Alexander Barantschik began his tenure as San Francisco Symphony Concertmaster in September 2001 and holds the Naoum Blinder Chair. Former concertmaster of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany, London Symphony Orchestra, and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, he has also been an active soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe. He has collaborated in chamber music with André Previn, Antonio Pappano, and Mstislav Rostropovich. As leader of the LSO, Mr. Barantschik toured Europe, Japan, and the United States; performed as soloist; and served as concertmaster for major symphonic cycles with Michael Tilson Thomas, Rostropovich, and Bernard Haitink. He was also concertmaster for Pierre Boulez’s year-long, three-continent seventy-fifth birthday celebration.

Born in Russia, Mr. Barantschik attended the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and went on to perform with the major Russian orchestras, including the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic. His awards include first prize in the International Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland, and in the Russian National Violin Competition. Since joining the San Francisco Symphony, Mr. Barantschik has led the Orchestra in several programs and appeared as soloist in concertos and other works by Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Walton, Piazzolla, and Schnittke, among others. Mr. Barantschik is a member of the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he teaches graduate students from around the world in a special concertmaster program. Through an arrangement with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Mr. Barantschik has the exclusive use of the 1742 Guarnerius del Gesù violin once owned by the virtuoso Ferdinand David, who is believed to have played it in the world premiere of the Mendelssohn E-minor Violin Concerto in 1845. It was also the favorite instrument of the legendary Jascha Heifetz, who acquired it in 1922 and who bequeathed it to the Fine Arts Museums, with the stipulation that it be played only by artists worthy of the instrument and its legacy.
 

November 2022

Eugene Izotov joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Oboe in the 2015–16 season and holds the Edo de Waart Chair. He previously served as principal oboe with the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony, and was guest principal oboe with the Boston Symphony and New York Philharmonic. Mr. Izotov is the first Russian-born musician to hold a principal wind position in a major American orchestra and his numerous awards include top prizes at solo competitions in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, New York, and at the Fernand Gillet International Competition. Mr. Izotov has appeared more than 70 times as soloist with orchestras of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Metropolitan Opera, Mainly Mozart, and Pacific Music Festival, working with conductors Bernard Haitink, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, Nicholas McGegan, Riccardo Muti, Edo De Waart, Ludovic Morlot, Ton Koopman, and Michael Tilson Thomas, performing works by Mozart, Strauss, Marcello, Haydn, Martinů, Vivaldi, Carter, Hummel, Krommer, and Bach. He has recorded for Sony Classical, BMG, Boston Records, Elektra, and CSO Resound, and was a featured soloist with the Chicago Symphony under the baton of John Williams on the Oscar-nominated recording for Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln. He has also been a guest soloist on NPR’s Live from Here with Chris Thile. Mr. Izotov has collaborated regularly with the Met Chamber Ensemble throughout its residence at Carnegie Hall, as well as with Yefim Bronfman, Pinchas Zukerman, Jamie Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, André Watts, and the Tokyo String Quartet.

One of today’s most prolific teachers, Mr. Izotov serves on the faculties of San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Colburn School in Los Angeles, Music Academy in Santa Barbara, and he previously taught at the Juilliard School. He presents masterclasses at conservatories across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including Oberlin, Cleveland Institute of Music, New World Symphony, Aspen, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Tanglewood Music Center, Lynn University, Interlochen Center for the Arts, University of Michigan, Conservatoire de Musique in Luxembourg, Hyundai Center in Korea, Shanghai Orchestra Academy, Verbier Festival, Glenn Gould School, McGill University, and Domaine Forget in Canada.

Since 2005, he has served on the International Principals faculty of the Pacific Music Festival founded by Leonard Bernstein in Sapporo, Japan. Mr. Izotov was the oboe mentor for the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra during its residency at the Sydney Opera House, which included a live internet simulcast to more than 30 million of worldwide viewers. In 2019 he was invited by Valery Gergiev to serve on the first-ever woodwind jury of the Tchaikovsky International Competition. Mr. Izotov’s former students enjoy careers in symphony orchestras of Chicago, San Francisco, Saint Louis, Montreal, Kansas City, Buffalo, San Diego, Lexington, Ontario, Atlanta, Osaka, Fort Worth, Jerusalem, and others.

Born in Moscow, Mr. Izotov studied at the Gnesin School of Music with Ivan Pushechnikov and Sergey Velikanov. After immigrating to the United States, he studied at Boston University with Ralph Gomberg.