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Alexander Markov
was born in Moscow and studied violin with his father, concert violinist Albert
Markov. By the time he was eight
years old, he was already appearing as a soloist with orchestras and
performing double concertos with his father. Markov emigrated to the U.S.
with his parents and received his United States citizenship in 1982.
Internationally celebrated violinist Alexander Markov has
been hailed as one of the most captivating musicians now before the
public. Yehudi
Menuhin wrote, "He is without doubt one of the most brilliant and
musical of violinists . . . Alexander Markov will certainly leave his mark on
the music-lovers of the world and in the annals of the violin virtuosi of our
day."
Gold Medal winner at the Paganini
International Violin Competition, Mr. Markov has appeared as a soloist
with some of the world's most celebrated orchestras such as the Philadelphia
Orchestra, the BBC and the Montreal Symphonies, the Philadelphia Orchestra,
the BBC Symphony, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Budapest Festival
Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony. He has worked with with
major conductors of our day, including Neeme Jarvi, Christoph Eschenbach and Ivan Fischer.
Markov has also shared concerts with such luminaries as Martha Argerich.
Mr.
Markov has established a reputation second-to-none in the 19th-century
virtuoso repertoire. His CD release and the video of the 24 Paganini Caprices
for solo violin, directed by the legendary film director Bruno Monsaingeon, caused a sensation, and as a result he
recorded five more CDs for the Erato/Warner
Classics. Markov remains one of the very few violinists in the world who
performs the entire set of the 24 Paganini Caprices in a single recital, and
he is featured in the internationally-acclaimed film about great violinists
"The Art of Violin," also directed by Bruno Monsaingeon.
 In 2006 Warner released a
long-awaited DVD of the 24 Paganini Caprices which instantly became one of
the best-selling classical DVDs on the Amazon charts. Many of the Caprices
were posted by fans around the world on YouTube and some of the clips have
hundreds of thousands hits.
Alexander
Markov's musical journey takes him far beyond his activity as a classical
violin soloist. He has composed "Rock Concerto,"
an original composition collaborating with James V. Remington, who also
designed for him a new six-string electric violin. The new patented
instrument, the only one of its kind in the world, has a unique sound and the
most enormous dynamic range from soft and sweet to the monstrous and
powerful. (Markov plays it through a Marshall amp.)
"Rock Concerto" is a crossover epic which features Markov's
performance on the new electric violin and his rock band, accompanied by a
symphony orchestra and a chorus. The musicians in his band are some of the
most celebrated artists in the rock world, and tickets to "Rock
Concerto" concerts are sold-out weeks in advance. Markov's vision is to
bridge a gap between classical and rock audiences and attracting many young
people who would otherwise never go to a symphony.
Awarded a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1987, Mr. Markov made his
New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall.
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