About
Praised for his intense and innovative interpretations, Alexander Zemtsov is one of the most versatile and sought-after musicians in the music world today. He has received acclaim as a soloist, conductor, professor and chamber musician.
Zemtsov was born in 1978 in a family of musicians. In Moscow he attended the Gnessin Academy of Music, a renowned school for gifted children, where he studied under Professor Elena Ozol. He continued his studies with Professor Michael Kugel at the Hogeschool in Maastricht and post-graduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin (class of Professor Tabea Zimmermann).
Since the age of fifteen Zemtsov has been extensively performing as a viola soloist with renowned orchestras in Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia. He regularly performs as a soloist with conductors such as Alexander Vedernikov, Vladimir Jurowski and Neeme Järvi among others.
Zemtsov’s musicianship and artistry have brought him numerous prizes and awards including at the International Competition Classical Legacy in Moscow (1st prize 1995), the Elise Meyer Competition in Hamburg (1st prize 1997) and the VIII Brahms Competition in Pörtschach, Austria (1st prize 2001).
At the age of twenty-three Zemtsov was appointed Principal Violist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2011, after nine years of collaboration with the LPO, Zemtsov left the position and dedicated himself entirely to his demanding career as a soloist, conductor and chamber musician.
Alexander Zemtsov is a professor at some of the finest music universities of Europe – Viola Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, University Professor at the Vienna’s Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität and Guest Professor the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne in Switzerland.
His students include members of leading orchestras throughout the world as well as award and prize-winners at international competitions. Pörtschach regularly records for the Naxos, LPO Live and Chandos labels.