Alexander Bedenko, Clarinet

The multi-award-winning clarinetist Alexander Bedenko is one of the most prolific artists of his generation and has performed with major conductors of leading orchestras, ensembles and festivals in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Born in Ukraine, into a family of musicians, Alexander Bedenko graduated from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied clarinet with Donald Montanaro and chamber music with Pamela Frank, Peter Wiley and Joseph Silverstein.

Alexander Bedenko has won first prizes at the || Moscow International Young Artist's Competition in 1994, the Interlochen Center for the Arts 'Concerto Competition' (1995-1996), the Grand-Prix and Laureate at the International Selmer Clarinet Competition in Kiev, (1999) and was a recipient scholarship of the "New Names" Charity Foundation, Vladimir Spivakov's Foundation and the named scholarship of The President of Ukraine, from (1997-1999).

In the past seasons, Alexander Bedenko has appeared in such recital venues as the Carnegie's Weill recital Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Steinway Hall in New York City, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, the Great Hall at Moscow Conservatory and UNESCO in Paris. He has collaborated with world-renowned artists such as Vladimir Spivakov, Christoph Eschenbach, Nikolai Lugansky, Elena Bashkirova, Kirill Gernstein, Daniel Hope, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Frans Helmerson, Nobuko Imai, Eugenia Zukerman, Maxim Rysanov, Gautier Capucon and worked with the Borodin, Jerusalem, Ying and Endellion string quartets.

Alexander Bedenko has also performed as a soloist with Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, Romanian National Radio Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Ukraine, the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and appearanced at the Colmar, Verbier, Spoleto, Sarasota and Schubertiade music festivals.

Mr. Bedenko has also been broadcast on television in France, Sweden, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and has been featured on RAI Radio Classica, on WQXR Radio (New York), WRTI Radio (Philadelphia), and the 'Voice of America' in Washington D.C.

In 2007, Alexander Bedenko appeared together with Richard Stoltzman on a recording of the music of J.S. Bach for the RCA/BMG Japan label.

As an orchestra musician, Mr. Bedenko was invited by Riccardo Muti to perform as principal clarinet on a highly acclaimed European tour with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (in 2014) and has also performed as guest principal clarinet with the London Symphony Orchestra, both at the Barbican Centre and on tour in Germany under the baton of Daniel Harding, with the Philharmonia Orchestra (London) and with the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Franz Welser Most.

From (2008 - 2018) Alexander Bedenko has served as a co-principal clarinetist with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, directed by Gabor Takacs-Nagy.

Alexander Bedenko plays on Selmer Signature clarinets and became Selmer Paris Artist in 2015.

Alma Quartet

Alma Quartet was formed in 2014 and is comprised of members of the famous Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. They quickly gained reputation as one of the most thrilling ensembles in Holland. Their debut album: Schulhoff Complete String Quartets has received stellar international praise. The Gramophone claimed "this set shoots straight to the top" and also admired the quartet for being "capable of the most seductive playing". The album was chosen for the prestigious German Recording Prize 2017 'Bestenliste' and was also featured on several German national radio stations including Deutschlandfunk and SWR2, the latter hailing Alma's Schulhoff cycle as the "new reference recording".

Their second album: Alma Quartet: Dutilleux and Glass, just recently released on vinyl, has equally enjoyed immediate critical praise. Receiving 4-stars across the board from major publications, the quartet is noted for their "collective antenna for sophisticated timbres" by the Volkskrant, and for their "carefully forged unity" by the Telegraaf. The album features 'Ainsi la nuit' by Henri Dutilleux and String Quartet No.2 'Company' by Philip Glass.

The quartet has performed at prestigious concert halls including Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao, Süreyya Opera House Istanbul, as well as clubs and other venues such as Volksbühne Berlin, Theaters Tilburg, Paradiso Amsterdam, Melkweg, Sugarfactory, Bimhuis, Kulturbrauerei Berlin, Střecha Lucerny Prague and MCO Hilversum.

They have played captivating events such as Schumannfest, Robeco SummerNights, Classical Music Rave, Musicians Without Borders, Philip Glass & Friends, Down The Rabbit Hole, Klassifest, RCO Opening Night, RCO Club Night, Shoeless Festival, Pop-Kultur Festival, Zürcher Theater Spektakel and TRACKS. They are also frequent guests at major (international) radio and television shows including Podium Witteman on live national television.

Alma Quartet has collaborated with diverse artists such as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lisa Batiashvili, Denis Kozhukhin, Philip Glass, Hauschka, Henrik Schwarz, Dauwd, Mees Dierdorp, Nicolas van Poucke, Nino Gvetadze and Aidan Mikdad.

Future engagements include several concerts at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, performances at Musis Arnhem, Oosterpoort Groningen, Diligentia Den Haag, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ during the 2020 String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam and the big hall of the Konzerthaus Berlin with Hauschka.

The quartet will also return to the big hall of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg with producer Henrik Schwarz. Moreover, they will release not one but two albums together with Henrik Schwarz: CCMYK and Plunderphonia.

Alma Quartet is also planning to record both Debussy and Ravel String Quartets in June 2019.