Alexander Fiterstein

Clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein is considered one of today’s most exceptional artists. He has performed in recital, with distinguished orchestras, and with chamber music ensembles throughout the world. He won first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition and received a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant Award. The Washington Post has described his playing as “dazzling in its spectrum of colors, agility, and range. Every sound he makes is finely measured without inhibiting expressiveness,” and the New York Times described him as “a clarinetist with a warm tone and powerful technique.”

As soloist he has appeared with the Czech, Israel, Vienna, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestras, Belgrade Philharmonic, Danish National Radio Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, China National Symphony Orchestra, KBS Orchestra of South Korea, Jerusalem Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center, Kansas City Symphony, and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. He has performed in recital for Music at the Supreme Court, Celebrity Series of Boston, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Kennedy Center, the Louvre, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Tel Aviv Museum, and New York’s 92nd Street Y.

A dedicated performer of chamber music, Fiterstein often collaborates with distinguished artists and ensembles and regularly performs with the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Among the highly regarded artists he has performed with are Daniel Barenboim, Yefim Bronfman, Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode, Emanuel Ax, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Pinchas Zukerman, and Steven Isserlis. He has performed with the Dover, Pacifica, Jerusalem, and Shanghai string quartets, as well as with Ensemble Wien-Berlin. He spent five summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and appeared at the Caramoor, Moab, Music@Menlo, Montreal, Toronto, Jerusalem, and Storioni chamber music festivals.

Fiterstein is a founder of the Zimro Project, a unique ensemble dedicated to incorporating Jewish art music into chamber music programs. He performed as principal clarinet of the West-East Divan Orchestra at the invitation of Daniel Barenboim and has appeared as guest principal clarinet with the Israel Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, KBS Orchestra with Yoel Levi, and the Saint Paul and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras. In his prolific recording career, Fiterstein has worked with composers John Corigliano and Osvaldo Golijov and had pieces written for him by Samuel Adler, Mason Bates, Paul Schoenfield, and Chris Brubeck, among others.

Born in Belarus, Fiterstein immigrated to Israel at age 2 with his family. A Juilliard graduate, he won first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and received awards from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. He is currently professor of clarinet and chair of winds at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, as well as a Buffet Crampon and Vandoren Performing Artist.

Alexander Fiterstein is generously sponsored by Scott Rovanpera and Tracy Wirta.