, Polish and Romanian descent. His students have included Vadim Repin, Gwendolyn ...

. In the summer of 2000, he entered

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

masterclass of the violin professor

and later achieved his master's degree at Zurich University of the Arts.

Musical career

Gilman gained first international media visibility in June 2006 when he won the "

WestLB WestLB AG (derived from ''Westdeutsche Landesbank'', i.e. "Western German state Bank") was a European commercial bank based in Düsseldorf, Germany which was mainly owned by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Landesbanks are a group of par ...

Music Competition" and was presented the Stradivari violin by Frank Peter Zimmermann.

Performances

Gilman performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. His most notable concert performances include

Berliner Philharmonie The Berliner Philharmonie () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on ...

Kölner Philharmonie The Kölner Philharmonie is a symphonic concert hall located in Cologne, Germany. It is part of the building assemble of the Museum Ludwig and was opened in 1986. The Kölner Philharmonie is located close to the Cologne Cathedral and the Cologn ...

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...

, Shanghai Concert Hall Minato Mirai Hall and more. During his career, he has collaborated with conductors such as Neeme Jarvi,

Michael Sanderling Michael Sanderling (born 21 February 1967) is a German conductor and violoncellist. Biography Born in East Berlin, Michael Sanderling is the son of the contrabassist Barbara Wagner and the conductor Kurt Sanderling. He received his first cel ...

Dan Ettinger Dan Ettinger ( he, דן אטינגר; born 1971) is an Israeli conductor, opera singer and pianist. Biography Ettinger is descended from Romanian immigrants to Israel, as his father and grandmother are Holocaust survivors. He grew up in the Tel ...

, Bernard Haitink,

Mario Venzago Mario Venzago (born 1948) is a Swiss conductor. Biography Venzago began piano studies at age five. He studied at the conservatory and the university in Zurich. He later studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. His other positions ...

, Eri Klas and

Perry So Perry Pak Hin So (蘇柏軒) is an orchestral conductor. Between 2008 and 2012 he was the Assistant, subsequently Associate Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009/10 he was a conducting fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. B ...

Teaching

In 2019 Gilman was appointed visiting professor for violin at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London. Since 2014 he is also teaching at

Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences The Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences Switzerland (Kalaidos UAS) is a University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland with the departments of Business and Management, Law, Health, Music and Applied Psychology. It was founded in 1997 and today ...

(the Department of Music) in Switzerland. In 2010-2013 he taught at Zurich University of the Arts as a Professor Assistant of

LGT Young Soloists

In 2013 Gilman founded LGT Young Soloists orchestra for highly gifted young soloists aged 12 to 30. The foundation had been created with the main goal to support young talents by giving them opportunity to perform on the concert stages. The ''LGT Young Soloists'' has been the first youth orchestra to record for RCA/Sony Music. The ensemble performed in a number of concert halls locations including

Vienna, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berliner Philharmonie,

Mozarteum Salzburg Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

, Victoria Hall Singapore and many more. Since their founding, the LGT Young Soloists have been appearing regularly at the concert halls of the metropolitan centers such as New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Moscow, Paris and Tel Aviv.

Selected works

* ''Beethoven RECOMPOSED'' with the LGT Young Soloists, a world premiere recording featuring two of the most monumental chamber music works of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

– the Kreutzer Sonata Op. 47 and the Cello Sonata Op. 69 – in new arrangements with string orchestra accompaniment. Released in 2020 on Naxos. * ''Nordic Dream'' with the LGT Young Soloists including works by Dag Wiren,

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 ...

, Michael Glinka,

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

and

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

. Released in 2018 on

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. * ''Russian Soul'' with the LGT Young Soloists including works by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Kurt Atterberg Kurt Magnus Atterberg (, 12 December 188715 February 1974) was a Swedish composer and engineer. He is best known for his symphonies, operas, and ballets. Biography Atterberg was born in Gothenburg. His father was Anders Johan Atterberg, engineer ...

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

Ole Bull Ole Bornemann Bull (; 5 February 181017 August 1880) was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer. According to Robert Schumann, he was on a level with Niccolò Paganini for the speed and clarity of his playing. Biography Background Bull was ...

Christian Sinding Christian August Sinding (11 January 18563 December 1941) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known for his lyrical work for piano '' Frühlingsrauschen'' (Rustle of Spring, 1896). He was often compared to Edvard Grieg and regarded as his succ ...

Johan Svendsen Johan Severin Svendsen (30 September 184014 June 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark. Svendsen's output includes two symphonies, a violin ...

Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conducting, conductor and violinist. Life Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical ...

and Jan Alm. Released in 2017 on

. * ''Volume 1, Live In Concert'' DVD with the LGT Young Soloists. Recorded live at St. Christoph am Arlberg, Austria. Released on C-Major in 2017. * ''Italian Journey'' with the LGT Young Soloists including works by Nicolo Paganini,

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

, Pietro Mascagni,

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions r ...

and

Giuseppe Tartini Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in the Republic of Venice. Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred of pieces for the violin with the majority of ...

. Released in 2015 on

. * Violin concertos by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

, Carmen Fantasy by Franz Waxman and the Thema from

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

box office hit Schindler's List by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. Recorded in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of

. Released in 2012 on the label OehmsClassics. * Debut CD with works by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were al ...

, Stephen Foster, recorded with pianist Marina Seltenreich at Bavarian Broadcasting, BR for the label Oehms Classics (Juni 2007).

Instruments

In 2006, after winning WestLB Music Competition in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Gilman was presented the Stradivari "Ex-Croall" (dating from 1684) by Frank Peter Zimmermann, who had previously played this instrument. Gilman also plays a violin made by Ferdinando Gagliano (the last violin maker from the

Gagliano family Gagliano is the name of a famous family of Italian luthiers from Naples, dating back to the early 18th century. The Gagliano dynasty – particularly Alessandro, Nicolò I and Gennaro – are considered the high point of Neapolitan violin making. ...

) in 1795, an instrument provided by the Fahrenkamp-Schäffler Foundation.“Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition:"About Alexander Gilman”
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Awards and recognition

* 2019: Award for Best Teaching 2019 by the Kalaidos Music University, Switzerland * 2019: Three nominations for the Opus Klassik * 2014: Best Teacher Award at "Talents for Europe" Music Competition * 2013:

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

for the Barber/Korngold/Waxman/Williams CD * 2008: Scholar of the

Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben The Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben is a foundation whose purpose is the promotion of musical excellence in Germany. The organisation was founded in 1962 by Hans Sikorski and Wolfgang Essen and is based in Hamburg. The patron of the Foundation is Pr ...

(German Foundation for Musical Life) * 2006: 1st Prize in the form of a fine violin by Antonio Stradivari at the WestLB Music Competition, Düsseldorf * 2003: Prize winner at the International Young Violin Competition, Greece * 1997: 1st Prize at the Summit Music Festival Competition, New York * 1994: Named Honorary Citizen of Gräfelfing, Munich

References

External links

Website of Alexander Gilman

Website of the LGT Young Soloists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilman, Alexander 1982 births 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century male musicians German classical violinists Jewish classical violinists Living people German male classical violinists People from Bamberg