A masterclass with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s principal oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk will take place today, April 12th, at 4 p.m. on the Rīga Jūrmala Academy Facebook page with Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music students Varvara Zavjalova, Renāte Lodziņa, Pauls Kristaps Reinis and Kira Maija Kirsanova.
One of the best oboists of his generation, Alexei Ogrintchouk was born in Moscow and attended the Gnessin Music School in Moscow, as well as the Paris Conservatory. His teachers include Maurice Bourgue, Jacques Tys and Jean-Louis Capezzali. Ogrintchouk is the winner of countless prestigious competitions, including the Concours International d’Exécution Musicale (CIEM) in Geneva at the age of 19, two Victoires de la Musique in France in 2002, the Triumph Prize in Russia in 2005 and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award to support the young musician in 2007. The musician has also participated in the prestigious Rising Stars and BBC New Generation Artists programmes.
Since 2005, Ogrintchouk has been the principal oboist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Before joining the Amsterdam orchestra, Ogrintchouk played first oboe in the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, gaining this role at the age of 20. He counts Latvian musicians among his world-class collaborations: he has performed with Mariss Jansons, Andris Nelsons and Sinfonietta Rīga. Violinist Gidon Kremer is also among his collaborators in chamber music.
The broadcast, which can be viewed today from 16:00 to 19:00 on the Riga Jurmala Academy’s Facebook page, will feature students from E. Upatnieks’ class at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music including Varvara Zavjalova (accompanist E. Bērtiņa) performing Oboe Concerto in D major, TrV 292: I. mvt. by Strauss, and Renāte Lodziņa performing J.S. Bach’s Partita in G minor, BWV 1013: Allemande, Corrente.
Also participating are Pauls Kristaps Reinis, performing Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major: II. mvt., opening oboe solo; Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor: II. mvt., opening oboe solo; Symphony No. 1 in C minor: II. mvt. by Brahms; and Le Tombeau de Couperin: III. mvt., Menuet by Ravel, as well as Kira Maija Kirsanova (accompanist E. Bērtiņa), performing orchestral pieces including Mussorgsky’s Bilder einer Ausstellung: III. Les Tuileries and Rossini’s Die seidene Leiter: Ouverture, as well as solo repertoire including Crusell’s Divertimento for oboe and string quartet, Op. 9.
This season, several online masterclasses have already taken place as part of the Rīga Jūrmala Academy, with leading musicians from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra including Omar Tomasoni (trumpet), Dominic Seldis (double bass), Gregor Horsch (cello) and Emily Beynon (flute); Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra musician Lionel Cottet (cello); French violinist Renaud Capuço; and German baritone Benjamin Appl; as well as masterclasses with the British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote and world-class tenor Joseph Calleja.
