Alexander Goldstein | |
Birth Date: | 1948 8, mf=yes |
Birth Place: | Moscow, USSR |
Nationality: | Russian, American |
Education: | The Gnessin School of Music |
Occupation: | Film director, film producer, music composer |
Years Active: | 1976–present |
Website: | AlexanderGoldstein.com |
Alexander Goldstein (born August 10, 1948), also credited as Aleksandr Goldshteyn and Aleksandr Goldstein in films, is a Russian–American music composer, conductor, songwriter, record producer, film producer, director, editor and is the founder of ABG World[1] and SportMusic.com.[2] He was born in Moscow, USSR, into a family of Bolshoi Theater Orchestra musicians.
He is the son of Boris Goldstein, a French Horn player of the Bolshoi Orchestra and nephew of Lev Goldstein, a French Horn player of the Red Army Theater. At the age of 6, he began his studies at one of the most prestigious music educational centers in the world, The Gnessin School of Music in Moscow. 16 years later, he completed his music education by graduating at The Gnessin Academy of Music with a master's degree in conducting and French horn. He started composing music in 1976 in Moscow. He composed music scores for 26 feature films, 2 silent classics, approximately 300 documentary films, animations, countless radio and television shows, circus and stage shows, commercials, and sports programs in the US and abroad.
Over his career as a sport music editor and arranger, Alexander Goldstein has worked with athletes and coaches from 20 countries and helped hundreds of National competition participants spanning 4 different continents. Over 40 Olympic Medals and over 120 World Medals were won using the music that he either edited or arranged.[3]
In 1991, he moved from Moscow to New York City and became Executive Producer and Creative Director at WMNB and EABC in Fort Lee, NJ.In 1997, Alexander Goldstein formed his own Video and Audio Production Company, ABG World, and undertook projects like the music score for documentary films like Six Days,[4] a 2001 Andrei Zagdansky short documentary about the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, Vasya, a 2002 Andrei Zagdansky film about the life of a Russian painter Vasily Sitnikov, whose works are in the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Konstantin and Mouse, a 2006 film about Russian performance poet Konstantin Kuzminsky. He also did the video editing of approximately 50 television shows and Progulki po Broadveiu (Broadway Walks) for TV Channel Kultura[5] Russian Federation and a long-running TV Show Time Out which was hosted by Oleg Frish and produced for New Age Media in New York City, which aired on NTV (America)[6] from 2005 to 2010 and featured memorable exclusive interviews and performances of such American music greats as Paul Anka, Peter Cincotti, James Brown, Connie Francis, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer and Russian performers who frequented USA like Valeri Leoniev or call it home like Yakov Smirnoff
Starting in 1999, Alexander wrote original music scores and worked as video editor on 15 films produced by AY Associates, a Maryland video production company, for the US State Department. Among those films are Silk Road Festival, Energy, One Year Later, Alaska, Gagarin and Gore-Bush.In 2005, Alexander Goldstein relocated to Naples, Florida, where he continues to produce documentary films and compose music. In 2006, during the first production of Kings of the Dance with classical ballet performances by Ethan Stiefel and Angel Corella of American Ballet Theatre, Nikolay Tsiskaridze of the Bolshoi Ballet and Johan Kobborg of the Royal Danish Ballet – arguably the four strongest male principals dancers at that time, Alexander created a film about the dancers, which opened the performances at the Orange County Performing Arts Center (CA) and the New York City's City Center. This production was followed by Kings of The Dance II in 2008 and We Got It Good in 2010. Both films received Videographer Awards. Alexander Goldstein directed, filmed and edited all 3 films for Ardani Artists Management.
In 2008, Alexander Goldstein directed and produced Ascension from Olympus, a documentary film about Bobrin's Ice Theatre[7] headed by European Champion Igor Bobrin and Olympic Champion Natalia Bestemianova. "Bobrin's Ice Theatre became the very first ice theatre to invite composers to create music especially for dramatic ice performances and many prominent modern Russian composers contributed their talent – Michail Chekalin, Alexander Gradsky, Alexander Rosenblat, Alexander Goldstein and others."[8]
In 2010, Alexander Goldstein composed Rotissimo, a Suite for Clarinet, Violin and String Orchestra, after film music of the immortal Italian film composer Nino Rota. World premiere of Rotissimo was in October 2011 in Toronto by the Canadian Sinfonietta.[9]
November 22, 2012, Rotissimo had its European Debut at Sibelius Academy,[10] Helsinki, Finland: Clarinet Soloist, Julian Milkis and Violin Soloist, Päivyt Meller.
On April 7, 2013, Alexander Goldstein's Trio on the Roof made its debut at the Eastman School of MusicUniversity of Rochester, performed by Kenneth Grant (clarinet), Mikhail Kopelman (violin) and Elizaveta Kopelman (piano).
In Russia, Alexander Goldstein is known for his expertise on the music of Paul Mauriat, a renowned French orchestra leader who has an official fan club.[11] During First International Paul Mauriat Festival, which concluded in March 2015, Alexander Goldstein chaired the jury. Nu, Pogodi! fan club in Russian Federation has referred to Alexander Goldstein for music mysteries, which surface now and then, caused by the Soviet-era music source misstatements.
On New Year's Eve 2016, Rotissimo had its Russian premiere at the State Academic Capella of Saint Petersburg, with Sergey Dogadin, violin solo and Julian Milkis, clarinet solo.
In 2015 Mr. Goldstein composed Neapolitan Symphony, a sometimes flirtatious, sometimes pensive work, inspired by the Neapolitan Dance from Tchaikovskiy's Swan Lake World premiere of Neapolitan Symphony was on December 1, 2016, in Bursa, Turkey by Sinfoni Orchestrati, conducted by Mikhail Kirchhoff.[12]
In 2017 Mr. Goldstein completed Introspective Trio. It premiered in 2019 in Arlington, VA by National Chamber Ensemble, Leo Shushansky, artistic director.[13] Also composed in 2017 was Rhapsody on the Theme of Albinoni. It premiered in Khazan, Tatarstan by Primavera Chamber Orchestra with Rustem Abyazov, Violin, (Russia) and Mark Drobinsky, Cello (France).[14] Also in 2017 Mr. Goldstein composed nostalgic "Romancing the Eyes," inspired by the ultra popular Ochi Chornye romance, performed by Alexandra Carlson.[15]
In 2018, Maestro Goldstein composed Amarcord Variations for Clarinet Solo.
In 2020 Mr. Goldstein composed a cycle of Russian Romances to poems from "One-way Correspondence", a book of poetry by Marina Berkovich. Some of these romances premiered in Moscow in 2021, at Leo Tolstoy's Home-Museum, performed by Victoria Dmitrieva-Goldstein (no relation).[16]
In 2021 Maestro Goldstein composed Symphonic Poem To Be Or Not To Be to Hamlet's soliloquy by William Shakespeare.
In 2022 Maestro Goldstein wrote another orchestration of Rotissimo for Violin, Cello, Piano and String Orchestra by special commission of Camerata of Naples. Same year, The Beauty Of Ostinato for String Orchestra and Bass Guitar was completed.
Alexander Goldstein composed music scores for 26 feature films including:
Alexander Goldstein composed music scores for two silent classics of world cinema:
Alexander Goldstein composed music scores for animations and approximately 300 documentaries including:
Alexander Goldstein performed music editing and music supervising for animations and documentaries including:
Alexander Goldstein directed and edited films, documentaries, television shows and animations including:
Leading into 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Alexander Goldstein was instrumental in converting live piano accompaniment of gymnastics floor exercise to audio tape recording. Together with Lyudmila Pakhomova, he established a music training program for coaches at GITIS Russian Academy of Theater Arts. He has created such unforgettable ice dance music programs as La Cumparsita for Liudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov, Polovtsian Dances for Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin, and popularized western music in the USSR during the Cold War by using such pop songs as: Afric Simone's Hafanana for Marina Cherkasova and Sergei Shakhrai, and Louis Armstrong's rendition of What a Wonderful World. He is also Merit Coach of Figure Skating Federation of Russia and collaborated with such coaches as: Elena Tchaikovskaia, Tatiana Tarasova, Nikolai Morozov, Robin Wagner, Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva. He has created music arrangements for 10-time Canadian National Figure Skating Champions Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, and Bulgarian World Figure Skating Champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski based on Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio.
In Elena Tchaikovskaia's 1986 book titled "Figure Skating", she is quoted saying: (translated)
Alexander Goldstein created dozens, even hundreds of brilliant musical compositions. They were different in nature, but always brought a profound aesthetic pleasure to the performers, coaches and millions of viewers. I have no doubt that readers of all ages have heard at least once, songs of Alexander Goldstein performed by L. Pakhomova, A. Gorshkov, A. Zaitsev, N. Linichuk, G. Karponossov, V. Kovalev and many of our other top skaters.[47]Alexander Goldstein Category A figure skating coach in USA and Merit Coach of Russian Federation.
Alexander has received 2015 Siver TELLY Awards for WE TESTIFY: Testimony to Truth, Telly Awards for Naples Oral Histories: "If These Walls Could Talk" and for "Naples, Florida REDEFINING PARADISE," :Southwest Florida Jewish Pioneers: Richard Segalman," Videographer Awards for "We Got It Good" and "Kings of the Dance II", an AVA Platinum Award for "Naples Oral Histories: 'If These Walls Could Talk", a Choice Star Award from Naples Daily News, and Hermes Awards for "Naples, Florida REDEFINING PARADISE" and "Because Someone Believed in Me". Many films that included Alexander's participation were awarded State Prize and USSR and International film festival awards in various countries. Alexander is also awarded Merit Coach of Figure Skating Federation of Russia.