Alexander Vedernikov
Conductor Alexander Vedernikov was equally prominent in the fields of opera and orchestral music, in both his home country of Russia and in the West. As music director of the Bolshoi Theatre in the 2000s decade, he led that venue's famed orchestra in new directions.
Vedernikov was born in Moscow on January 11, 1964. His parents were both musicians at the highest level: his father, Alexander Filipovich Vedernikov, was a major bass singer of the Soviet era, and his mother taught organ at the Moscow Conservatory. Vedernikov attended the conservatory himself, graduating in 1988. His first conducting posts were at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchencko Moscow Academic Music Theatre (1988-1991) and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio (1988-1995). At that point, Vedernikov established his own Russian Philharmonia Symphony Orchestra, leading it until 2004.
The beginnings of Vedernikov's Western career also date to the 1990s: he made guest appearances with orchestras in Rome, Turin, and Milan, leading Russian ballets. He specialized in Russian music, both mainstream and contemporary. In 2001, he was named music director of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. There, he raised the orchestra's quality and inaugurated performances of orchestral as well as theatrical music. His tenure at the Bolshoi came to an end in 2009 when he resigned, citing disagreements with the institution's management, but by then, he had other irons in the fire. Vedernikov became the chief conductor of Denmark's Odense Symphony Orchestra in 2009. In 2017, he became the chief conductor at the Royal Danish Opera. Vedernikov also amassed a long list of guest conducting appearances, both in the West (the London Philharmonic, and the BBC Symphony, among many others) and in Russia (including the Russian National Orchestra, which he led in concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York and Kennedy Center in Washington). He recorded for PentaTone, Naxos, Melodiya, and other labels. In 2019, Vedernikov was heard with Martha Argerich, a frequent collaborator, in a new recording of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, on the Warner Classics label. Vedernikov died on October 29, 2020, a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
10 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov, Bolshoi Theatre Chorus
Symfonieën - Released by PENTATONE on 5 jan. 2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Glazunov & Schoeck: Works for Violin and Orchestra (Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto 14)
Chloë Hanslip, Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana, Alexander Vedernikov
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 24 feb. 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
PROKOFIEV, S.: Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1 / KHACHATURIAN, A.I.: Spartacus / SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: The Bolt (Russian Ballet Suites) (Vedernikov)
Russian National Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov
Klassiek - Released by PentaTone on 1 jan. 2004
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Swan Lake & Eugene Onegin
Orchestra Of The Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Alexander Vedernikov
Klassiek - Released by PENTATONE on 1 nov. 2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Complete Works for Violin & Orchestra
Jennifer Koh, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov
Klassiek - Released by Cedille on 9 sep. 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto Op. 16, Sergej Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances Op.45
Enrica Ciccarelli, Alexander Vedernikov, Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano
Klassiek - Released by NAR International on 1 jan. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites: Swan Lake - Sleeping Beauty - The Nutcracker
The Russian Philharmonia, Alexander Vedernikov
Klassiek - Released by Arts Productions Ltd on 7 nov. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 1, Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2
Kees Wieringa, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Alexander Vedernikov
Klassiek - Released by Donemus Composers' Voice on 1 jul. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila
Alexander Vedernikov, Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Bolshoi Theatre Choir, Taras Shtonda, Ekaterina Morozova
Opera - Released by PENTATONE on 1 apr. 2004
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Glazunov & Schoeck: Works for Violin and Orchestra (Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto 14)
Chloë Hanslip, Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana, Alexander Vedernikov
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 24 feb. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo