Alex Klein
Alex Klein won the 2002 Grammy Award, Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra, for his recording of Richard Strauss’s Oboe Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Klein also won first prize at the International Competition in Geneva, New York International Oboe Competition, and Fernand Gillet International Competition, as well as important prizes in competitions in Japan, Prague, and Aspen, Colorado.
Artistic Director of the São Paulo International Chamber Music Festival ("Oferenda Musical"), Alex Klein is also conductor at the Sunflower Music Festival (Kansas, USA) and Saint Barts Music Festival (French Antilles) and Artistic Director of the Santa Catarina Music Festival in Brazil. He regularly performs as guest conductor and soloist with orchestras worldwide.
From 1995 to 2004, Klein was principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as soloist with the Philadelphia and Suisse Romande Orchestras and shared the stage as soloist with Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Sir Georg Solti, and Plácido Domingo.
Klein’s extensive recordings include works by Schubert, Hummel, Telemann, Bach, Albinoni, Vivaldi, Britten, Martinu, Strauss, and Bliss, for the Cedille, Boston, Teldec, and Sony Classical labels.
Klein was Artistic Director of the Curitiba Music Workshop between 2001 and 2005, and regularly participates in important international festivals including the Aspen and Santa Fe Music Festivals (USA), Instrumenta Verano (Mexico), Alex Klein Oboe Festival (China), International Music Festival of Santa Maria da Feira (Portugal), and Music Festival of the Pacific (Japan), among many others.
Alex Klein gives master classes at the Juilliard School of Music, National Conservatories of Paris and Lyon (France), and Beijing Central Conservatory (China).
Craig Sheppard - Piano
Caren Pelton - Soprano