Composer: Alexander Levine
Born in Moscow in 1955, Alexander Levine studied piano from the age of six at the Gnessin Music School (Moscow), and later he took up the clarinet. Upon graduation he was offered a place at the Moscow Gnessin Music Academy where he studied from 1976-1980. During his college years he also held the position of Principal Guitar in the Orchestra of Russian National Radio and Television.
In the years that followed he established himself as a composer working in collaboration with a variety of highly acclaimed performers in Russia. His compositions won prestigious awards from the Russian National Radio and Television in 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Since 1992 Alexander Levine has lived in the United Kingdom.
In 1993 he was awarded the honored Wingate Foundation Scholarship to study in the Postgraduate Composition course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In that year many of his compositions received awards and won prizes at various composers’ competitions.
In 1994, in recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the GSMD Bursary to continue his studies in the Advanced Postgraduate Composition. He also did his Master Degree (MA) in Composition at the GSMD in 1995, studying under Prof.Gary Carpenter and Simon Bainbridge.
In 1994 he was commissioned to write music for the Barbican production of War and Peace, directed by Peter Clough, which was performed by the GSMD Symphony Orchestra on stage. The Times wrote about this work: “It is not often you go to the theatre and get an orchestra thrown in: not providing cues for numbers but underscoring dialogue with a grand swell, like a soundtrack for the big screen.”
He also was engaged as music director for the restoration of The Beggar’s Opera and Love’s Labour’s Lost.
In the following years Alexander collaborated with various artists such as Maria Freedman, Christian Forshaw, Stanzeleit/Jacobson Duo, Darragh Morgan, Mary Dullea, Fidelio Trio, Konstantin Boyarsky, Jonathan Powell, Andrew McNeill, Bozidar Vukovic, Tippett Quartet, Orlando Consort, BBC Singers, 21st Century Choir, Tenebrae, Mariinsky Opera Choir. Russia State Orchestra “Novaia Rossia”, Bel Canto Chorus.