Maestro Vladimir Altschuler

Dr. Vladimir Altschuler, Ph.D., was born in 1946 in Leningrad. He graduated from the Leningrad State Conservatoire in 1970 as a violist in the class of professor Yuriy Kramarov and as an opera-symphony conductor in 1983 in the class of professor Alexander Dmitriev. He has been with the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra since 1969, first as a player. In 1982 he was appointed as the principal of the viola section in the Orchestra.

Maestro Altschuler was the founder of the String Quartet of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. For some years he worked as the Professor of the Quartet classes in the Saint Petersburg Conservatoire and headed the Chamber Orchestra of the Conservatoire form 1984 to 1989. Currently he holds the dual positions of Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Academic Chamber Orchestra. He continues his teaching as part of the Conducting Faculty of the Saint Petersburg State University of Culture and Art, as well as acting as a permanent member of the Jury of the International Young Conductors' Competition in Lisbon.

Maestro Altschuler is often seen conducting symphony and chamber orchestras in the concert halls of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, the Academic Capella and the Conservatoire. He has also conducted in Moscow and many other prominent cities in Russia as well as having successfully performed internationally with chamber and symphony orchestras in Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Greece, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Turkey and Korea. He has performed with many talented Russian and foreign musicians, soloists such as L. Berman, G. Sokolov, N. Gutman, B. Gutnikov, V. Krainev, I. Monigetti, A. Rudin, V. Tretyakov, D. Matsuyev, I. Cooper, J.-Y. Thibaudet, G. Karr, M. Laforet, M. O'Rourke, M. O'Connor, N. Robson and A. Schmidt.

In 1995, Maestro Altschuler toured with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland in five cities of Ireland with programs dedicated to Russian composers. The tour ended with a concert and CD recording in Dublin and then a concert in Belfast with the same orchestra.

Maestro Altschuler has developed a reputation of excellent debuts of new works, and has been the first to interpret a number of works by contemporary Russian composers - including Ustvolskaya, Falik, Tsitovich, Agababov, Aslamazov and Bibik.

Some of his most interesting programs during recent seasons:
> the cycle "Nine Symphonies by Bruckner" with the concert dedicated to the memory of Yvgeny Mravinsky; also,
> the cycle "The Four Orfeos" in which the four operas by Monteverdi, Rossi, Telemann, Gluck are performed in the authentic style on the stage of the Grand Hall of the Philharmonia (the first piece of the cycle - "Orfeo" by Monteverdi - being a Russian premiere). In the year of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Saint Petersburg, the Chamber Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia led by Maestro Altschuler performed a cycle of concerts "The Music of the Saint Petersburg Court", in which pieces by Imperial Court Kapellmeisters from the beginning of the 18th century up to the 20th century was presented, each program including premieres of new compositions.

Maestro Altschuler has also made a number of records, radio and TV broadcasts. In 2005 BBC Music issued a CD with the recording of The Third Suite by P. I. Tchaikovsky which was made in concert with the Ulster Orchestra on 31 July 2003.

In summary, there is nothing more fitting than the words of Maestro Altschuler's colleagues. The famed pianist Vladimir Krainev has observed: "Vladimir Altschuler's skill in leading a rehearsal and making contact with the musicians brings him wonderful results". Alexander Dmitriev has commented that Vladimir Altschuler's "excellent education, his wonderful technique and impeccable artistic taste lead naturally to great orchestral performances."

[Note: one may see a Photo Album for Maestro Altschuler taken from the archives of the SPBSO .]


Extracts from Reviews

"El Pais". March 1991. "The Final Day, Prizes and Premieres at the Festival of Youth Orchestras".
"The next day the youth orchestra from Leningrad performed under the direction of the precise, dynamic and extremely expressive Vladimir Altschuler. One ought to admit that after the performances of so many collectives that had been awarded before, this orchestra managed to draw attention to itself and occupied an enviable place among professionals."

"Le Figaro". November 1992. Pierre-Petit.
"Vladimir Altschuler - a remarkable conductor who managed to follow Marc Laforet step by step in this fluctuating and undulating work."

Saint Petersburg. "Vecherniy Peterburg" ("Evening Petersburg"). February 1993. V. Steingard.
"The intellectuality inherent in Petersburg conducting tradition, thoughtfulness, plastic reserve along with a very wide gamut of emotions, in which there is place for explosive passion and even at times for ecstasy, are typical of his creative manner. Professionalism of the highest class has been inherited by Altschuler from his teacher - People's Artist of Russia A. Dmitriev, in his turn a student of the already legendary Nikolay Rabinovich."

Dublin. "Irish Inpedendent". February 1994. Michael Dervan. "More of the Same".
"There were moments in this performance as any I've heard from NSO, and it was clear from the orchestra's own enthusiastic applause that they, too, would welcome a return visit."

Saint Petersburg. "Vecherniy Peterburg" ("Evening Petersburg"). February 1995. N. Markaryan.
"Altschuler's interpreting style is the type of intellectual conducting: here the spontaneous musicality can't be an aim in itself, it is invariably directed into the organized course of the conception: In Altschuler's hands the orchestra acquires a new sound quality: Another peculiarity of V. Altschuler's performances is his tender contact with the orchestra. For him the orchestra is a partner first of all, moreover, a partner who is respected and who is always equal to him."

Izmir. "Milliet Ege". December 2001. Onder Kutahyali.
"The Mozart piece presented by Maestro Altschuler was played so well and simply that it reminded me of the sounds of real old instruments."

Saint Petersburg. "Nevskoye Vremya" ("The Neva Times"). May 2001. M. Byalik.
"Vladimir Altschuler: is acquainted with all the mysteries of instrumental performance. His masterful work with a huge, constantly enlarging repertoire has brought him deserved acknowledgement."

Norwich. "Eastern Daily Press". May 2002. Michael Drake.
"As if the first-half excitement had not been sufficient, there followed Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet, notable especially for its string tone and always responding to conductor Vladimir Altschuler's every call."

Moscow. "Muzykalnoye Obozreniye" ("Musical Review"). March 2003. Professor Vavilina-Mravinskaya.
"The performance of Bruckner's 9th Symphony by the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Saint-Petersburg Philharmonia under the direction of V. Altschuler, which was dedicated to the centenary of Ye. A. Mravinskiy, was moving, remarkable."

Moscow. "Rossiskaya Gazeta" ("The Newspaper of Russia"). March 2004. Andrey Ovchinnikov.
"Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is a serious test for any conductor: Vladimir Altschuler (who has recently conducted a series of the extremely difficult Anton Bruckner's symphonies) in this symphony showed his best artistic qualities and once again demonstrated his creative maturity and the skill to extract a great variety of colours from the orchestra."

Saint Petersburg. "Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti" ("The Saint Petersburg Bulletin"). January 2006. Andrey Petropavlov.
"Vladimir Altschuler conducted Orff's masterpiece flexibly and dynamically, brilliantly revealing its dramatic essence. The complicated and rich score of "Bernauerin" sounded very clearly and, using Glinka's expression, "distinctly". Just as "distinctly", transparently and with great style Haydn's 94th Symphony was performed in the first part of the concert, having served as a prelude to "Bernauerin", preparing the listeners to perceive the musical legend."


Discography

Concerto for two pianos & orchestra by Bach (A-10-00369007)

"Sun and Stones" by Prigozhin (C-10-21417003)

Trio Sonata for violin, lute & continuo in C major by Vivaldi, Concerto No. 1 for guitar & orchestra in D major by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Concerto for guitar & strings in D major by de Falla and Concerto for guitar & small orchestra by Villa-Lobos - with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia (Sony)

"Peer Gynt" Suites No. 1 and 2 and the Holberg Suite by Grieg - with the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia (Melodia Records)

"Romeo and Juliet" by Tchaikovsky, Concerto No.3 for piano and 7th Symphony bу Beethoven - with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland

Theatre and Cinema music by Shostakovich - with the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra

Concerto for lute, two violins & continuo in D major by Vivaldi, Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ("The Moonlight") by Beethoven and The Seasons Op. 37 "Autumn Song" by Tchaikovsky - with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia (Sony)