Maestro Alexander Dmitriev

Alexander Dmitriev was born to a musical family in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). His father was a musician with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, and the son received a fundamental education at the Leningrad Choir School (1944-1953) and at the Conservatoire, where he completed a full course in choral conducting and composition (1953-1958). Then he continued his education in conducting opera and symphony in Professor Nikolai Rabinovich's post-graduate class (1958-1961).

From 1961 to 1971, Maestro Dmitriev was the Chief COnductor of the Karelian Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. He won the 1966 Conductors Competition of the former USSR and in 1968-1969 attended the master classes of Professor H. Swarowsky and Professor K. Osterreicher at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (the "Vienna Music Academy"). Following a successful debut in 1967, during 1970 Maestro Dmitriev was named Associate Conductor under Yevgeny Mravinsky at the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he performed regularly both in Leningrad and on tours abroad.

Maestro Dmitriev was named Chief Conductor and Music Director of Leningrad's Maly Opera and Ballet Theatre in 1971. Here he won acclaim for his Russian debut performances of Glück's "Iphigénie en Aulide" and "Iphigénie en Tauride" , and "Die Klüge" by Orff. Also in the 1970's he was chosen as the permanent guest conductor for Tchaikovsky's "Eugen Onegin" with Berlin's Staats Oper "Unter den Linden".

It was in 1977 that Alexander Dmitriev was named Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Philharmonic Society's Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. Since then he has toured either as a guest conductor or with the SPBSO throughout Russia, Europe, the USA, Japan, Korea and Latin America.

".... many Western conductors pump up this music [the 10th Symphony by Shostakovich] unduly, as if equating vulgar frenzy with emotional conviction. Thank goodness for Dmitriev for showing us how it should be done." -- The Chicago Tribune

Maestro Dmitriev has recorded for several well-known labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics, Simax, Olympia, BIS and Ariola. Especially noteworthy are his performance of the entire suite of symphonies by Schubert and Beethoven for Melodia Records and a four CD set of symphonies by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov for Sony Classical.

".... It's the kind of performance [of the Tchaikovsky 5th] which if given live would almost certainly bring the house down ...." -- CD-Review

During the decade of the 1990's, Maestro Dmitriev also served as Chief Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway.

"The fact that this disk [works by Ravel and Debussy] is one of the year's more notable releases may come as a surprise to many observers of the European scene, especially in Norway." -- CD-Review
"Dutch conductor Frans Briiggen and the present Music Director Alexander Dmitriev brought the Stavanger Orchestra to a high level of excellence." -- American Record Guide

Maestro Dmitriev continues as a Professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatoire and is a winner of the State Prize of Russia. On 8 April 2005, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, awarded him the Order of Honor for Merit in the Field of Culture and Art, in recognition of his long-standing record of achievements.

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


Discography

The Saint Peterburg Symphony Orchestra - Label: Water Lily Acoustics
D. Shostakovich	Symphony No. 7 "The Lennigrad"
Y. Svetlanov	Piano Concerto in C minor (with soloist V. Ovchinnikov)
A. Scriabin	Symphony No. 3 "The Divine Poem"
The Saint Peterburg Symphony Orchestra - Label: Sony Classics
S. Rachmaninov	Symphony No.2
P. Tchaikovsky	Symphony No. 6 & Overture to "Hamlet"
P. Tchaikovsky	"Romeo and Juliet"
P. Tchaikovsky	Symphony No. 4 & Symphony No. 5
P. Tchaikovsky	Selections from "Italian Capriccio"
S. Rachmaninov	Symphonic Poem "The Rock"
The Saint Peterburg Symphony Orchestra - Label: Eclipse Music Group
S. Rachmaninov	Piano Concerto No. 3 (with soloist V. Berzon)
P. Tchaikovsky	"Piano Trio & Suite from "Hamlet"
The Saint Peterburg Symphony Orchestra - Label: Linn Records
D. Shostakovich	Symphony No. 5
The Saint Peterburg Symphony Orchestra - Label: Lennigrad Masters
S. Rachmaninov	Concerto No. 3 for piano and orchestra (with soloist V. Berzon)
The Saint Peterburg Symphony Orchestra - Label: Melodia Records
J.C. Bach	Symphonies
G. Handel	"Messiah" (with the State Academic Chorus of the Latvian SSR)
J. Hayden	"The Creation" (with the State Academic Chorus of the Latvian SSR)
F. Shubert	1st - 9th Symphonies
L. van Beethoven	1st - 3rd and 5th - 9th Symphonies (9th Symphony with the Chorus of the Latvian SSR)
D. Shostakovich T. Khrennikov R. Shchedrin	Concerti for piano and orchestra (with soloist V. Krainev)
B. Britten S. Prokofiev A. Petrov	Concerti for violin and orchestra
L. v. Beethoven	Romance No. 2 for violin and orchestra (with soloist B. Gutnikov)
Y. Falik	"Concerto della Passione" for cello and orchestra (with soloist N. Gutman)
Y. Falik	The "Simple" Symphony and Symphonic Etudes
P. Khindemit	Chamber Music No. 3 for viola and chamber orchestra
G. Korchmar	Concerto-diptych for viola, percussion orchestra, celesta and harp
B. Britten	"Lachrimæ" for viola and chamber orchestra (with soloist A. Ludevig)
A. Mnatsakanyan	Symphony No.3 for string orchestra
D. Gadgiev	Symphony No. 3
M. Ravel	"Noble and Sentimental Waltzes" & "Mother Goose"
S. Rachmaninov	Symphony No. 3 & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (with soloist I. Uryash)
P. Tchaikovsky	Selections from "Hamlet", "Francesca da Rimini" and "Romeo and Juliet"
P. Tchaikovsky	Suites No. 1 -4 (also released by Ariola Schallplatten)
J. Brahms	Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 4
R. Wagner	Symphonic Selections from Operas
B. Arapov	Symphony No. 5
The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra - Label: BIS
H. Sæverud	"Peer Gynt" Suites No. 1 and No. 2 & Sinfonias "Dolorosa", "Galderslatten" and "Kjempeslatten"
H. Sæverud	Fanfare and Hymn & Piano Concerto, Op. 31 (with soloist N. Ogawa) & Symphony No. 9
H. Sæverud	Bassoon Concerto, Op. 44 (with soloist R. Rennis) & Lucretia-Suite, Op. 10 & Sinfonia "Salme"
The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra - Label: Simax
A. Hurum	String Quartet in A minor, Op. 6 & Symphonic Poem "Bendik og Aarololja" & Symphony in D minor
The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra - Label: Norway Music
E. Hovland	Trombone Concerto, Op. 76 & Piccolo Concerto, Op. 117
The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra - Label: Victoria
C. Debussy	Three Nocturnes
M. Ravel	"Noble and Sentimental Waltzes", "Mother Goose" & "Alborada del Gacioso"
The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra - Label: Aurora
A. Bibalo	Concerto for violin and orchestra (with soloist P. Herrestal)
Other Orchestras - Label: Melodia Records
J. Sibelius	Concerto for violin (with soloist V. Tretyakov and the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR)
N. Myaskovsky	Concerto for violin (with soloist L. Fagin)
Y. Balakirov	Youthful Concerto
N. Metner	Piano Concerto No. 1 (with soloist I. Gukov and the USSR Bolshoi Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra - also released by Deutsche Grammophon)
S. Rachmaninov	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini & Rhapsody in the Style of the Blues (with soloist S. Dorensky and the State Symphony Orchestra of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR)
B. Tischenko	Ballet "Yaroslavna" (with the Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Maly Opera and Ballet Theater)
C. W. Glück	Selections from the operas "Iphigénie en Aulide" and "Iphigénie en Tauride" (with the Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Maly Opera and Ballet Theater)