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Concertist
Professor at
Guildhall School of Music
Principal viola of
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Member of
The Hermitage Trio |
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Viola
Alexander Zemtsov was born in Ufa, USSR, and studied with Elena Ozol at the Gnessin Special Music School in Moscow. After further studies in Maastricht with Michael Kugel and in Berlin with Tabea Zimmermann, he was awarded a number of prizes, including first prize at the International Youth competition Classical Legacy in Moscow in 1995, at the Elise Meyer Competition in Hamburg in 1997 and at the 8th Brahms Competition in Austria in 2001. Alexander Zemtsov has worked with several European orchestras and in 2002 was appointed Principal Viola of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his concerts with the Hermitage String Trio, Alexander is active as a soloist and in chamber music; he plays regularly with the Razumovsky Ensemble. In 2004, he played a leading role in founding a chamber ensemble of members of the LPO; he has toured as a soloist wth this ensemble in Germany. Other engagements as a soloist include concerts with orchestras including the Belgian Radio Orchestra, Konzertverein Orchester, Vienna, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in venues including the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire Hall in Moscow, the Musikhalle in Hamburg, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Alexander is professor of viola at the Guildhall School of Music.
Zemtsov´s mastery and artistry have been widely recognized internationally and have brought him numerous prestigious awards and prizes as the first prize at the International Youth Competition "Classical Legacy" in Moscow in 1995, first prize at the Elise Meyer competition in Hamburg in 1997, first prize at the 8th Brahms competition in Poertschach, Austria in 2001.Also in that year he became a winner of the "Unge solister" audition in Stavanger, Norway, and the Tenuto competition in Brussels.
Alexander attended the Special Music School in his home town of Ufa and at the age of ten entered the famous Gnessin Music school in Moscow, where he studied with Prof.E. Ozol. After graduating Mr. Zemtsov joined his family in Germany where he continued his studies at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Hamburg with Prof. M. Nichiteanu. He continued his education with the famous viola virtuoso Prof. Michael Kugel in Hoogeschool Maastricht and with the Prof. Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule "Hanns Eisler" Berlin.
Since the age of 19 Alexander has been working with numerous renowned European orchestras. In September 2002 he was appointed Principal Viola with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO).
Alexander is a member of the new celebrated string ensemble "The Hermitage Trio" (HST)with Boris Garlitsky (violin) and Leonid Gorokhov (cello). The HST is regularely performing in the Wigmore Hall and other prestigious festivals and venues.
As soloist, Mr. Zemtsov regularly appears with leading orchestras such as the Belgian Radio Orchestra, Konzertverein Orchester Vienna, London Philharmonic Orchestra and others in prestigious concert platforms like the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire Hall in Moscow, the Musikhalle in Hamburg, Palais des Beaux Arts in
Brussels, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.
In 2006 Mr. Zemtsov was appointed a viola professor at the Guildhall School of Music in London.
Mr. Zemtsov appears regularly on TV and Radio worldwide and has recorded numerous solo and chamber music CD's. Recent release is Britten's Doubleconcerto CD with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on the LPO label.
Highlight of the next season's solo concert activities is a performance of the Viola Concerto by Alfred Schnittke with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski in Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.
Recent Reviews:
Superbly played by LPO principals Pieter Schoeman and Alexander Zemtsov, the Double Concerto warrants occasional revival (not least as an alternative to Mozart's Sinfonia concertante), but yet evinces something of the meretricious efficiency that characterises so much of Britten's early work, and which has come much more to the fore over the last quarter-century with the steady (and often regrettable) dissemination of works the older composer thought best left in the archive.
Classical source http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=4014
(Dmitry) Sitkovetsky himself played with solid, clear brilliance, perfectly complemented by Alexander Zemtsov's tonal depth and sensitivity.
Classical source http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=3349
The evening's other offering was Britten's Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, with Pieter Schoeman and Alexander Zemtsov as the respective soloists. Schoeman's tone was distinguished by its purity, and Zemtsov's by its plangency: a complementarity nicely reflecting what this precocious early work is all about.
Independent London
Special praise for the viola section, whose eloquent leader, Alexander Zemtsov, played with such freedom he seemed to know the whole piece off by heart.
Evening Standart London
The one non-seasonal work was Britten's Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. An early piece, it was played with furious dexterity by violinist Pieter Schoeman and viola player Alexander Zemtsov.
Guardian London
The Hermitage String Trio
Boris Garlitsky, violin
Alexander Zemtsov, viola
Leonid Gorokhov, cello
“This ensemble will do much to put more string trio repertory on the musical map”
The Strad
In the short time since its foundation in 2004, the Hermitage String Trio has established itself as an outstanding ensemble. With the appointment in 2008 of Boris Garlitsky, leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as violinist, joining founder members Alexander Zemtsov, principal viola of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and cellist Leonid Gorokhov, who has a flourishing solo career, this European-based Russian trio looks forward to the future and to making a serious contribution to chamber music.
An ensemble steeped in the great Russian tradition of string playing, their love of chamber music shines through in their programmes which offer an enticing combination of lesser-known pieces and masterworks of the string trio repertoire.
In Autumn 2004 The Hermitage String Trio made their London début at St John’s Smith Square in Academia Rossica’s Series Russian Virtuosi in London. Their UK concerts have since included the Petworth Festival, where their programme included Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Nikolai Demidenko and to which they were invited to return, the Newbury Spring Festival and , in June 2008, the Wigmore Hall. Abroad, they have played at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, and have given concerts in Munich and in Paris.
January 2009 |
