Alexander BOLDACHEV

(Russia - Switzerland)

Harper, composer, guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia,

Artistic Director of the Zurich Harp Festival,

exclusive artist of the "Salvi Harps"

Alexander Boldachev

He received his Master's degrees in Harp, Composition and Conducting from the Zurich Academy of Arts, becoming the best graduate of Professor Catherine Michel. Laureate of more than a dozen prestigious international competitions, including those for composers; winner of the British Brilliant Talents, Aoyama Music in Kyoto and ProEuropa, awarded by Heinz Fischer for excellence in the field of culture; a scholar of the international foundations Vontobel in Switzerland and Banque Populaire in France, as well as the Russian foundations for the development of young musicians Spivakov, Temirkanov, the Rotary Club and the House of Music, which gave a start to his career. In 2020, Alexander celebrated his 30th birthday with a solo debut at Carnegie Hall. Alexander plays the harp, piano and writes music from the age of five - he began to receive his musical education in his native St. Petersburg, from the age of twelve in France, and at the age of fifteen he began his studies in Switzerland, where he still lives. He travels with recitals all over the world, giving masterclasses at such educational institutions as the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Juilliard School in New York, Royal Academy in London, Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest. In 2018, he wrote and performed an electronic harp solo at the opening of the FIFA World Cup with Robbie Williams and Aida Garifullina. “It is my great fortune that I present music to people with the help of such a multifaceted instrument as the harp. But not only timbre freedom and the possibility of filigree work with sound help me on the way. The stereotypical “femininity”, the mysterious lack of recognition of my instrument on the solo stage give me strength every day to continue searching, trying and overcoming the impossible. Going to the stage - to merge with the instrument together, so that only music remains, which, as you know, is devoid of frames, barriers and prejudices. " For his unique performance of the song "Californication" by the American band Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alexander was awarded the "Best Rock Cover Song" from The Akademia Music Awards in Los Angeles. His extensive composing activity focuses on expanding the harp repertoire by transcribing classical music (Scheherazade, Parsley, The Demon), interpreting popular hits (The Beatles, ABBA, Deep Purple, Nirvana, Scorpions, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Adele ) and film music ("Pirates of the Caribbean", "The Fifth Element", "Spirited Away", "Circus", "My affectionate and gentle animal"). The duet “Game of Tones” together with Alexander Kuznetsov received the European television prize Prix Walo. Alexander also works with many orchestras in Europe. In 2017, the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater Tugan Sokhiev invited the young harpist to take part in the premiere performances of Carmen, The Condemnation of Faust and the acclaimed Nureyev - a twenty-minute harp solo in the foreground was edited by a guest soloist. A little later, the premiere of his opus "Verbum" by Nabokov for chorus, harp, organ and reader took place on the stage of history. Also, since 2017, Alexander has been working as a music director, composer and one of the actors in the play by Alla Demidova and Kirill Serebrennikov “Akhmatova. A Poem Without a Hero ”at the Gogol Center. Many projects associate him with Serebrennikov, including his debut work as a composer and performer of the main role in a short film dedicated to Parajanov. “I am inspired by the opportunity to combine genres: with Irina Miroshnichenko we created a poetic and musical theater, prima Nikulina and premier Rodkin made my dream come true, performing adagios and variations from different ballets to the accompaniment of a solo harp. For a long career, I have stood on stage next to wonderful instrumentalists from organ to alpine horn, wonderful singers, actors, dancers and even acrobats. It's like putting together a creative puzzle, which is formed into a unique picture, ready to tell the viewer a lot. It is fortunate that my 47-string fragment fits almost any combination, be it an old mosaic or a modern avant-garde collage "Alexander Boldachev - participant of the Burning Man, Musical Olympus, New Names, Mozart +, Davos and Gstaad festivals ”, SKIF, the Great Russian Ball in Rome, BraVo awards, Burberry and D&G shows, projects of the Moscow and St. Petersburg House of Music, serves as a member of the jury of the Nota Bene competition and the American Harp Association competition in Indiana. The year 2018 in the life of the musician was marked by the first world tour: with concerts and master classes, Alexander performed in the USA, England, Canada, France, Japan, Brazil, Switzerland, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Germany, Turkey, Argentina, Hungary, Italy and Russia ... The discography includes solo albums of author's arrangements: "Harp as an Orchestra" and an anthology of 15 Russian composers "From Russia with a Harp", as well as several duets with different instruments.