Alexei Ogrintchouk

Oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk is much in demand as a soloist and chamber musician. In the 2010s, he emerged as a conductor and educator as well. Ogrintchouk (also transliterated as Ogrintschuk) was born in Moscow on December 31, 1978. A prodigy, he was performing all over Russia, in western Europe, and in Japan by age 13. He studied at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow and at the Conservatoire de Paris; at the latter school, his teachers were Maurice Bourgue, Jacques Tys, and Jean-Louis Capezzali. Just 20, he joined the Rotterdam Philharmonic as principal oboist under conductor Valery Gergiev. In 2005, he moved to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra in the same position. Ogrintchouk's solo career developed after he won several major awards, including the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2002, designation as a BBC New Generation Artist in 2005, and a Borletti Buitoni Trust Award in 2007. Ogrintchouk has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, and all of the BBC orchestras, among other ensembles, and he has been a guest at the BBC Proms and other major festivals. As a chamber musician, he has worked with world-class musicians such as violinist Gidon Kremer, pianist Radu Lupu, and singer Thomas Quasthoff. Ogrintchouk's conducting engagements include those with the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Ogrintchouk has recorded for the BIS label, both as oboe soloist and conductor. In the latter capacity, he issued an album of bassoon concertos by Mozart, Weber, and Edouard du Puy in 2020, with Bram van Sambeek as the soloist. Ogrintchouk succeeded Bourgue at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Génève in Switzerland in 2011. He also has served as a professor at the Musikene in San Sebastián, Spain, and at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague.