Alexei Ogrintchouk is one of the most outstanding oboists performing today. A graduate of the Gnessin School of Music and the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied with Maurice Bourgue, Jacques Tys and Jean-Louis Capezzali, he combines astounding technique with virtuosity and lyricism.
Originally from Moscow, Alexei was already performing all over Russia, Europe and Japan from the age of 13. He is the winner of a number of international competitions including the prestigious CIEM International Competition in Geneva at the age of 19. He was also the winner of the European Juventus Prize in 1999, two “Victoires de la Musique Classique” Prizes in France in 2002, the Triumph Prize in Russia in 2005 and Borletti Buitini Trust Award winner in 2007. He has been part of the prestigious Rising Stars and BBC New Generation Artists Programmes.
Since August 2005 Alexei Ogrintchouk has been first solo oboist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam with Mariss Jansons, and then with Daniele Gatti. Until then he held the same post at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra with Valery Gergiev – a position which he secured at the age of 20.
Alexei Ogrintchouk combines orchestral playing with his ever-increasing solo and conducting engagements. A charismatic and technically brilliant soloist, he has performed concertos under the baton of conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Valery Gergiev, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Seiji Ozawa, Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagano, Michel Plasson, Sir Andrew Davis, Roman Kofman, Daniel Harding, Jiri Belohlavek, Stephan Deneve, Tugan Sokhiev, Lothar Zagrosek, Jaap van Zweden, John Neschling, Andris Nelsons, Susanna Malkki, Walter Weller, Ion Marin, Paul Goodwin, Lu Jia, Gianandrea Noseda, Hubert Soudant, Martyn Brabbins, Thomas Sanderling, Kees Bakels, Enrique Mazzola, Ed Spanjaard, Michael Sanderling and with the world’s greatest orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestras of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres, Orchestre de l’Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, all the Orchestras of the BBC, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Kontzerthausorchester Berlin, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo, National Orchestra of Belgium, Beethovenhalle Orchestra Bonn, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra, Belgrade Philharmonic, MAV Orchestra Budapest, Dutch Radio Kamer Philharmonie, Sinfonia Varsovia, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Moscow Virtuosi, KREMERata Baltica, Moscow Soloists, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Orchestre d’Auvergne, Europa Galante, Koln Sinfonietta, New European Strings, Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, as well as the Concertgebouw, Munich, Stuttgart, Mito, Prague, UBS Verbier, Lathuanian, Swedish and Geneva Chamber Orchestras and Camerata RCO.
As a conductor he has been conducting/directing Camerata RCO (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Besancon, Orchestre de Picardie, Amsterdam and Riga Sinfonietta, KREMERata Baltica, Orchestre International de Geneve, Orquesta Barocca de Sevilla, Swedish, Lathuanian and Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestras.
As a recitalist and chamber musician he is much in demand and has performed throughout the world including in Theatre du Chatelet, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Cite de la Musique, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein in Vienna, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New-York, Auditorium in Tel Aviv, Suntory Hall in Tokyo… He is also a frequent guest at festivals such as BBC PROMS, MIDEM, Colmar, Lockenhaus, Verbier, Luzern, Berliner Festspiele, Santa Cecilia, Cortona, Edinburgh Internation Festival, City of London Festival and the White Nights, Crescendo, Svyatoslav Richter December Nights and Easter Festival in Russia.
His chamber music partners have included Gidon Kremer, Radu Lupu, Thomas Quasthoff, Misha Maisky, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Bashmet, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Maurice Bourgue, Sarah Chang, Tabea Zimmermann, Nikolai Znaider, Valery Affanasiev, Julian Rachlin, Leif Ove Andsnes, Fabio Biondi, Alexander Lonquich, Dmitri Sitkovetsky and Sergio Azzolini as well as Belcea, Eben, Sine Nomine and Tokyo string quartets.
Alexei Ogrintchouk is named successor of Maurice Bourgue as oboe professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Geneve from September 2011. He also has been a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London (2001-2011), professor at the Musikene in San Sebastian (2009-2011), and at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague since 2010. He is giving a number of masterclasses such as Pablo Casals Chamber Music Academy in Prades, Mahler Academy in Ferrara, Cursos de Verano in Bilbao, Academie Musicale de Villecroze, Aurora Academy in Sweden or Weimar International Master Class.
His first CD with the works by Schumann was released on Harmonia Mundi “Nouveau musicians” Series to exceptional reviews. His discography includes the world premiere of the slow movement of Beethoven oboe concerto (Raptus classics), music by Britten (Record One), Skalkotas (Bis Records), Mozart Oboe Concerto with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra (PentaTone Classics). Three most recent CDs includes Bach Oboe Concertos, Mozart Oboe Concerto and Quartet and a 20th Century Recital (all on BIS Records).