Alexei Lubimov is a Russian pianist who also plays fortepiano and harpsichord. In his early years he studied at the Moscow Central Music School, and in 1963, entered the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with
Heinrich Neuhaus and Lew Naumov. He developed a strong interest in Baroque music and 20th century modernist works.
Lubimov gave the Soviet premieres of many western compositions, including pieces by
Charles Ives,
Arnold Schoenberg,
John Cage,
Terry Riley,
Pierre Boulez, and
Karlheinz Stockhausen, which brought censorship from the Soviet authorities. For a number of years he was prevented from traveling outside the Soviet Union. Turning to his interest in period instruments and authentic performance practices, he founded the Moscow Baroque Quartet and co-founded the Moscow Chamber Academy with
Tatiana Grindenko.
Lubimov also organized the avant-garde music festival "Alternativa."
Much in demand as a soloist since the 1980s,
Lubimov has performed with the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the
London Philharmonic, the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Russian National Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and the
Budapest Festival Orchestra, to name a few. He has collaborated with many conductors, among them
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Christopher Hogwood,
Neeme Järvi,
Esa-Pekka Salonen,
Roger Norrington,
Marek Janowski,
Iván Fischer,
Kent Nagano, and
Frans Brüggen. In 1998,
Lubimov toured Europe with
Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in performances of
Rachmaninov's four piano concertos. He has performed with
Andreas Staier and Alexei Zuev in piano duets; played chamber music with
Natalia Gutman,
Heinrich Schiff,
Christian Tetzlaff,
Gidon Kremer, and
Wieland Kuijken; and accompanied tenor
Peter Schreier in vocal music. He has made recordings for Teldec, Melodiya, BIS, Erato, Sony, and ECM New Series.