Alexandre Alexandrovitch Kniazev () (born 26 April 1961 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) is a Russian

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. He was named best musician of the year in Russia in 1999. Kniazev studied music at

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

. He entered the cello class of Alexander Fedorchenko and in the organ class of G. Kozlova. After a solid musical formation, he won first prizes in cello at the

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

competition, at that of G. Cassado, the International Chamber Music Competition in Trapani and UNISA International Competition

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. He also won the third prize of the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

of Moscow. He then performed all over the world and realized many records, two of which were awarded.

Discography

*J. Brahms: '' Piano Trio No. 3'' in C minor op. 101 no.3, '' Piano Quartet No. 3'' in C minor op. 60 no.3 ''Suoni e Colori'' (1999) *F. Chopin: ''

Cello sonata A cello sonata is piece written sonata form, often with the instrumentation of a cello taking solo role with piano accompaniment. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were composed in the 18th century by Francesco Geminiani and Antonio Vivaldi, and ...

'' in G minor op. 65 *J. Brahms: ''Four serious songs'' for baritone and piano (arr. Kniazev) *R. Schumann: ''Three Fantasies'', Pieces op. 73 *J. Guillou: ''Fantasia Concertante for cello and organ'' *J. S. Bach: ''

Cello Suites The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the p ...

'' (1999) *J. S. Bach: ''Chaconne for Partita No. 2 in D minor for violin'' (2000) *L. Beethoven: '' Violin sonata No. 5'' in F major op. 24 "Spring" *F. Schubert: ''Duet for violin and piano'' in A major op. 162 D574 *J. Brahms: ''Scherzo for violin and piano'' "F.A.E. Sonata" (2001) *J. Brahms: '' Piano Quartet No. 1'' in G minor op. 25 no. 1 *J. Brahms: '' Clarinet Trio'' in A minor op. 114 (2001) *M. Reger: ''Four Sonatas'' for Cello and Piano (2001) *J. S. Bach: ''Cello Suites'' (2004) *S. Rachmaninov: '' Trio "elegiaque" No. 2'' in D minor op. 9 *D. Shostakovich: '' Piano Trio No. 2'' in E minor op. 67 (2005) *P. I. Tchaikovsky: ''

Variations on a Rococo Theme The ''Variations on a Rococo Theme'', Op. 33, for cello and orchestra was the closest Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ever came to writing a full concerto for cello and orchestra. The style was inspired by Mozart, Tchaikovsky's role model, and makes it c ...

'', Andante cantabile, Nocturne in E minor *P. I. Tchaikovsky: ''Twelve Romances'' (2005) *F. Chopin: ''Cello sonata'' in G minor op. 65 *S. Rachmaninov: ''

Cello Sonata A cello sonata is piece written sonata form, often with the instrumentation of a cello taking solo role with piano accompaniment. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were composed in the 18th century by Francesco Geminiani and Antonio Vivaldi, and ...

'' in G minor op.19 *S. Rachmaninov: '' Vocalise'' op.34 n.14 (2006)

External links

Alexander Kniazev

on Homestead.com
Alexander Kniazev
on Mariinsky Theatre

on Bach Cantatas Website
News - cello - Alexander Kniazev
on The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition
Brahms - Sonata no.1 op.38 - Alexander Kniazev & Andrei Korobeinikov
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Kniazev, Alexander Musicians from Moscow 1961 births Russian classical cellists Russian organists Male organists 20th-century organists Moscow Conservatory alumni Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition Living people 21st-century organists