Oboe Masterclass - Alexey Utkin

One of the great soloists and promoters of the oboe as a solo instrument, he has brought this wonderful instrument to centre stage.

ALEXEY UTKIN

The name of oboist and conductor Alexey Utkin is now well known both in Russia and abroad. His great natural talent was developed by the brilliant musical education he received at the Moscow Conservatory. Later, he gained wonderful experience as a member of the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Spivakov. All this soon made him a notable figure in modern Russian musical life.

It was Utkin’s historic breakthrough that introduced the oboe as a solo instrument on the world stage. In the opinion of critics, he “transformed the oboe from a background instrument into the hero of marvellous events”. By courageously beginning to perform all solo compositions created for oboe, he began to expand the range of the instrument and its potential at the expense of special arrangements for oboe. The performance of compositions by Antonio Pasculli became a shining example of Utkin’s musical virtuosity. Today, compositions by Bach, Haydn, Vivaldi, Mozart, Richard Strauss, Shostakovitch and Britten are all in the musician’s repertoire.

Performing original works for oboe, Alexey Utkin also expanded the range and potential of the instrument thanks to special arrangements, and today his solo repertoire includes numerous compositions from Bach and Vivaldi to Britten and Penderecki. Concerts with Alexey Utkin all over the world took place in the most prestigious concert halls: Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Concertgebouw, Academia Santa Cecilia, Champs Elysées Theatre, Palau de la Música (Barcelona), Auditorio Nacional (Madrid), Hercules-Saal (Munich), Beethovenhalle (Bonn), where he is frequently invited to perform with the most famous ensembles. Many of his solo programmes have attracted the attention of record companies, RCA-BMG (Classics Red Label) being one of them. Bach’s concertos for oboe and oboe d’amour, works by Rossini, Pasculli, Vivaldi, Salieri, and also compositions by Penderecki are among the recordings.

As a soloist, Alexey Utkin has performed with such famous musicians as Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Bashmet, Natalia Gutman, Eliso Virsaladze, Alexander Rudin, Nikolai Petrov, Valery Popov, Dmitry Khvorostovsky, Elena Obraztsova and many other stars of the classical stage. He has also collaborated with such famous theatre actors as Alexander Filippenko, Mikhail Kozakov, Alexander Sokolov. Alexey Utkin’s experiments with famous jazz musicians such as Igor Butman, Valery Grokhovsky, Mikhail and Andrey Ivanov, and ethnic music artists are of great interest.

At the height of his solo career, Alexey Utkin also established his reputation as a talented conductor and inventive musician, whose projects, thanks to their musical breadth, are extremely interesting for both philharmonic audiences and followers of alternative trends in music and theatre.

In 2000, Utkin founded and conducted the “Hermitage” Solo Ensemble. The ensemble performed in the best halls of Russia, toured abroad, participated in international competitions, gave concerts with many famous singers, instrumentalists and actors, and recorded more than 10 CDs. The repertoire of the “Hermitage” includes instrumental and choral compositions from various epochs: Bach cantatas, operas by Handel, fragments from operas by Verdi and Mozart, as well as musical pieces written on the border of different musical styles combining jazz, rock and ethnic tendencies.

Alexey Utkin successfully combines his concert activities with teaching at the P.I. Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory. In 2010, Utkin was invited to take up the position of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Russian State Academic Chamber Orchestra.

The musician plays exclusively on Lorée instruments. He has notably represented F. Lorée at the International Double Reed Society (IDRS).

Dates of the masterclass:
13 and 14 –  april 2024

Cost of the course:
Active student: 80 €/h
Pack 2 class: 120 €

Listener student: 20 €

*Active students are welcome to stay as listeners for the entire masterclass.

Venue:
Auditorio CSKG
CSKG – C/Santa Engracia 181, Madrid

Registration form