Classical pianist Alexis Golovin in concert

Compiled by Marita van Rooyen

In January, world-renowned Russian classical pianist Alexis Golovin will visit Windhoek and Swakopmund playing works by Chopin and Liszt, the great masters of romantic music.

Born to a family of musicians, Alexis began studying the piano at the tender age of five at the famous Central Music School of Moscow. He furthered his studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied both the piano and musicology, finally completing his musical education at the Geneva Conservatory, where he won the much-coveted first prize for virtuosity, with distinction. He is currently professor at the Geneva Conservatory teaching his students to achieve in music, with many of them regularly winning prizes in international competitions.

A prizewinner at the Casagrande Competition in Terni and the Busoni Competition in Bolzona, Alexis has given concerts in Europe, Asia, North and South America and will now be conducting a musical tour through Southern Africa. He has played in duo with Martha Argerich and has given world premieres, including those of Ginastera’s second and third sonatas. Throughout his achievements and rise to fame and fortune, Alexis has maintained close connections with his native country and regularly performs in Moscow’s most important concert halls, including the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and with the State Philharmonic Orchestra.

The musical fundi has given many master classes at prestigious music schools, including the Internationale Summer Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Manhattan School of Music, Conservatory of Buenos Aires, Conservatory of Moscow, Oxford Philomusica Summer Academy and the Canton International Summer Music Academy.

His abundant discography includes works by Chopin and Schumann, Rachmaninoff’s Etudes Tableaux, works by Scriabin, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 1 in B minor, Sonata and Mephisto Waltz, chamber music, and piano concertos by Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Nikolai Tcherepnin and Rodion Shchedrin.

See Alexis in concert at the National Theatre of Namibia in Windhoek on 20 January at 20:00. On 27 January he will be performing in Swakopmund, at the Namib Primary School Hall. Tickets are available at the Alliance Française in Windhoek and Swakopmund.

This article appeared in the January’12 Edition of FLAMINGO Magazine.