press

"Praise be … to Glinka and Tchaikovsky for showing what glittering substance is all about, and to Alexander Vedernikov for perfection of style in both. (★★★★)".. >>

Press review

Elena CHEREMNYKH, Kommersant, March 21, 2001

Forty musicians from the previous lineup have joined the orchestra. Their youth, passion, and unconditional sympathy for the 38-year-old artistic director can already be seen as a winning platform for Moscow's youngest symphony orchestra. >>

The 'Russian Philharmonic' morphed from the TV-6 orchestra into Mayor of Moscow Luzhkov's orchestra

Amelia GENTLEMAN,
The Guardian, Fri 6 Jul 2001

The backstage drama at the Bolshoi saw the arrival this week of a young musical director whose mission is to drag the theatre out of the crisis that has shattered its reputation. >>

Quiet young conductor tries to tame the Bolshoi snakepit

"Russian Life",
USA, September/October 2001

Depending on who you ask, Alexander Vedernikov has either the most or the least enviable job in Russian arts. >>

Alexander Vedernikov, conductor

Review by ClassicsToday, 2001

Here Vedernikov and his orchestra are in top form, especially in the Vivace movement, which they attack with precision and without unnecessary bombast. >>

Jurriaan Andriessen on NM Classics C

Eena CHEREMNYKH, Kommersant, Febr 19, 2002

"If it weren't for the program, the Bolshoi orchestra under the direction of Alexander Vedernikov, vibrating, tremulous, fiery and tender, could have easily been mistaken for a touring ensemble from La Scala." >>

The Bolshoi gave the impression of a theatre.
Premiere of "Adrienne Lecouvreur" at La Scala

Ekaterina BIRYUKOVA,
Izvestia, March 18, 2002

The performance of the dramatic legend of Hector Berlioz "The Condemnation of Faust" took place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. >>

And it's not scary at all

RBC, June 3, 2002

The premiere of Mussorgsky's opera Khovanshchina will take place at the Bolshoi Theatre on June 7. >>

Bolshoi Theatre: "Khovanshchina" in the style of engraving

Ekaterina BIRYUKOVA,
Izvestia. June 7, 2002

Probably, there are operas that can argue with the "Khovanshchina" by the vagueness of their meaning. But there is hardly another one that combines this nebula with indisputable philosophical depth in such an incomprehensible way. >>

Judgment Day

Olga FILIPPOVA, Belcanto.ru . March 6, 2003

It took a while for the "Virtuosos" to get used to Alexander Vedernikov's strong-willed and emotionally open manner of conducting.. >>

"Virtuosos of Moscow" was conducted by the artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater

Marc ROCHESTER, The Gramophone, 2003

Alexander Vedernikov keeps things under rather too tight a rein, encouraging impressively clean playing from the RNO and immaculate precision (particularly of diction) from the choir. >>

Getty: Joan and the Bells

David HURWITZ, ClassicsToday.com, not earlier than 2003

Alexander Vedernikov and the Russian National Orchestra give what sounds like a very committed performance of the score. >>

Getty: Joan and the Bells

Lawrence BUDMEN,
January 29, 2004

Conductor Vedernikov and the Russian National Orchestra were equal partners in this magnificent performance of Bartok's swan song opus. >>

Fiery Bartók

Colin CLARKE, MusicWeb International,
June 2004

A marvellous performance, historically informed and caught absolutely on the wing.. >>

Mikhail GLINKA. Ruslan and Lyudmila

Terry BARFOOT, MusicWeb International,
June 2004

Due credit needs to be given to the conductor, Alexander Vedernikov, for his attention to detail in bringing details of say, woodwind parts through in such a clear and natural way. >>

Mikhail GLINKA (1804-1857)
Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842)

Bruce HODGES, MusicWeb International,
January-April 2004

It seems strange that this piece isn’t performed very often, since it has everything to recommend it, either as a curtain raiser or an encore, especially when performed with the kind of spirit and energy Vedernikov demonstrated here. >>

S & H International Concert Review

Edouard BAILY, May 4, 2004

The Russian National Orchestra, led by a Vedernikov who seems to have retained everything from Mravinsky (rigor and harshness of the discourse, absence of concessions, clarity of articulation...), gives us a memorable reading of this symphony >>

"The Russian Prince" and "The Little Father of the Peoples"

Neil McGOWAN, MusicWeb International,
January-April 2004

Vedernikov has staged work which is not merely worthy of a national centre of excellence – this is world-calibre work, at long last.. >>

S. Prokofiev, "The Fiery Angel", The Bol’shoi Theatre, Moscow, April 24, 2004

Petr POSPELOV, Vedomosti, June 22, 2004

"Vedernikov's style is original and subtly challenges the charismatic approach favored by our top Wagnerian protagonist." >>

Everything is extinguished, plunged into darkness...

Claudio GHERBITZ, Il Piccolo di Trieste del 2004-09-26

He demonstrated a greater harmony with Britten than with the ardent Wagnerian passion, and perhaps that is why, choosing an exclusively Russian repertoire, he decided to stand firmly on his land, in his homeland. >>

Alexander Vedernikov at the Verdi Autumn Symphony Season.
Young and impetuous wands

Claudio GHERBITZ, Il Piccolo di Trieste del 2004-10-29

"Leading the "Requiem" would be enough to impart a sense of unity to such heterogeneity, a task that Alexander Vedernikov accomplished by going beyond, carefully calculating many details and managing to infuse vitality into the ensemble". >>

Benjamin Britten's masterpiece closed the symphony season at the Teatro Verdi. Requiem Against Wars

Vadim PROKHOROV, The Guardian, 16 March 2005

A new opera about clones is raising hell at the Bolshoi — and it hasn't even opened yet. >>

Genetically modified Mozart

Anna KOCHAROVA
BBC Russian Service, Moscow, March 22, 2005

Children of Rosenthal, composed by Leonid Desyatnikov and staged by Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nekrosius, has already caused much controversy and triggered a political debate. >>

Fury over Bolshoi composer clones

Göran FORSLING, MusicWeb International,
July-December 2005

...These chords also confirmed that this orchestra is world-class. It is a lean sound, lean but not weak and the precision was impressive, the brass menacing and imposing. >>

Giacomo PUCCINI: Turandot
at Dalhalla, Sweden 5th August, 2005 (GF)

RBC, Society , 12 Dec 2005

The Bolshoi Theater presented the premiere of Sergei Prokofiev's opera War and Peace. The musical director of the production was Mstislav Rostropovich, but a few days before the premiere he refused to take the conductor's stand. >>

"War and Peace": the premiere at the Bolshoi took place after all

Irina MURAVIEVA, rg.ru, Dec. 12, 2005​

The pace and rhythms of the war, worked out by Prokofiev on the material of "Alexander Nevsky", were set by Alexander Vedernikov, sometimes falling on the audience with a menacing mass of sound, but never once losing balance with the singers. >>

Evan DICKERSON,
Seen and Heard Opera Review, July 25, 2006

The Bolshoi’s visit coincides with that of Gergiev’s Mariinsky team, but the Muscovites don’t seem flustered by the mega-maestro making London his second home, for they have brought two impressive productions, one old and one new. >>

Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel

Richard WHITEHOUSE, Classicalsource.com, 26 July, 2006

Alexander Vedernikov conducted with a sense of dramatic pace that finds the necessary momentum to vindicate the opera’s episodic formal thinking. >>

Bolshoi Opera — The Fiery Angel

Hilary FINCH at Covent Garden,
The Times, July 27 2006

Vedernikov draws spectacular playing from the Bolshoi Orchestra. >>

The Fiery Angel

RBC, September 4, 2006

Onegin kills Lensky not in a duel, but by accident, and in the finale he tries to shoot himself. Tatiana, in a fit of emotion, knocks over chairs and climbs onto the table, and sings a romance with Olga with her back to the audience. >>

Bolshoi Theatre: "Eugene Onegin" in a modern way

Göran FORSLING,
MusicWeb International, September 6, 2006

Highlights from Russian Operas

Søren SCHAUSER,
Berlingske, 26. November 2006

Det Kongelige Kapel har fået den helt rigtige chefdirigent. En mand med hjerte for både musik og mennesker. >>

Alexander den store

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Februar 13. 2007

Vedernikov is a musician who takes his time to run through the score, and you accept his love of detail with gratitude. >>

To the border and beyond.
Alexander Vedernikov and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra at the Alte Oper

Frankfurter Neue Presse, February 15, 2007

At the console was Alexander Vedernikov, the orchestra's chief conductor since 2001, who is known not only in Europe. >>

The paintings glow with warm colors. The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra performed at the Alte Oper Frankfurt

Frankfurter Rundschau, February 16, 2007

Russian Russian musicians performed Ravel's perception of the Russian sound cosmos with their own, original feeling, so that the Greek-Spanish-Francophilism of this idealistic composer became the ideal of Russians... >>

Ravel as an exemplary Russian. The Bolshoi Orchestra in Frankfurt

Slava SHADRONOV, April 28, 2007

From a historical and musical point of view, "Boris Godunov" is still an unsolved work, unsolved primarily in terms of music, and not even in terms of dramaturgy... >>

Chur, child! ("Boris Godunov" by M. Mussorgsky at the Bolshoi Theatre)

RBC, November 14, 2007

The premiere of the new version of "Eugene Onegin", which took place on September 1, 2006 on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater, provoked a vivid reaction from critics. >>

"Eugene Onegin" of the Bolshoi Theater was awarded the Casta Diva award

Colin ANDERSON, Classicalsource.com, 15 December, 2007

Vedernikov drew lucid, well-balanced, focussed and confident playing from the BBC Symphony Orchestra that had the right sort of edge to remind, certainly in the Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky pieces, of the music’s Slavic background. >>

BBC SO/Vedernikov | Nelson Freire

Pieracille DOFFINI,
Avvenire, January 9, 2008

All tickets were sold out for three concerts of Russian musicians. Only one chord was enough, the first gloomy chord of Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini, and the spirit of Russia wafted into the La Scala Theater... >>

The Bolshoi Orchestra enchants La Scala

Elvio GIUDICI, Il Giorno, January 9, 2008

An historical ensemble performed at the La Scala theatre, with piano by Nikolai Lugansky >>

Vedernikov and the Bolshoi's Revival

Elsa AIROLDI,
Il Giornale, January 10, 2008

The audience was captured by the power and confidence of conductor Alexander Vedernikov, the brilliant technique of pianist Nikolai Lugansky. >>

The Bolshoi arrived — and showed himself to be such at the La Scala Theater

Boris LIFANOVSKY, January 18, 2008

At the beginning of the year, the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra and choir performed triumphantly in St. Petersburg and Milan >>

An Eyewitness Account

ClassicalMusicNews.Ru.
January 21, 2008

Despite the fact that the two theaters have a long and close relationship, the tour of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra in Milan is at least a non—ordinary event. >>

The orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre conquered Milan

forum.balletfriends.ru, March 28, 2008

"I am very close to Eimuntas Nekrošius' creative method. Nekrošius has a magnificent command of the art of generalization: what happens on stage in his productions is not mundane; it is endowed with symbolic meaning, which, in my opinion, is much more interesting." >>

New "Kitezh" to be seen in Moscow and Cagliari

NEWSru.com. April, 10, 2008

Vedernikov received an award in the Symphonic Music category for his performance with the Orchestra of Italian Switzerland of Dmitry Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto. >>

The Bolshoi Theatre's chief conductor has been awarded the BBC Music Prize

Olga GRINKRUG, forum.balletfriends.ru, May 13, 2008

Italians favorably received the funeral paradise of Nekrošius and Rimsky-Korsakov. >>

«Kitezh» in Sardinia. Review of Italian newspapers

Review of the Italian press, May 15, 2008

«The Legend of Kitezh» — an inspiring, titanic challenge. >>

«Kitezh» by the Bolshoi and the Cagliari Theatre

Olga PAVUK,
The Baltic Course, Рига, June 16, 2008

A tour of the opera of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia will take place on the stage of the Latvian National Opera. Two new productions of the Bolshoi will be presented to the audience — "Rosenthal's Children" and "Eugene Onegin". >>

The Bolshoi Theatre has arrived in Riga again

Bolshoi Theatre, June 30, 2008

"The Miserly Knight" also "made it" onto the program of the latest subscription concert, which is commented on by the Bolshoi’s Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Alexander Vedernikov >>

The Bolshoi continues to celebrate Sergei Rachmaninoff and presents Frank Peter Zimmermann to Russia

Alexey BOGDANOVSKY, RIAN, July 16, 2008

The Athenian press notes the impressive work of the singers on Mussorgsky's complex material, the subtle work of the conductor, the rich decorations, and the meticulously detailed stage production in this performance, which is rare in Athens for its scale. >>

The Bolshoi Opera. Modest Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov

Nicole Duault, Journal du Dimanche, September 8, 2008

A magnificent opening of the season, controversial and tradition-breaking. In the spirit of the Opéra. >>

Onegin at the table, Pushkin is killed

Emmanuel GIULIANI, "La Croix," September 8, 2008

For these Paris guest performances by the Bolshoi, the conductor's baton could only have been entrusted to its musical director and chief conductor, Alexander Vedernikov. >>

Triumph of the Bolshoi at the Garnier

Geoff BROWN, The Times, May 17 2009

Simon Trpceski has phenomenal technique, good taste and inspiring imagination. >>

Simon Trpceski and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra at the Metropolis Arena, Skopje

Lenta.Ru, July 14, 2009

It seems that the Bolshoi Theater is entering a period of personnel confusion. At the beginning of winter, the main choreographer Alexei Ratmansky left him, and the middle of July was marked by the announcement of the resignation of the chief conductor and musical director Alexander Vedernikov. >>

Bow to the maestro. Alexander Vedernikov leaves the Bolshoi Theatre

Izvestiya. July 14, 2009

"I was becoming more and more uncomfortable for the current administration," Vedernikov said. >>

The main conductor leaves the Bolshoi Theatre

Michael STOTT,
Reuters. July 14, 2009

Alexander Vedernikov, who had struggled for eight years to raise standards and inject new life into Russia's best-known international music theater, announced his decision on the opening day of the Bolshoi's summer tour of Italy. >>

Conductor exits left as Bolshoi Theater's woes mount

Irina MURAVYOVA,
"RG", ClassicalMusicNews.ru, July 16, 2009 г.

Maestro Vedernikov intends to make an official statement about his termination of the contract with the Bolshoi Theatre, which expires in June 2010, on July 17, upon his return from Milan to Moscow. >>

Alexander Vedernikov: “It seems to me that the theater has chosen a dead-end path”

Leila GINIATULINA, Marina TIMASHEVA,,
Radio Svoboda, July 16, 2009

The following people take part in the conversation:: Ekaterina Kretova, Alexey Parin, Yuri Vasiliev, Natalia Zimyanina, Peter Pospelov. >>

Alexander Vedernikov, Chief Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, is leaving his post

Natalia ZIMYANINA, Novaya Gazeta, July 20, 2009

By indirect signs, it can be calculated that the "vision of prospects diverged" two years ago. But only now Vedernikov told about the reasons for his departure: his opinion is not taken into account, they demand quantity at the expense of quality; bureaucratic logic has largely defeated artistic logic. >>

It is not the contract that has expired, but patience

LENTA.RU, August 18, 2009

"There is no need for any concept of development of the administration. You can just stupidly play the same performances year after year... doing one or two premieres per season is unacceptably small. With such enthusiasm, you can only produce "goodbye, youth" boots, and not work in the theater." >>

The former chief conductor criticized the Bolshoi Theater

Izvestiya. September 22, 2009

Alexander Vedernikov, who left the post of musical director of the Bolshoi Theater in July, believes that the avant-garde composer Leonid Desyatnikov, who was appointed to this position today, will not be able to gain real power in the theater. >>

The ex-conductor of the Bolshoi recognized the new choice of the theater as a PR move

Colin ANDERSON, Сlassicalsource.com, 30 October, 2009

Vedernikov relishes detail and adds an edge to the music he conducts (aided by a lucid and expressive technique). >>

London Philharmonic/Vedernikov | Piers Lane

Anne DRUD, Odense Symfoniorkester. FyuensStiftstidende, Nov 3, 2009

”It was a sensation when we managed to engage him. He is one of the greatest and best conductors." >>

Maestro Vedernikov

Tim ASHLEY, The Guardian, 11 Dec 2009

"Musically it's very fine, though ­Alexander Vedernikov's conducting is too measured for my taste" >>

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin; Monogarova / Karashvili / Dunaev / Kwiecien / Bolshoi Theatre Chorus and Orchestra/Vedernikov

ResMusica, February 1, 2010

The 2010 Midem Classical Awards were presented as part of Midem. The award ceremony took place on Tuesday, January 26th at the Debussy Auditorium in Cannes >>

The 2010 Midem Classical Awards

Colin ANDERSON, Сlassicalsource.com, 25 February, 2010

Vedernikov adds a certain flamboyance to his articulate conducting style, a gesturing that paints pictures and draws vivid playing and he is also alive to subtleties and variegation >>

BBCSO/Vedernikov | Frank Peter Zimmermann. Szymanowski, Dvořák & Prokofiev

Roger JONES,
Seen and Heard UK Concert Review., May 28, 2010

Vedernikov managed to inspire the CBSO to play with vigour and commitment to produce a performance which was utterly overwhelming in its impact. >>

Seen and Heard UK Concert Review. Alexander Vedernikov/CBSO

Christopher MORLEY,
BusinessLive, Jun, 4, 2010

Russian orchestral music is textured throughout with significant instumental solos, and in this all-Russian programme they were delivered with clarity and dexterity, marshalled under the sweeping and expert beat of conductor Alexander Vedernikov. >>

Review: Alexander Vedernikov/CBSO at the Symphony Hall

Edward SECKERSON,The Independent, 14 January 2012

Vedernikov was very laid-back with Kijé, a more genial, throw-away approach than we sometimes hear with bass drum thwacks and discordant raspberries from the brass like cartoonish exclamations and the earthy colourations realised with an air of total “normality”. >>

London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vedernikov, Royal Festival Hall, London

Mark BERRY, SeenandHeard-International.com, January 14, 2012

The final work on the programme was the Seventh Symphony. Its first movement once again revealed Vedernikov’s fondness for swift tempi: it was certainly on the fast side of Moderato, though for the most part, it flowed >>

The London Philharmonic’s Prokofiev Festival Opens

Richard MORRISON, The Times, January 16, 2012

LPO/Vedernikov at the Festival Hall

Paul Corfield GODFREY,
MusicWeb International, May 12, 2012

Quite simply a neglected masterpiece. >>

Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908)
The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh

Etiennes Comes, ResMusica, October 11, 2012

Vedernikov's direction immediately steered the discourse toward a narrative, which proved ideal in the first movement, rich in contrasts of tempi and atmospheres. >>

Vedernikov and Neuburger, stand-ins of choice at Pleyel

Bachtrack.com, Katherine DIXSON, 5 November 2012

Just when we thought the evening couldn’t get any more dramatic, guest conductor Alexander Vedernikov demonstrated a remarkable affinity with compatriot Rachmaninov and directed the players through a blistering performance of his Symphony no. 1 in D minor. >>

Powerful northern landscapes: Elisabeth Leonskaja and the CBSO play Grieg

Caterina BERGO,
www.Sipario.it, 15 novembre 2012

l'Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna ha partecipato a uno dei più grandi capolavori della musica sinfonica, la patetica di Kaykovsky: il direttore Aleksandr Vedernikov ha guidato l'orchestra su un percorso caratterizzato da un'interpretazione fedele alla partitura. >>

Concerto inaugurale della stagione del Teatro Manzoni

Marc HAEGEMAN,
Classical Net Review, 2012

Led by the Russian guest conductor Alexander Vedernikov, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France inaugurated the year with an attractive all-Russian program. >>

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Alexander Vedernikov

Richard MORRISON, The Times, March 24, 2013

Vedernikov had surprised everyone by shaping a persuasive account of very British music: Tippett’s unfairly neglected Piano Concerto, with its unexpected nods to Beethoven and Brahms, and its off-kilter country- dance finale. >>

Aurora Orchestra/Collon at LSO St Luke’s, EC1; BBCSO/Vedernikov at the Barbican

Rob BARNETT,
MusicWeb International, March 2013

...This new one is nothing short of superb — spine-tingling stuff. The two Glazunov makeweights are lovingly done. They were not unknown to me but have, to my knowledge, never sounded so succulent.. >>

Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865-1936)
Othmar SCHOECK (1886-1957)

Chris GARLICK, Bachtrack.com, 25 March 2013

This evening’s concert, conducted by Alexander Vedernikov, was a thrilling evenings in the concert hall. >>

Incisiveness and virtuosity: Adams, Tippett and Shostakovich with the BBC SO

Geoff BROWN, The Times, September 24 2013

Yet the night’s biggest punch came from the BBCSO’s performance. Vedernikov inspired the musicians to discover their inner savage, propelling the most explosive sections with an elemental thrust. >>

BBC Symphony Orchestra/Vedernikov at the Barbican

By Emily OWEN, 25 September 2013

Conductor Alexander Vedernikov, with dramatic gestures somewhat reminiscent of the original choreography, ensured that the driving rhythms were accurate. >>

Total Immersion: The Rite of Spring 2013 at the Barbican

Derek HO, ResMusica, March 5, 2014

Conducting without a score, Vedernikov brought out excellent string ensemble while highlighting Schubert's absolutely delicious woodwind writing. >>

Alexander Knyazev | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra| Alexander Vedernikov

Par Nicolas NGUYEN, Bachtrack.com, 14 septembre 2014

Russian conductor Alexander Vedernikov took the audience on this musical rollercoaster journey with just the right balance of gusto and sensitivity. >>

Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa at the Concertgebouw is a thrilling and captivating tale

Simon THOMPSON, MusicWeb International, September 2014

The orchestral playing for the slow movement is gorgeous, too, with some meltingly beautiful string playing at the outset and a lovely sense of flow. >>

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Erica JEAL, 6 October 2014

Alexander Vedernikov, conducting, paced it skilfully >>

John Tavener Remembered review: powerful, lyrical and sparsely textured

Nicholas NGUYEN, Backtrack, The classical music website, September 14, 2014

At the Concertgebouw last Saturday, Russian conductor Alexander Vedernikov took the audience on this musical rollercoaster journey with just the right balance of gusto and sensitivity. >>

Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa at the Concertgebouw is a thrilling and captivating tale

Nick BRECKENFIELD, Classicalsource.com, 5 October, 2014

Vedernikov, now baton-less, took care of the arching span of the work, and Altstaedt matched his earlier vocal colleagues in offering contributions of the highest order. >>

BBC SO Total Immersion – John Tavener [final concert] – Alexander Vedernikov conducts Little Ceremonial, Akhmatova: Requiem and The Protecting Veil

Guy DAMMANN,
Financial Nimes, November, 4, 2014

Shostakovich’s opera is conducted and directed with brutal clarity. >>

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Royal Opera House, Copenhagen — review

Per Rask MADSEN,
Information, November 7, 2014

The many fantastic orchestral passages the Royal Chapel plays under Russian Alexander Vedernikov.. >>

The ultimate price of womanhood. 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’

Göran FORSLING, SeenandHeard-International.com, March 21, 2015

Vedernikov grabbed every opportunity to revel in the meaty portions of the score, never more so than in the opening storm scene with blinding light flashes and both orchestra and chorus on their toes. A memorable evening! >>

Dark Drama in Stockholm’s New Otello

Tim ASHLEY, he Guardian, 16 Apr 2015

The BBC Symphony Orchestra was in fine form for Alexander Vedernikov in the complete Des Knaben Wunderhorn cycle >>

BBCSO/Vedernikov/Henschel review — Mahler ambitiously reinvented

Fiona MADDOCKS, The Guardian, 19 Apr 2015

Des Knaben Wunderhorn, sung with fine colour and nuance by the baritone Dietrich Henschel and played, with equal brilliance of detail and contrast, by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Vedernikov >>

Between Worlds; Des Knaben Wunderhorn — review

Colin CLARCE, SeenandHeard-International.com, January 31, 20016

The BBC players responded well to Vedernikov’s direction, the balancing of the brass section spoke of careful rehearsal. >>

An Abundantly Stimulating BBC Symphony Orchestra Concert

Peter REED, Classicalsource.com, 30 January, 2016

Vedernikov coaxed wonderfully apposite playing from the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a score teeming with ear-bending instrumental combinations >>

BBC SO/Alexander Vedernikov – Haydn’s Drum Roll Symphony & Shostakovich 6 – Lawrence Power plays Schnittke’s Viola Concerto

Paul DRIVER, The Sunday Times, February 7, 2016

This performance — somehow all the more involving because the conductor, Alexander Vedernikov, stood level with the players >>

Some people cannot be serious

Ian LACE, SeenandHeard-International.com, February 25, 2016

Vedernikov conveyed with relish all shrewishness and satanic excesses before the piece ended in sweet tranquillity as dawn breaks. >>

Sudbin’s Reading of the Scriabin Piano Concerto Beguiles Bournemouth Audience

David TRUSLOVE, Сlassicalsource.com, 26 February, 2016

This was wonderfully paced, with confident, gutsy playing, brass almost braying and leading towards a powerful execution. >>

Bournemouth SO/Alexander Vedernikov at The Anvil Basingstoke – Yevgeny Sudbin plays Scriabin’s Piano Concerto

Clive PEACOCK,
26 May 2016

With a Russian conductor, Alexander Vedernikov, very much at home with an all-Russian programme, the strong CBSO audience following was in for a treat. >>

Glorious Russian classics from Vedernikov and the CBSO at Symphony Hall

By The Newsroom, The Scotsman, 27th Jun 2016

Life-affirming music, transcending every boundary, conductor Alexander Vedernikov shaped and moulded it, often without a baton, in complete empathy with orchestra, chorus and soloists. >>

Classical review: BBCSO and St Magnus Festival Chorus

Colin ANDERSON,
ClassicalSource, August, 23, 2016

Vedernikov found the demon in the music and also its eerie beauty, effectively discovering an equilibrium between construction, motifs and mechanics against expression that twists slimily, erupts and hits hard. >>

Prom 50: BBC Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Vedernikov

Alan SANDERS,
Seen and Heard International, August, 24, 2016

Vedernikov’s balanced, proportionate view of the score bought its own rewards, since it had a pleasing lyrical emphasis, and tension developed naturally as the musical argument unfolded. >>

An Impressive Proms Debut by Alexander Vedernikov. Royal Albert Hall

Mark PULLINGER, Bachtrack.com, August 24, 2016

Vedernikov launched into the obsessive ostinato of the possessed opening with admirable precision and controlled aggression. >>

Prom 50: Angels and Demons as Vedernikov leads a gripping Prokofiev Third

Michael CHURCH,
The Independent, Thursday, August, 25, 2016

Vedernikov’s sensitive conducting allowed every note from the piano to impinge delicately. >>

Alexander Vedernikov makes his Proms debut on the podium

Michael CHURCH, The Independent, 06 September 2016

Vedernikov’s sensitive conducting allowed every note from the piano to impinge delicately; Hough’s virtuosity was consummate, yet casual-seeming. >>

Prom 50: Hough/ BBC SO/Vedernikov

David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com, after September 9, 2016

Alexander Vedernikov leads the Odense Symphony with the expected expertise. >>

Koh’s Tchaikovsky: Get To Know It

TASS, October 25, 2016

From the point of view of both the libretto and the music of this performance, this work is worthy of being returned to in a new stage version. >>

The opera "Rosenthal's Children" may return to the Bolshoi Theatre

Vincent GUILLEMIN, ResMusica, November 25, 2016

Led by the excellent Alexander Vedernikov, the Royal Liverpool Orchestra majestically accompanies a concerto too often treated with vulgarity. >>

Rachmaninov conceptualized by Alexandre Tharaud

Alexander CAMPBELL, Сlassicalsource.com, 16 February, 2017

The first movement opening impressively, a sinewy tone rather than romantic weight and the woodwind section was on superb form throughout. Strong stuff! >>

CBSO/Alexander Vedernikov — The Rock & Pathétique Symphony — Steven Osborne plays Rachmaninov

By Clive PEACOCK, Bachtrack.com, 17 February 2017

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's cellos and double basses' distinctive pizzicato paved the way for prodigious brass-led crescendos. >>

Steven Osborne offers a Rachmaninov referendum in Symphony Hall

Сriticaclassica.wordpress.com, March 29, 2017

She is accompanied by the Odense Symphony Orchestra, beautifully conducted by Alexander Vedernikov, certainly on par with other more renowned European ensembles, and characterized by remarkable unity and harmony. >>

Tchaikovsky: Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra

Colin ANDERSON,
ClassicalSource, October, 4 2017

A stimulating concert led by a musician with an engaging personality who has an infectious sense of humour. Vedernikov, with his at-times unorthodox if highly effective conducting technique, seems immune to fads... >>

BBC Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Vedernikov

Andrew CLEMENTS, The Guardian, 5 Oct 2017

The orchestral colours are ravishing, the sense of pacing spot on.
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BBCSO/Vedernikov review — A rare outing for Bruch's truculent double piano concerto

The Scotsman, 4th Dec 2017

This monumental concert under Russian conductor Alexander Vedernikov was a case in point: two mammoth Russian works, shatteringly loud at times '“ but raw volume wasn't really the issue. >>

Music review: BBCSO & Denis Kozhukhin, City Halls, Glasgow

Rowena SMITH, The Guardian, December 4, 2017

Conducting the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, in what was surprisingly the orchestra’s first performances of the work, Vedernikov showed himself to be an economical master of this music. >>

BBCSSO/Vedernikov review — shock and awe bring Shostakovich's 11th to life

Anna PICARD, The Times, December 8 2017

Outside it was winter, but in Symphony Hall it was spring — there was tremendous vitality in Helmchen and Vedernikov’s Brahms. >>

Concert review: CBSO/ Vedernikov at Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Simon THOMPSON, SeenandHeard-International.com, December 4, 2017

Vedernikov paced the symphony like a vast psychodrama, and controlled Shostakovich’s majestic colour palette with consummate skill. >>

An Intense Russian Extravaganza with the BBC Scottish SO

Vincent GUILLEMIN, ResMusica, March 21, 2018

To this is added the superb conducting finesse of Alexander Vedernikov, applies a modernity and a lightness to this score that do it justice, with a climax in the treatment of the orchestra during the riddle scene. >>

"Turandot" lyrical and modern at the Deutsche Oper Berlin

Klaus BILLAND,
OnlineMerker, June 6, 2018

The true revelation came from the Odense Symphony Orchestra, from whom the initiative for this Ring, under the profound and impetuous musical leadership of chief conductor Alexander Vedernikov, came in 2015 with concert performances. >>

Odense/Denmark: The Ring of the Nibelung - 29 May - 3 June 2018

Roy WESTBROOK, Bachtrack.com, 11 July 2018

The excellent forces of Savonlinna Opera, choral and instrumental, were very well directed by Alexander Vedernikov. >>

Staging, spectacle, singing: three-card trick at Savonlinna's new Queen of Spades

Curtis ROGERS,
ClassicalSource, August, 2, 2018

Vedernikov evoked the still atmosphere of night at the opening, taken up by Karadaglić with the rippling chords on his instrument... >>

Prom 25: BBC Symphony Orchestra / Alexander Vedernikov at Royal Albert Hall

Mark THOMAS,
Bachtrack.com, August 3, 2018

Vedernikov captured the orchestra’s supporting (but not secondary) role admirably to create a constantly changing web of textures. >>

Prom 25: Miloš Karadaglić creates mystery and atmosphere in Joby Talbot’s new concerto

Valdemar LØNSTED,
Information, September 19, 2018

...Here the Russian conductor has fully proved himself to be one of the best, including in his repertoire. And Vedernikov got the best out of the orchestra, which is rightfully proud of the strong traditions of Russian music. >>

Shostakovich's 8. Symphony became a true event

Richard LANDAU,
February, 13, 2019

Vedernikov obtained impressive results from his massive band of players, with standout contributions from brass and woodwinds. >>

BBC Symphony Orchestra — Alexander Vedernikov conducts Vasks & Shostakovich

By Roy WESTBROOK, Bachtrack.com, 15 February 2019

It must be a challenge for the conductor to pace each section, transition between them, grade the dynamics and mould the phrasing, all in a way which holds the audience’s attention over its 65 minutes. >>

Miracles at the Barbican in Gavin Higgins' new concerto

José IRUZUN, SeenandHeardInternational.com, March 11, 2019

It was the first time that I saw conducting, and he was splendid. There is no doubt that he knows the opera perfectly, and the result left nothing to be desired. Both the orchestra and chorus gave fine performances. >>

Götz Friedrich’s Production of Eugene Onegin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin Still Shines

Paul Corfield GODFREY, SeenandHeardInternational.com, March 16, 2019

The orchestra coped excellently with the headlong rush of the music in the finale, and even the speedy traversal of the slow movement – after all the Andante is marked ‘con moto’ – had plenty of character. >>

Giltburg Triumphs in Rachmaninoff in Cardiff

By Lars Ole Bonde, Peripeti.dk, May 22, 2019

Vedernikov probably kept the rhythmic pot boiling, but at the same time he created moments of great melodic and tonal beauty . >>

Nixon in China opera by John Adams, The Royal Danish Theatre

Uwe KRUSCH, Pizzicato, September 11, 2019

Soloists and ensembles of the Bolshoi Theatre under the direction of Alexander Vedernikov deliver a mature and captivating performance. >>

Love confession with clones

Брайан БАРФОРД, Сlassicalsource.com, 18 December 2019

Vedernikov was in his element and drew fine playing with some notable solos and an interpretation that balanced dreaminess with fleet-footed elegance. >>

BBC SO/Vedernikov — G. Sviridov’s The Blizzard | P. Tchaikovsky’s Winter Daydreams Symphony — A. Korobeinikov plays S. Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody

Robert CUMMINGS, MusicWeb International,
2020

Conductor Alexander Vedernikov draws excellent playing from the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and the Chorus sings splendidly. >>

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)

Musical Life magazine, Februar 11, 2020

Verdi's opera Aida was staged at the Mikhailovsky Theatre for the first time. >>

Is there an ancient Egypt here?

Robert HUGILL, Planethugill.com, 1 March 2020

Alexander Vedernikov kept the music moving (very necessary in this long opera) and ensured a lightness of touch in the orchestration despite Meyerbeer's huge orchestra. >>

Meyerbeer. Les Huguenots | Alexander Vedernikov | Deutsche Oper, Berlin

Tony COOPER, Andante, 11 March 2020

Russian conductor, Alexander Vedernikov worked wonders in the pit. He certainly had a lot to do (that’s Meyerbeer for you!) and presided over a memorable performance managing to keep the correct balance between pit and stage. And that’s not always an easy thing to do. Bravo! >>

Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots in Deutsche Oper Berlin

Dmitry MOROZOV, Gazetaigraem.ru, April 2, 2020

Vedernikov succeeded in gathering the vibrant fabric of the four-hour score into a single musical and dramatic whole, so that it was perceived as one continuous breath. >>

Meyerbeer Days in Berlin's Deutsche Oper: "Les Huguenots"

Anton DUBIN,
"Musical review", № 12 (470) 2020

"He brilliantly knew opera scores and all the subtleties of the art of opera conducting. He had a talent of huge scale and vast knowledge." >>

Limitless absolute pitch. In memory of Alexander Vedernikov

Dmitry RENANSKY,
MEDUZA., October 31, 2020

Alexander Vedernikov consistently and maybe quite consciously broke out of all the traditional social frameworks, desperately refusing to fit into the comme-il-faut behavior. >>

The conductor who reformed the Bolshoi Theater

Sergey KHODNEV,
Kommersant newspaper No. 201 of 31.10.2020

Alexander Vedernikov, a calm, thorough and, at the same time, disarmingly ironic person, could seem to be not fanatic enough, not charismatic enough. Although, from today everything is seen differently. . >>

A Great Man of the Bolshoi Theater

History of Music, October 30, 2020

Alexander Vedernikov's international reputation has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and he is in high demand as a guest conductor. >>

"Alexander Vedernikov's international reputation..."

Sergey BULANOV,
"Itogi", November 1, 2020 г.

Surprisingly, Vedernikov managed in fact only by the means of the art he created to get himself a name. His career seemed to be taking shape by itself. >>

Never in a hurry. In memory of conductor Alexander Vedernikov

The Telegraph, November 2, 2020

He directed thrilling concerts in Britain, supplying 'his own wild-man choreography on the podium' and spent eight years at the Bolshoi. >>

Alexander Vedernikov, Russian conductor known for fast tempi and loud fortissimos

Anthony TOMMASINI,
New York Times Nov. 16, 2020

A kinetic podium presence, he led performances at major opera houses and orchestras. >>

Alexander Vedernikov, Conductor and Bolshoi Veteran

Le 18 novembre 2020 par Vincent GUILLEMIN

Chef curieux au répertoire complet, qui réussissait à maintenir la tension tout au long d’un opéra de Puccini comme à s’atteler avec brio au répertoire moderne, il était aussi l’un des artistes les plus marqué par la grande tradition russe, bien plus que les nombreux chefs russes reconnus aujourd’hui en occident. >>

Hommage: le NHK Tokyo met en ligne deux concerts d’Alexander Vedernikov

Alexander MATUSEVICH,
Kultura, 31 Nov 2020

But for all the Europeanness and universalism of Vedernikov's talent, he always remained a Russian conductor. >>

In memory of Alexander Vedernikov

Mas du Barret. 1 août 2021

Vedernikov semblait devenir lui-même, en personne, la musique qu’il était censé interpréter. >>

Alexandre Vedernikov. Vers l’impalpable et nécessaire beauté