A true soloist, he is already one of the most accomplished young clarinetists performing today!
—Charles Neidich
Noted for the intensity and virtuosity of his playing, Alexey Gorokholinsky, at age 25, has performed most of the standard solo clarinet repertoire and continues to expand the possibilities for his instrument. His warm mellow tone and limitless technique bring unforgettable excitement and adventure to his performances throughout the world.
A native of Russia, Mr. Gorokholinsky began his musical studies at age 5 on the piano. At age 7, he took up the clarinet, studying with his father, Valery Gorokholinsky, an accomplished orchestral and solo clarinetist.
Mr. Gorokholinsky came to the United States at age 15 to attend the Idyllwild Arts Academy (CA) and then The Juilliard School, where he was a full scholarship student. During his freshman year he won The Juilliard Clarinet Concerto Competition and made his New York City debut at Alice Tully Hall, performing the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra. He was also a top prize winner of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Jefferson Symphony, first annual Buffet Crampon, and International Clarinet Association competitions.
Mr. Gorokholinsky seeks to explore new possibilities for the clarinet in works originally written for strings or for other woodwind instruments. His latest CD, “Delicacies,” recorded in the summer of 2008, showcases a variety of virtuosic and melodic pieces, most of which he arranged for clarinet and piano. Two previous discs, released while he was still in school, covered masterpieces of the clarinet repertoire by Brahms, Schumann, Chausson, Saint-Saens, Debussy, Milhaud, Muczynski, Ravel, Stravinsky, and others. He was accompanied on all three CDs by his mother, Marina Gorokholinsky, a student of legendary pianist Victor Merzhanov.
In 2005, Mr. Gorokholinsky was a founding member of the trio Eta3, an ensemble of flute, clarinet, and piano. As a highly unusual combination of instruments, the trio has the freedom to create its own repertoire, accessible to a variety of audiences. Since 2006, the trio has been under professional management by Manhattan Music Ensemble, Inc., and tours regularly throughout the United States. (For more information, please visit www.eta3.org.) In 2008, the trio released its first CD, featuring works by Bartok, Khachaturian, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Ibert, and Pugni.
Mr. Gorokholinsky appears regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in the New York City area. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School. His principal teachers include world renowned clarinet soloist Charles Neidich, principal coarinetist of Metropolitan Opera, Stephen Williamson, Yehuda Gilad, and his father, Valery Gorokholinsky.
Marina Gorokholinsky.
A student of the great Russian pianist Viktor Merzhanov.
She was born in 1960 in Belogorsk, Russia.
She has studied at Central Music School of Moscow (1972-1979), and at Moscow State Conservatory (1979-1984).
From 1989 to 1994 she has worked as accompanist at Central Music School of Moscow and from 1994 to 2005 she was an accompanist at the Moscow State Conservatory. Marina has a lot of concerts with various chamber music ensembles. Her repertoire consists of more than 300 chamber and vocal pieces, among which are sonatas, trios, quintets, sextets and others. Marina is also a frequent guest of music broadcasts of Russian radio and television. Her concerts, which were organized by Moscow State Philharmony, are usually performed in such halls as Rachmaninov hall and Small Hall of Moscow State Conservatory.
Marina often collaborates with famous musicians, such as American clarinetist Charles Neidich and Russian cellist Mikhail Utkin, presenting and proclaiming different works which have either rarely or never been performed in Russia. Marina has recorded 4 cds which were oficially released on "Classical Records" between 2000 and 2002.
In 2004 Marina has received the award of "Distinguished Artist".
"Marina Gorokholinsky is a bright representative of Russian piano school. Her concert performances are always exceptional in artistic way and never leave the audience emotionally untouched. She possesses a smooth beautiful sound and deep sensitivity, which allows her to show in her performances all the uniqueness of the pieces of the composers of different styles.” (Victor Merzhanov).
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