Alexander S. Ryzhinsky

Alexander Sergeyevich Ryzhinsky is the Rector of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (2019), a Doctor of the Arts (2016), and a Professor. He is the Chairman of the Academic Board, the director of the Choral Conducting Section, a Professor of the Choral Conducting Department (2017), a Laureate of the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation, and a Merited Worker in the Sphere of Education of the Russian Federation.

Alexander Sergeyevich Ryzhinsky was born in 1981 in Omsk. His path towards the profession of music began with participating in the «Solovushki» [«Little Nightingales»] chorus of boys and young men, in which he received his first musical education. In 2000, after graduating from the Omsk V.Y. Shebalin Music College with honors (being a student of N.V. Statkevich). He enrolled into the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, having graduated there in 2005 as an academic choral conductor (having studied with Professor E.N. Baykova). From 2005 to 2015 he worked as a faculty member at the Russian University for the Friendship of Peoples.

In 2008, upon the completion of his post-graduate studies at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (as a student of Doctor of the Arts, Professor Tatiana Vladimirovna Tsaregradskaya), he defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of the Arts on the subject of «Arnold Schoenberg’s Choral Music», and in October 2016 he defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of the Arts on the subject matter of «Luigi Nono, Bruno Maderna, Luciano Berio: the Paths of Development of Italian Choral Music in the Second Half of the 20th Century.»

Professional Activities

Since 2009 Alexander Ryzhinsky has been a faculty member at the Conducting Department of the Gnesin Russian Academies, where he has taught Conducting, Vocal Ensemble, Textural Analysis of Contemporary Choral Music and Contemporary Choral Music Notation, has read lectures on the history of Choral Music and Contemporary Choral Music and has been an academic advisor for Bachelor and Specialized students, as well as Masters’ students in the fields of preparation and major field of studies, including academic studies, Conducting of an Academic Chorus and the Art of Music. In 2010, Alexander Ryzhinsky gathered together students of the Choral Conducting Department of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music and organized the «Altro coro» contemporary choral music ensemble, the aim of which was to discover, promote and popularize lesser-known choral, vocal and ensemble works by 20th and 21st century Western and Russian composers. The ensemble has performed works by Arnold Schoenberg, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Pärt, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Tavener, Heinz Holliger, Luigi Dallapiccola, Luigi Nono, Pascal Dusapin, Gyorgy Sviridov, Igor Matsievsky, Valeriy Kikta, Alfred Schnittke, etc., moreover, most of these works have been performed in Russia for the first time.

The «Altro coro» choral ensemble under the direction of Alexander Ryzhinsky has been the winner of various international choral competitions:

• «Golden Diploma» (1st Prize) from the 4th International Anton Bruckner Competition-Festival for Choral Music (Austria, 2013);

• Grand Prix from «Canti veris Praga» Competition-Festival of Contemporary Choral Music (Czech Republic, 2014);

• Grand Prix from the 29th International Franz Schubert Choral Competition-Festival (Austria, 2014);

• «Golden Diploma» and title of winner in the nomination of «Chamber Choruses» of the 9th International Johannes Brahms Choral Competition-Festival (Germany, 2015);

• Title of Champion of the 9th World Choral Games in the nomination of «Chamber choruses» (Sochi, Russia, 2016);

• Grand Prix from the European Competition of the champions «Grand Prix of Nations» in the nominations of «Chamber choruses» and «Contemporary Music» (Berlin, Germany, 2017).

• Two Gold Medals of the 10th World Choral Games in the nominations of «Chamber Choruses» and «Contemporary Choral Music» (Pretoria, South Africa, 2018);

• Grand Prix of the European Competition of Champions «Grand Prix of Nations» in the nomination of «A Cappella Sacred Music» (Goteborg, Sweden, 2019).

Besides his pedagogical and performance activities, Alexander Ryzhinsky writes books, tutorial manuals and scholarly articles about Western European avant-garde choral music. He has written the monographs «Khorovoe tvorchestvo Arnol'da Shenberga» [«Arnold Schoenberg’s Choral Music»] (Moscow, 2010) and «Khorovaya muzyka poslevoennogo avangarda: Italiya, Germaniya, Frantsiya» [«Choral Music of the Postwar Avant-garde Period: Italy, Germany, France»] (Moscow, 2021), and the tutorial-methodological textbooks: «Ital'yanskaya khorovaya muzyka» (1930–1990): ocherki [«Italian Choral Music (1930–1990): Essays»] (Moscow, 2014), «Prepodavanie khorovoi literatury v muzykal'nom kolledzhe» [«Instruction of Choral Literature at Musical Colleges»] (Moscow, 2014), «"Istoriya khorovoi muzyki" kak profil'naya distsiplina v vuzovskom kurse podgotovki dirizhera-khormeistera», «"Choral Music History" as a Profiled Discipline in a Higher Educational Institution Course of Preparation of a Choirmaster-Conductor» (Moscow, 2019), and «Sovremennaya khorovaya muzyka» [«Contemporary Choral Music» (in co-authorship with Denis Morozov and Maximilian Chikhachyov) (Moscow, 2022), as well as numerous articles, published in such representative academic editions as Contemporary Musicology, The Science of Television, Scholarly Notes of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship, Russian Musicology, etc. 

From 2013 to 2019 — he was the Academic Secretary of the Academic Board of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.

Since 2013 — he has been an expert of the Roskomnadzor [Federal Supervision Agency for Information Technologies and Communications] in carrying out accreditation of expert evaluation of organizations engaged in educational activities;

From 2017 to 2019 — he was the vice-rector for strategic development of professional musical education at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.

Since 2019 — he has been the  rector of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (appointed at the Behest of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation No. 04-KF-301019 from October 30, 2019 on the basis of the Protocol of the General Assembly (Conference) of the Scholarly-Pedagogic Faculty, representatives of other categories of employees and the students of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education «Gnesin Russian Academy of Music» No. 1 from October 29, 2019).

He is a member of the editorial board of the scholarly-analytical journal «Dom Burganova. Prostranstvo kul'tury» [«Burganov House. Space of Culture»].

Since 2016 — he has been the deputy chairman of the federal tutorial-methodological union in the system of higher education according to the Extended Groups of Specialties and Directions 53.00.00 The Art of Music.

Since 2020 — he has been the deputy chairman of the Coordination Council of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in the Sphere of Education «Art and Culture.»

Since 2022 — he has been the Editor-in-chief of the academic journal Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship (starting from No. 3, 2024 — Russian Musicology).

Alexander Ryzhinsky’s Awards and Achievements:

2014 — the Jubilee Medal «95th Anniversary of the Military University.»

2018 — Title of the Prize of the Government of Russian Federation in the sphere of culture for the creation of the scholarly-artistic laboratory of contemporary choral music.

2020 — Title of «Merited Worker of the Sphere of Education of the Russian Federation»

2015 — Certificate of Gratitude from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

2020 — Sergei Batyshev Medal from the Russian Academy of Education.

2021 — Certificate of Merit from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

2022 — Medal from the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation «For Contribution.»

2023 — Jubilee Medal «In Commemoration of the 350th Anniversary of the Nizhni-Novgorod Diocese.»

2023 — Special Diploma from the Permanent Committee of the Joint State of Russia and Belarus «For the Creative Manifestation of the Ideas of the Friendship of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia.»

2023 — Honorary Certificate from the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation.

2023 — Medal «For Diligence and Benefit» of the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation.

2023 — Commemorative Ministerial Medal of the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation «The Centennial Anniversary of the Control Inspection Authorities of the Ministry of Finances of Russia» (2023).

Publications

Alexander Ryzhinsky has written over 70 articles that have been published, including:

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Schoenberg and Kabbalah: Possible Points of Contact. Music and Time. 2007. No. 3, pp. 14–18. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Choral Music of Arnold Schoenberg: The Specifics of the Composer’s Work with Vocal Timbres. Burganov House. Cultural Space. 2008. No. 1, pp. 225–235. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. The Phenomenon of Italian Choral Music of the Second Half of the 20th Century: A New Look at a Familiar Art. Theatre. Painting. Cinema. Music. 2011. No. 1, pp. 174–186. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Is it Possible to Sing Atonal? (Ways to Solve Problems of Intonation of Atonal Choral Music of Arnold Schoenberg). Choral Performance / Gnesin Russian Academy of Music: Collection of Works. Moscow, 2011. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Avant-garde Choral Texture: From the Experiments of the New Viennese to the Innovations of Luigi Nono. Theatre. Painting. Cinema. Music. 2012. No. 4, pp. 153–166. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. The Concept of «Unity» as a Conceptual Basis for the Organization of «Coro» by L. Berio. Musicology. 2012. No. 8, pp. 10–18. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. «A Layer of Dust on Our Shoulders»: Dialogues of the Past and the Present in L. Berio’s «The Cries of London». Music Education in the Context of Culture: Theory, History and Methodology: Proceedings of the 11th International Scientific Conference, October 29-31, 2012. Moscow: Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 2013, pp. 90–103. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Transformation of Choral Sonority in the Works of L. Nono of the 1950s. Musicology. 2013. No. 7, pp. 3–10. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. «Al gran sole carico d’amore» by L. Nono as an Example of Stage Performance. Burganov House. Cultural Space. 2014. No. 2, pp. 42–56. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Sound-semantic Games: Word and Music in Luciano Berio’s «Symphony». Music and Time. 2015. No. 1, pp. 39–47. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. «The Great Unknown»: On the Choral Heritage of Bruno Maderna. Bulletin of the Chelyabinsk State University. Series: Philology. Art Criticism. 2015. Vol. 15 (370), Issue 96, pp. 149–158. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Phonetics as a Timbre Determinant in Vocal Ensemble and Choral Works by L. Nono, K. Stockhausen, M. Kagel and D. Ligeti at the Turn of the 1950s–1960s. Music and Time. 2016. No. 10, pp. 38–44. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. «Ein feste Burg ist unser Bach»: Kagel in Dialogue with Bach. Bulletin of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. 2017. No. 4, pp. 132–144. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinskii A. S. Characteristics of Choral Writing of György Ligeti’s Late Work. Vestnik of the Saint Petersburg State University. Arts. 2018. Vol. 8, Issue 4, pp. 578–592;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. From «Gesang der Jünglinge» to «Carré»: the Birth of Phonemic Composition in the Works of K. Stockhausen. Music. Art, Science, Practice. 2019. No. 2 (26), pp. 19–25. (In Russ.)

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Choral Writing in his Heptalogy Licht. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2020. No. 2, pp. 84–97. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.33779/2587-6341.2020.2.084-097;

• Ryzhinskii A. S. The Humanistic Pathos of Iannis Xenakis’ Choral Musical Legacy. Ars Inter Culturas. 2020. Vol. 9, pp. 81–93;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Inclusion of the Contemporary System of Russian Musical Education into the Uniform Global Learning Environment: Myth or Reality? Art History in the Context of Other Sciences in Modern World: Parallels and Interactions: Collection of Materials of the International Sholarly Conference, April 21–26, 2019. Moscow: Information and Publishing House «Filin», 2020, pp. 88–103. (In Russ.);

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Choral Music in the Works of Hans Werner Henze. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2021. No. 1, pp. 46–60. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.33779/2587-6341.2021.1.046-060;

• Ryzhinskii, Aleksandr. «The Cantatas by Pierre Boulez in the Context of the Main Trends in the Development of Choral Composition of the 20th Century». Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts. 2021. Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 21–38. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu15.2021.102;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Utrenya by Krzysztof Penderecki: Concerning the Question of the Influence of the Musical Traditions of Orthodox Christianity. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2022. No. 1, pp. 71–82. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.33779/2782-3598.2022.1.071-082;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Timbral Innovations in Heinz Holliger’s Choral Music: from Dona nobis pacem to Die Jahreszeiten. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2022. No. 3, pp. 45–58. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.56620/2782-3598.2022.3.045-058;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Major Trends in the Development of Choral Music by the Western European Avant-Garde of the 1960s. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2022. No. 4, pp. 38–52. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.56620/2782-3598.2022.4.038-052;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Choral Writing in Iannis Xenakis’ Late Compositions. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2023. No. 1, pp. 47–61. https://doi.org/10.56620/2782-3598.2023.1.047-061;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. British Choral Music at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries: the Phenomenon of the English Musical Renaissance. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2023. No. 2, pp. 53–67. https://doi.org/10.56620/2782-3598.2023.2.053-067;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. «Das Floß der Medusa»: About Problem of Henze’s Political Engagement. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts. 2024. Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp. 23–33. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu15.2024.102;

• Ryzhinsky A. S. Luigi Nono’s Works from the Late 1950s: The Emergence of a New Choral Style. Problemy muzykal'noi nauki / Music Scholarship. 2024. No. 2, pp. 148–165. https://doi.org/10.56620/2782-3598.2024.2.148-165;

• and others.

Information about Advanced Training

2021 — courses on the subject matter of «Economic Security and Counteraction to Corruption»

2022 — courses on the subject matter of «Preservation of Pedagogical and Performance Traditions in the Sphere of Choral Art in the 21st Century.»

2023 — courses on the subject matter of «Counteraction to Corruption.»