Violinist Alexander Scherbakov is recognized as one of the most captivating and musically gifted young artists of his generation. An outstanding soloist he is regularly invited to play in the music capitals of Asia, Europe and America. He spends each season combining concerto performances with recitals and chamber music concerts in collaboration with some of the leading artists around the world. Carrying a vast list of concerto and recital works from early baroque to twentieth century, he attracts his audiences with a youthful approach to some of the most difficult pieces in the violin literature.
Alexander started playing the violin at the age of 4. His mother a violinist and his father a concert pianist, Alexander’s playing developed very quickly. After the family moved to Switzerland in 1992 Alexander continued his studies with the former leader of the Tonhalle-Orchestra Zurich, Mr. Elemer Glanz.
Already in 1993, at the age of eleven, Alexander participated in the International Competition Citta di Stresa in Italy, where he was awarded 3rd prize. In the following two years he worked his way up to 2nd and 1st prizes. In 2001 Alexander became a finalist at the Brahms International Competition.
In 1995 Alexander was accepted at the Purcell School of Music in London where he started studies with Dimitar Burov on a full scholarship basis. Two years later he changed to the class of Prof. Detlef Hahn (student of Zino Francescatti) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. During his five years in London Alexander took lessons with Prof. Zakhar Bron, Prof. Evgueni Bushkov, Vladimir Spivakov and Gerhardt Schulz.
In 1997 he made his first CD-production with the Purcell School Symphony Orchestra for "Decca". Later that year he was awarded a scholarships by the LYRA Foundation and the Max-Hussman-Foundation Zurich for exceptional talent, who have since supported his education for half a decade.
In 1998 he was invited to perform at the "Bregenzer Festspiele" Festival on the lake of Konstanz in Germany. In 1999 Alexander played for the Prince of Wales and the Royal Family at a Gala concert in Windsor Castle under Sir Roger Norrington. In January 2000 he performed Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and later that year was featured in a concert of “Musik an der ETH” with the great German actress Maria Becker.
Festivals such as Margess International – Switzerland; International Masters Seminar, Prussia Cove – England; International Master Classes – Vienna; Pacific Music Festival 2000 – Japan, Jeunesses Musicales and others provided further musical and artistic input.
During his performing career Alexander had the pleasure of working with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Mandy Rodan, Sir Roger Norrington, Charles Dutoit, Simon Rattle, Justus Frantz, Wen-Pin Chien and John Williams in concerts around the world.
Since September 2000, when he was awarded a full, merit-based scholarship he studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY with Prof. Oleh Krysa (former student of David Oistrakh) and received valuable private and chamber music instruction from the Ying String Quartet. The Eastman Philharmonic has allowed Alexander to be the first freshman in the history of the school to lead the orchestra as concertmaster.
In spring 2002 he enrolled in the "Advanced Musicianship Studies" program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he could only continue his musical studies due to the full scholarship awarded by the school. He was given the opportunity to study with the legendary Prof. Alice Shonfeld at the Thornton School of Music.
While in Los Angeles, Alexander performed on numerous concert stages including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Alfred Newman Hall, Universal Studios and the Rotary Club of California. He was broadcast live on USC Classical Radio and recorded a number of non-classical CDs with Will Smith and Hans Zimmer.
Returning to Europe for the summer of 2002 he toured throughout Romania for the first time (Timisoara Philharmonic, Cluj Philharmonic, the Romanian Atheneum Bucharest and others). This was the first of many tours organized and promoted by his future wife, Madalina Slav.
Later that year Alexander toured Germany and Holland with the Philharmonic of the Nations, conducted by Justus Frantz, with performances at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Dr. Anton Philip Hall in the Hague, in Vlissingen, Utrecht, Berlin and Wolfsburg. Amongst other works he performed the original version of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 on a rarely heard piccolo violin. From 2007 until 2010 Alexander Scherbakov was the assistant conductor of the Philharmonic of the Nations and only conducting student of Justus Frantz.
In spring 2003 the young violinist went on tour to New Zealand for the first time, performing in Auckland, Queenstown, Taihape, Palmerston North and Wellington where he was invited to take part in the Wellington Festival with the NZSO. Other engagements over the summer took him to Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Turkey. Later that year Alexander started a postgraduate course at the Royal Academy of Music in London, which he successfully completed in 2004 with the diploma of postgraduate violin performance and education.
Being invited to perform in some of the most prestigious festivals, Carinthian Summer – Austria, Bermuda Festival, Festival Internacional de Musica da Sao Caetano do Sul Scherbakov has concluded the year 2005 with a grand New Years Gala-concert with the G. Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra at the Romanian Athenaeum. He reappeared with the Enescu Philharmonic once again in Bucharest during the 2007 European tour of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, with performances at the Fribourg Festival with the Zurich Symphony Orchestra, Amsterdam, Munich, Brussels, Prague, Rome and Paris
With support of the PartnerRe Group in 2005-06 Alexander Scherbakov was able to create his own virtuoso string orchestra with which he appeared as soloist and conductor in Switzerland and abroad. In 2006 the performances included the Abendmusiken Sils Maria, Music Summer Weggis, Festival “Wengen Sommerkonzerte”, a charity concert for children in Ethiopia in collaboration with “Menschen fur Menschen” at the Tonhalle Zurich, “Geheimtipp am Mittag“ Zürich and a live concert broadcast for Radio Suisse Romande – Espace 2.
His first appointment as professor of violin was at the “Musikathelier” and later the “Musik Hug” schools in Zurich in 2007. He later became associate professor of violin at the Music School of Muri of canton of Aargau. Since, he has regularly been giving master-classes in Europe and Asia. He was invited by the University of Tasmania, Conservatorium of Music to perform, give master-classes and seminars speaking about the Russian violin school and inspire the new generation of violinists for the values of such musical training. The Goethe Institute of Thailand extended invitations for recitals as well as to lecture at the Srinakharinwirot and the Mahidol Music Universities in Bangkok.
Scherbakov was invited to give chamber music concerts and solo recitals in the Davos Festival 2008 where the press response: “…impeccable technique!”, “…celestial” has been exhilarating. A recital tour of Madrid, Paris, Berlin and Lisbon with his wife Madalina Slav started with a concert for the opening of the G. Enescu Society season in London in October 2008. That year, Scherbakov and his wife Madalina Slav, were guests and the only classical musicians to have lived aboard the exclusive cruising residence "The World”, where they gave a memorable New Years recital at sea followed by the Guinness World Records largest fireworks display in Funchal, Madeira.
A recent series of recital and concert tours took Alexander to Argentina and Portugal, performing in the Ushuaia Festival “Fin del Mundo” and the renowned Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires with the the Colon orchestra under Jorge Uliarte; “Casa da Musica” in Porto and the Museu Nogueira de Silva in Braga for the joint celebration of the National day of Romania and the Portuguese Independence Day.
Alexander Scherbakov has dual Russian-Swiss citizenship and has been residing in Switzerland since 2007. He currently holds a private studio of violin students in Zurich and is married to the pianist Madalina Slav who has become his regular chamber music partner.
Press
Alexander Scherbakov…one of the most promising young violinists I have heard this year.
Dachauer Zeitung
Germany
***
Alexander Scherbakov and his wife Madalina Slav – musical aristocracy on stage!
Mr. Michael Hill
Michael Hill Violin Competition
Auckland, NZ
***
Alexander Scherbakov…fascinated his audience with his enormous technical facility as well as an extended range of tone qualities and colors.
Corriere di Novara
Italy
***
Through his fiery temper, the young violinist projected finesse and transparence of the intonations, as well as a multitude of nuances in accordance with the drama of the work. He had the capacity of sculpting the sound from one work to another, plunged in a musical profusion of sonorities, achieving top artistic and violinistic performance in Prokofiev. An evening that will not be forgotten…
Actualitatea Muzicala
Romania
***
He showed us a passion that was hardly to be expected from a violinist his age.
Los Angeles Times
California, USA
***
Ganz besonders wusste Alexander Scherbakov sein Publikum mit stupendem technischen Können und einem Mass an Musikalität in den Bann zu ziehen, ob dessen Gereiftheit man bisweilen nur staunen konnte. Mit intensiven Dialogen und frisch attackierendem Zugriff führte er das in emotionalen Gegensätzen schwelgende Mendelssohn Konzert zu zwingender Wirkung.
NZZ
Zurich,
Switzerland
***
A rare chance to see the next, real Russian violin virtuoso of the new generation…
Radio Romania Muzical
Romania Tour
Bucharest
***
He opened our eyes to the music!
Chairman
US Rotary Club
Los Angeles,
USA
***
„Lectura“ oferita de Scherbakov mentine un salutar echilibru intre revelarea intentiilor componistice si aceea a propriului potential interpretativ. Aceasta complexitate transfigurata cu gratie mi-a reamintit recitalurile date de David Oistrach…
Virgil Mihaiu
Tribuna Magazine
Porto, Portugal
***
…such accomplishment and knowledge of violinistic technique and interpretation, a spectacular display of sensibility and precision in solving difficult melodic and rhythmical structures in the little known transcriptions of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”! His way to great success is open.
De Telegraaf
Amsterdam, Holland
***
…ein besonderes Talent, aus scheinbar abgedroschenen Ohrwürmern Neues, nie Gehörtes herauszuholen.
Über der absolut zuverlässigen und geistesgegenwärtigen Klavierbegleitung von Madalina Slav liess Alexander Scherbakov ein Feuerwerk an dramaturgischen Überraschungen, virtuosen Meisterstücken und musikalischen Witzen auf das mitfiebernde Publikum niederprasseln.
Zürichsee Zeitung
Switzerland, 2006
***
…Überirdissch!
(about Olivier Messiaens Qaurtett for the End of Times)
Davoser Zeitung
Switzerland
***
In den an den Teufelsgeiger Niccolò Paganini gemahnenden Capricen für
Violine Solo, komponiert von Sonia Eckhardt-Gramatté… meisterte der kultiviert spielende Moskauer Geiger… die technisch anspruchsvollen, leidenschaftlichen Stücke mit makelloser Technik, russisch-weich aufblühendem Klang, Einfühlung und himmlisch zart zwitschernden Pianissimi in höchsten Lagen.
Davoser Zeitung
Switzerland
***
When his bow touches the strings, the magic starts! In an overwhelming array of technical feats and heart-wrenching, soulful singing on his fiddle, Alexander Scherbakov proved indeed to be a great master of his craft.
The Sun
San Bernardino
USA
***
As vezes tenho a pretensão de já achar ter visto muita coisa, mas a apresentação de ontem foi algo fora do comum. Ouvir o solista russo Alexander Sherbakov, não tem explicação. Ouvimos concerto para vilino nº 3, em si menor, op. 61 de C. Camille Saint-Saens. Acredito que ele nasceu com o violino na mão tamanho sua maestria, aplaudido efusivamente, retornando diversas vezes ao palco porque o público não deixava de aplaudi-lo. Um mestre realmente.
Evidencia Cosmopolita
Brazil
***
Ahi Scherbakov pudo mostrar no no solo la entonacion refinados, sino una veta lirica atractiva que se afianzo en el fluido dialogo con las maderas de la orquestra.
Clarin
Grupo Clarin
Media Group
Buenos Aires
Argentina