Professor Alexander Ivashkin M.M., D.M.A., PhD, DMus

Alexander Ivashkin is a cellist, conductor and writer. He also plays electric cello, viola de gamba, sitar and piano. His recitals, radio and TV recordings, and appearances with  the world leading orchestras have included performances in more than 40 countries. Alexander Ivashkin has been a regular guest at important music festivals in Europe, Britain, the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. He appears regularly as soloist with some of the world's leading orchestras.

Alexander Ivashkin has published twenty  books, on Schnittke, Ives, Penderecki, Rostropovich and others, and more than 200 articles in Russia, Germany, Italy, the US, the UK and Japan.

Full publications list: www.alexanderivashkin.com
Latest publication: Contemplating Shostakovich: Life, Music and Film
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/alexanderivashkin

Since 1995 Ivashkin has been Artistic Director of the Adam International Cello Competition and Festival. He is also artistic director of annual festivals in London, including The VTB Capital Prize for Young Cellists. In 1999 he founded a series of research and performance seminars/symposia  and international concert series at the Centre for Russian Music. He is the curator of Alfred Schnittke Archive at Goldsmiths and the editor-in-chief of  the ongoing Schnittke Collected Works Critical edition in 63 volumes.

Alexander Ivashkin has been the first performer and dedicatee of many works by great contemporary composers. Along with Mstislav Rostropovich and Natalia Gutman, he is one of the cellists for whom Alfred Schnittke composed. He has actively collaborated with composers such as John Cage, George Crumb, Mauricio Kagel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Peter Sculthorpe, Brett Dean, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, Arvo Pärt, Rodion Shchedrin, Nikolai Korndorf, Alexander Raskatov, Vladimir Tarnopolski, Augusta Reid Thomas, James MacMillan, Lyell Cresswell, Roger Redgate and Gillian Whitehead.

A recording artist for the Chandos, BMG and Naxos labels, Ivashkin has award winning recordings of the complete cello music by Rakhmaninov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Roslavets, Tcherepnine, Schnittke and Kancheli to his credit.

He has taught at schools of music in Russia, the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and conducted masterclasses in many countries. Alexander Ivashkin is also well known as a conductor. He conducts orchestras and choruses in Great Britain, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Armenia, and Azerbajan.

Academic qualifications

MMus in performance (distinction), Russian Academy of Music, Moscow;

MA in historical musicology (distinction), Russian Academy of Music, Moscow;

D.M.A., Russian Academy of Music, Moscow;

Ph.D., Russian State Institute for Arts Studies, Moscow;

D.Mus, Russian State Institute for Arts Studies, Moscow

Teaching

Strategies in Performance (MMus Performance and Related Studies)
Soviet and Post-Soviet Music and Politics (MMus/MA)
Advanced Classical Music Performance
Classical Music Performance
Performance and Critical Listening
Soviet Music and Beyond
Russian Music Traditions
Chamber Music (UG and PG students)
Goldsmiths Sinfonia
Chamber Choir
Contemporary Music Ensemble
Cello Performance (PG students only)

Areas of supervision

Current PhD students and their fields of study

Alex Eichenberger: Extended cello technique and Hommages a Paul Sacher

Magdalini Nikolaidou : Rakhmaninov and old Russian church traditions

Drosostalitsa Moraiti: Evolution of Alfred Schnittke’s piano style

Rachel Foulds: The Paradox of Galina Ustvolskaya

Elena Artamonova: Twentieth-century Russian music for viola

Rebecca Turner: Modern technique and aesthetics in the twentieth-century solo cello music

Alex McIntyre (with Craig Ayrey): Music and ideas of Nikolai Roslavets

Coady Green: Russian Piano Études

Valerie Welbanks: Cello Études: a history

Christine Tokatlian: Armenian music of the twentieth-century

Victoria Zora: Prokofiev's Violin Sonatas

Daniel Jaffee: Prokofiev’s “lost” colleagues: the background to his “tragic works”

Ondrei Gima (with  Simon Morrison): Prokofiev's 'Fiery Angel': reconstruction of the original 1920 version

Blanc Wan: Russian Performance School

Grants & awards

Bronze Medal at the International Competition in New York , 1994
Diapason D'Or Award, France, 1994
Georges Soros Foundation Grant, 1994
National Award of Excellence, for the achievements in performance, education and research, New Zealand, 1996
Eva Janzer Cello Society Award , from the Indiana University School of Music, USA, 1997
The International Recording Industry Award, 1999
Best CD in the last 5 years - 'Fanfare', USA, 2000
The Leverhulme Trust Award, UK, 2000
Best CD of the year, BBC Music Magazine, December 2001
International Who is Who in Music , 2001
Russian Oil Company ‘Lukoil’ Award, Russia, 2003
British Academy Award, UK, 2007, 2003
Arts and Humanities Research Council Award , UK, 2007, 2005
The VTB Capital Grant, London, 2008
Fine Violins Grant, London, 2009
J@A Beare Grant, London, 2009
Russian Government Grant, Russia, 2009
European Commission Grant, 2010
Pro Helvecia, Swiss Cultural Foundation Grant, 2011
Paul Sacher Foundation Grant, 2012
The Ralph Vaughan-Williams Trust Grant, 2012

Professional activities

International festivals/symposia: organisation and participation

'The Rest is Noise', Royal Festival Hall, London, 2013, 'Music, Politics and Orthodoxy', London, 2013, ‘Sergei Prokofiev: Man of the People’, London, 2012; ‘(M)other Russia : Evolution or Revolution?’, London, 2012; Eilat Music Festival, Israel, 2011; European Commission Music Festival ‘Europe as seen by Russians, Russia as seen by Europeans’, Moscow, 2011; The Third International Qara Qaraev Festival, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2011;  Moscow Autumn, Moscow Russia (2010); ‘Between Two Worlds’, Royal Festival Hall/Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 2009;  ‘Rostropovich Remembered’ (incorporating The VTB International Cello Competition), London, Wigmore Hall, 2009; Sofia Gubaidulina Festival, Florence, Italy, 2009; ‘Sound and Image’ – Festival of music, literature and drama in Santorini, Greece, 2009, 2008; ‘A Journey of the Soul’, BBC, Barbican Centre, London, 2007; Shostakovich-100, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 2006; Adam International  Cello  Festival, Christchurch,  New Zealand (2009, 2006, 2003, 2001, 1999, 1997, 1995); Australian Festival of Chamber  Music, Townsville, Australia (2008, 2006, 2004,  2003, 2002, 2001, 1999,1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993); ‘Musica Reservata’ , Brugge, Belgium  (2008, 2004, 2002) ; World Congress/Festival  of Choral Music, Kyoto, Japan, 2006; ‘Gubaidulina and Goebels’ , Groningen, The Netherlands, 2006;  Shostakovich-100, Rutgers University (USA), 2006A Schnittke Day, London , 2006;  Prokofiev Study Day, London , 2006; Shostakovich 2006, Cambridge, 2006; Cheltenham International Music Festival, UK, 2005; ‘ Russian Performance Traditions Today’, London, 2005 ; Amiatapiano festival, Tuscany, Italy, 2005 ‘The Prokofievs: three generations’, London, 2003;   ‘East and West’, Alcala de Henares , Madrid, Spain, 2003;  ‘Music of Russian Underground’, Lincoln Centre,  New York, 2003;  ‘Italians in Russia’( Florence, 2003) ;    New Russian Music – between elite and pop’, Nizhni Novgorod, Russia( 2003); ‘Upbeat’Festival/school, Croatia ( 2003);  Cork International Festival, Ireland ( 2003);  ’50 years after Stalin’ ( South Bank Centre, London, 2003);   ‘Prague Autumn’ , Prague ,  Czech Republic, 2003; ‘ A Day of Sofia Gubaidulina’( London, South Bank ,  2002);  International Chamber Music Festival ‘Ilholm’ , Tashkent , Uzbekistan ( 2002);   Porto Carras Chamber Music Festival, Greece ( 2001, 2002);  ‘Seeking the Soul’ ( BBC, Barbican London, 2001);  ‘Russian Avant-garde: past, present and future’ ( London, South Bank, 2001);  ‘Shostakovich: 25 years on’( Glasgow, Concert Hall 2000), Canterbury International Festival of Chamber Music (1998,1996);  New Zealand International Festival of the Arts (1998, 1996, 1994, 1992);  Kronberg International Cello Festival, Germany, (1997);  'Russische Woche", Zylt, Germany (1995,1994);  International Festival 'Alternativa' Moscow, Russia (1995,1988);  'Moscow Forum', Russia (1995, 1999);   'De Dag van Schnittke', Utrecht, Holland (1994);  Settembre Musica, Torino,  Italy (1993);  International Mozart Festival, Adelaide, Australia (1991);  Sergei Prokofiev and new Soviet Music, Germany (1991);  Ars Musica, Belgium (1990);  Tidewater Music Festival, USA (1990, 1989);  Almeida Festival, London (1989);  New Beginnings, Glasgow (1989);  Holland Festival, Amsterdam (1989);  Metz, France (1989);  Turku, Finland (1988);  St. Petersburg International Festival of modern music (1988);  Making Music Together, Boston, USA (1988);  Berliner Festwochen, Germany  (1988, 1986, 1983);  International Festival of Modern Music, Moscow, Russia (1988, 1986);  'Wittener Tage fur Neues Kammermusik', Witten, Germany (1987);  'Midem', Cannes, France (1987), Patras Festival , Greece (2004, 1986);  Warsaw Autumn, Poland (1985);  Zagreb Biennale, Croatia  (1983, 1981);  Steirische Herbst, Austria (1981); Budapest Music Weeks, Hungary  (1980).

Concert Tours

(as a soloist/conductor) with the orchestras, including:

London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Mariinsky Orchestra,  London Chamber orchestra (UK); Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Suedwestfalische Philharmonie (Germany); The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, The North Netherlands SO, The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra  (The Netherlands); RAI Torino (Italy), ‘Il Nostri Tempi’ Chamber orchestra, Florence (Italy); Geneva Chamber orchestra (Switzerland); The Janacek Philharmonia (Czech Republic), Slovak Philharmonic (Slovakia); West Australian SO, Tasmanian SO (Australia); Boulder Philharmonic, Reno Chamber orchestra, Rutgers SO (USA); Winnipeg SO, ‘ Montreal Soloists’ (Canada); Cape Philharmonic, Free State SO (South Africa); New Zealand SO, Auckland Philharmonia, Southern Sinfonia, Christchurch SO, Wellington Sinfonia, New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, St. Matthew Chamber Orchestra (New Zealand); Russian State SO, St.Petersburg Philharmonic,  St Petersburg SO, The Bolshoi Orchestra,  The Russian Philharmonia, The Ural State Symphony Orchestra, The Voronezh State SO, The Saratov State Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow  Studio New Music Chamber Orchestra,  ‘Sofia’ Chamber Orchestra, Kremlin Chamber Orchestra (Russia);  Ukranian State SO (Kiev, Ukraine); The Armenian State Philharmonic Orchestra (Armenia); The Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Orchestra, The Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra  (Azerbaijan).

Recitals and masterclasses 

Russia, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, China, Amman, Ukraine, Estonia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Regular Radio and TV recordings/broadcasts:

BBC 2, BBC 4

BBC Radio 3, Classic FM (London)

CBC (Canada)

ABC (Australia)

NPR (New York City, USA)

WNYC (New York City, USA)

Radio Netherlands

WDR  (Germany)

Radio Swizzeria Italiana (Switzerland)

DRS  (Switzerland)

Radio Suisse Romande, RSR  (Switzerland)

Radio New Zealand Concert FM

TV New Zealand 

Radio Orpheus (Moscow, Russia)

Russian Federation State TV (Moscow)

The ‘Culture’ TV Channel (Moscow, Russia)

Keynote lectures

Recent Keynote Lectures:

'Shostakovich and Orthodoxy.' The National Element in Music Symposium, University of Athens, Athens, Megaron Concert Hall, January 2013.

'Prokofiev and Cello.'  Opening talk and concert  of the LPO/Southbank/Prokofiev Archive festival Prokofiev: Man of the People?. Royal Festival Hall, January 2012:http://www.lpo.org.uk/prokofiev/brochure.html

'Galina Ustvolskaya: Minimalist or Maximalist?' Galina Ustvolskaya Symposiem/Festival ,  University of Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam, May,  2011. Round table discussion available on YouTube:http://youtu.be/galuBAvs2IE

'Alfred Schnittke: A Man in Between.' Alfred Schnittke – Between Two Worlds'. Festival/Symposium, Southbank Centre/Schnittke Archive, Goldsmiths, London Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Southbank Centre, London, November 2009: http://londonphilharmonic.wordpress.com/tag/schnittke-festival/
http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/series/alfred-schnittke-between-two

Research interests

Music performance, twentieth-century Russian music (particularly Alfred Schnittke), American music (particularly Charles Ives).

Selected publications

Recent publications:

'Shostakovich, old believers and new minimalists' , in Contemplating Shostakovich: Life, Music and Film, ed. Alexander Ivashkin and Andrew Kirkman. Farnham: Ashgate, 2012, 19 - 45.

‘Shostakovich. First Cello Concerto.' In D.D. Shostakovich, New Collected Works Critical Edition, vol. 47. Moscow: DSCH, 2012, 122–161.

‘Shostakovich. Second Cello Concerto.’ In D.D. Shostakovich, New Collected Works Critical Edition, vol. 49. Moscow: DSCH, 2012, 83–124.

'Italiani in Russia: presenza fisica e influenza virtuale sulla musica,' in Rinascimento e Antirinascimento. Firenze nella cultura russa fra Otto e Novecento, ed. Lucia Tonini. Firenze: Leo S. Olschki, 2012, 209-219. In Italian.

'Kod Schnittke' ['The Schnittke Code']. In Al'fredu Schnittke posviashchaetsia [Dedicated to Alfred Schnittke: Schnittke Yearbook, 8]. Moscow: Kompozitor, 2011: 13-24. In Russian.

'American View on Soviet Music', in Muzykal'naia Zhizn, Moscow:Kompozitor, 2011/1: 56 - 57. In Russian

Selected books:

Contemplating Shostakovich: Life, Music and Film.  Edited by Alexander Ivashkin and Andrew Kirkman. Farnham: Ashgate , 2012. 305pp.

(M)other Russia : After Shostakovich. Bloomington-Indianapolis: Indiana University Press (in progress).

Schnittke Studies . Edited by Alexander Ivashkin and Gavin Dixon. Bloomington-Indianapolis: Indiana University Press (in progress).

Rostropovich. Tokyo: Shunjusha Publishing Company, 2007. 280 pp.

Besedy s Alfredom Schnittke [Conversations with Alfred Schnittke ].  Third, revised (paperback) edition: Moscow: Klassica-XXI, 2005, 320 pp.

Alfred Schnittke: Stat'i o muzyke [Articles on music] . Edited by Alexander Ivashkin. Moscow: Compozitor, 2003. 407 pp.

A Schnittke Reader. Bloomington /Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2002. 352pp.

Rostrospective (On the Life and Achievement of Mstislav Rostropovich). Frankfurt-Schweinfurth: Reimund Maier Verlag, 1997 . 142pp.

Alfred Schnittke. London: Phaidon Press, 1996, 240 pp.

Besedy s Alfredom Schnittke [Conversations with Alfred Schnittke ]. Moscow: The Culture Publishers, 1994. 304pp. Second, revised edition: Moscow: Klassica-XXI, 2003, 316pp. German Edition: Munich: 1999. Japanese Edition: Tokyo, 2002.

Charles Ives i muzyka XX vieka [Charles Ives and the Twentieth-century music]. Monograph. Moscow, Soviet Composer, 1991. 464pp.

Krzysztof Penderecki. Moscow: Soviet Composer, 1983.  126pp.

Selected articles:

‘Songs My Mother Taught Me (Crossover and Double Recycling in Soviet and Post-Soviet Music)’,  2013 (in print)

Symbols, Metaphors and Irrationalities in Twentieth-Century Music.  Cataño, Rafael Jiménez and Yarza, Ignacio (Ed.). Mimesi, Verità e Fiction. Roma: Edusc, 2009: 69 – 87.

Cooling the volcano: Prokofiev’s Cello Concerto Op. 58 and ‘Symphony-Concerto’ Op. 125 . Three Oranges, Journal of the Serge Prokofiev Foundation, No. 18 (November 2009), 7-14.

Podsolnukh [Sunflower]. Rostropovich in memoriam. Muzykal’naya Academia. Moscow , 2007/3: 1 – 16. Short English version: Radius Solis. Three Oranges, Journal of the Serge Prokofiev Foundation, No. 14 (November 2007), 25 – 27.

Dvoinaya pererabotka otkhodov v sovetskoi muzyke [Double recycling in Soviet music]. In:  Iskusstvo XX veka : elite i massy [ The twentieth-century Art: Elite and Masses]. Nizhny Novgorod: The Glinka Conservatoire Press, 2005: 12- 18.

Logic of Absurdity or Taste of Freedom? Alexander Knaifel and his opera 'Alice in Wonderland'. Tempo, 219 , 2002: 34-35

Alfred Schnittke.  New Grove Dictionary. London: Macmillan. 2001 ( with Ivan Moody)

‘…und wenn es mir den Hals bricht’.  Zum Gedenken an Alfred Schnittke. MusikTexte. Heft 78, March 1999: 27- 31.

Shostakovich and Schnittke: the erosion of symphonic syntax. In D.Fanning (ed.) Shostakovich Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995: 252-268.

The paradox of Russian Non-Liberty. The Musical Quarterly, vol.76, no.4, 1992: 543-556.

Die Musik als grosse Buhne.  In  Kagel . . .1991.   Köln: DuMont Buchverlag, 1991:110-119.

Charles Ives : Otkrytie Ameriki. In  Zapadnoye Iskusstvo. XX vek. [ Charles Ives: discovery of the America.  In  Western Art. XX Century].  Moscow: Nauka, 1991: 222-247.

Sowietische Musik.  Von der Struktur zum Symbol.  In Sowietische Musik im Licht der Perestroika.  Berlin: Laaber, 1990:109-117.

Post-October Soviet art: canon and symbol. The Musical Quarterly, vol.74, no. 2,1990: 350 - 368.

Music Scores Edited:

Sergei Rakhmaninov. Melody on a Theme for cello and piano. First publication. Edited and prefaced by Alexander Ivashkin and Rustem Hayroudinoff. Hamburg: Hans Sikorski Musikverlage, 2013  (in preparation).

Alfred Schnittke . Collected Works. Critical Edition in sixty- three volumes.  Compiled and prefaced by Alexander Ivashkin. St.Petersburg: Compozitor,  2009 - .  Alexander Ivashkin, Editor-in-chief (in progress).

Alexander Grechaninov. Cello Concerto ( 1895). Performance edition from the manuscript.  Moscow: State Symphony Capella, 1998.

Frangiz Ali-Zade. Habil-Sayahy  for cello and piano. Edited and  prefaced by Alexander Ivashkin.  Hamburg, Hans Sikorski Internationale Musikverlage, 1991.

Twentieth-century American piano music. Compiled, prefaced and commented by Alexander Ivashkin. Moscow: Muzika State Publishers, 1991.

Charles Ives. Works for Orchestra. Critical Edition. Compiled, prefaced and commented by Alexander Ivashkin. Kiev, 'Muzychna Ukraina', 1990.

Selected recordings:

Alexander Gretchaninov. Cello Concerto, op . 8 ( 1895). Discovered and edited by Alexander Ivashkin. Chandos, CHAN 9559, 1997.  World premiere recording.

Under the Southern Cross. New music for solo cello from Australia and New Zealand. BMG,1999. Recording Industry Award, 1999.

Alexander Tcherepnine. Complete Music for Cello and Piano .With Geoffrey Tozer, piano. Chandos, CHAN 9770, 1999. World premiere recording.

Unknown Shostakovich: Schumann - Shostakovich . Cello Concerto, op.129/126; Tishchenko-Shostakovich. Cello Concerto No.1. with Russian State SO. Chandos, CHAN 9792, 2000. World premiere recording.

Unknown Prokofiev : Concerto for cello &orchestra op.58, Concertino op 132, orchestrated by V.Blok, Cadenza by A.Schnittke, with Russian State SO Chandos, CHAN 9890 , 2001. World premiere recording. The Strad Selection, July 2001.

Nikolai Roslavets . Complete Music for cello and piano. Alexander Ivashkin, Tatyana Lazareva. Chandos, CHAN 9881, 2001. World premiere recording. 'CD of the month', BBC Music Magazine, April. 2001.

Gubaidulina and Cello. Chandos, CHAN 9958. 2001. World premiere recording.

An Introduction to Nikolai Korndorf : Passacaglia for cello solo ( dedicated to Alexander Ivashkin), String Trio, Piano Trio (with Patricia Kopachinskaya, Daniel Raiskin, Ivan Sokolov). Megadisc 7817, 2002. World premiere recording.

An Introduction to Dmitry Smirnov: Sonata for cello and piano, 'Postlude' for cello solo (dedicated to AI), Piano Trio (with Patricia Kopachinskaya, Ivan Sokolov). Magadisc 7818, 2002. World premiere recording.

Myaskovsky. Cello Concerto (+ Symphony No 27). With Russian State SO. Chandos, CHAN 10025, 2002.

Rakhmaninoiv. Complete Cello/piano Music ( with Rustem Hayroudinoff), including two world premiere recordings. Chandos, CHAN 10095, 2004.

Kancheli. Simi; Mourned by the wind , for cello and orchestra. Chandos, CHAN 10297, 2005.

Shostakovich. Cello Concertos, Nos 1 and 2. With Russian State SO. Brilliant Classics 7620, 2006.

Alexander Ivashkin plays Schnittke ( Double CD). Complete Concertos and Sonatas for cello by Schnittke. Chandos, CHAN 241-39, 2007. Best Re-issue of the month – Gramophone.

Due Celli ( Music by Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Boccherini, Boismortier, Mozart, Schnittke and Hindemith) with Natalia Pavlutskaya.  Alma Classics , MANU 5031, 2007.

Alexander Ivashkin plays Prokofiev ( Double CD). Complete Concertos and Sonatas for cello by Prokofiev. Chandos, England, CHAN 241-41, 2008.

Alfred Schnittke: Discoveries. Yellow Sound, Dialogue for cello and instrumental ensemble, Variations for String Quartet. Alexander Ivashkin, cello/voice. London: Toccata Classics, 2009. TOCC 0091

Pacific Voyage . Improvisations with Fijian, Cook Island and Maori musicians . Alma Classics, MANU 5028,  2009.

Russian Cello Concertos 1960 -2000. With various orchestras. Alma Classics, MANU 5029,  2010.

Nikolai Korndorf. Complete Cello Music. With  Philharmonia orchestra. London: Toccata Classics, TOCC 0128, 2012.