Alexei Ogrintchouk - Press

A 20th-Century Recital CD on BIS

Outstanding performances by son and father, accessible music of real substance and emotional resonance: What is not to like?

 Fanfare

All this music is superbly played here, with the sensitive oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk dominating as he must, and the anthology, published a t a time when we are all remembering the war, has an atmosphere of its own.

Ivan March, Gramophone 

Mozart CD on BIS

While this is a disc of fairly central repertoire,it is also one of uncommon distinction in terms of performance. Alexei Ogrintchouk’s mature oboe timbre, iridescent of colour and deployed with tasteful discretion and supple shading, is probably the main potential focus of attention…The perspective is properly that of an intimate chamber work; nothing is overstated or inflated, but equally nothing in terms of expression goes by without the performers finding a sympathetic, natural way of voicing it.

Geoffrey Norris, Gramophone, October 2013 

Ogrintchouk’s technique and phrasing is matchless throughout these three works. His beautiful tone is no better displayed than in the lovely K378 Sonata, which started life as a showcase for violin and piano. The oboist’s father Leonid joins him for this lovely work where the soloist’s technique is put to a severe test.

Limelight Magazine, July 2013

CD of Bach Oboe Concertos with Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Alina Ibragimova on BIS

An intriguing disc, fastidiously researched…The Swedish Chamber Orchestra plays crisply and cleanly with a sound perfectly matched to Ogrintchouk’s own (extremely fine and technically impeccable) sound…this is a fine performance.

Early Music Today, March/May 2011

Ogrintchouk plays it [A major Concerto for oboe d’amore] beautifully…with a just appreciation of the instrument’s mellow tonal qualities. He has the understanding of how Bach’s long phrases are braced by shorter ones within their span, which is an essential quality of good Bach-playing. The other two solo concertos find him equally at home…simply be grateful for four admirably played and recorded oboe concertos by a great composer who wrote demandingly but incomparably for the instrument.

John Warrack, Gramophone, February 2011

Alexei Ogrintchouk… offers playing that’s graceful, beautiful and searchingly expressive.

Malcolm Hayes, Classic FM Magazine, March 2011

What’s consistently authentic, though, is the quality of Ogrintchouk’s playing, with its fulsome tone and clean articulation. He’s placed well forward in the sound picture but the contribution of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra is important, too; forget the musicology, it’s a delightful disc.

Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 23 December 2010

Marc-André Dalbavie Oboe Concerto, commissioned for Alexei Ogrintchouk by BBT and BBC, premiere 17th December 2010 with BBC Symphony Orchestra at Barbican, London

The concerto dazzles like a 100-watt bulb in a hall of mirrors…the restless energy of Ogrintchouk’s performance could power the Barbican’s stage lights for months…the oboist’s fingers are almost never still, tracing constant, rippling curlicues as the music rises and falls…all ears were on the brilliant Ogrintchouk, who, as he greeted the composer at the end, looked exhilarated.

Erica Jeal, The Guardian, 21 December 2010

It could have been electronic, but was actually the solo oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk (chords are possible on the oboe, but it’s rare for them to sound as beautiful as Ogrintchouk made them)… The small patterns swelled into big ones, swooping up and down the entire range of the oboe with a virtuosity that had to be heard to be believed.

Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph, 20 December 2010

…a fabulous soloist

Paul Driver, Sunday Times, 26 December 2010

The nimble, even skittish solo part brilliantly taken by Alexei Ogrintchouk, a fabulous player, Dalbavie’s use of full orchestra reminding of Dutilleux in its soundworld and iridescence. This first performance, the composer present, seemed exceptional. 

Colin Anderson, Classical Source, December 2010