Alexander Gordon takes up the role, following Ori Kam’s departure last year
The Jerusalem Quartet has announced the appointment of Alexander Gordon as its new violist. He replaces Ori Kam, who departed the group in October 2025. The ensemble has been performing with both Gordon and Mathis Rochat since Kam’s departure.
The quartet’s members – violinists Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler, and cellist Kyril Zlotnikov – announced the appointment on social media, describing Gordon as ’among the most respected and influential musicians of our generation’.
’From the very first rehearsals with him, there was a clear sense of personal and artistic chemistry, as well as a shared commitment to the values that guide us in our demanding profession.
The appointment coincides with the Jerusalem Quartet’s 30th anniversary, highlights of which have included a Shostakovich cycle, ’milestone works of the quartet literature such as Haydn’s “Sunrise,” Mozart’s “Dissonance,” Beethoven’s Op. 130 with the Grosse Fuge, as well as quartets of Ravel and Janáček.
’We also had the honour of presenting the premiere of Shulamit Ran’s “Betwixt and Between” Quartet no.4, and of sharing a number of unforgettable concerts with the remarkable Elisabeth Leonskaja and Gary Hoffman.’
Gordon (formerly Zemtsov) completed his diploma HfMT Hamburg with Marius Nichiteanu, master’s studies at ZUYD in Maastricht with Michael Kugel and as a postgraduate with Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule Hanns Eisler in Berlin.
He has taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and Vienna Konservatorium, and is currently professor of viola at Haute École de Musique de Lausanne and the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne.
He previously served as principal viola with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, taking up the role aged 23. He is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including first prize at the ‘Classical Legacy’ International Competition in Moscow, 1995, Elise Meyer Competition in Hamburg, 1997, and the Brahms Competition in Poertschach, Austria, 2001.
Read: Latin American Quartet to give final performance after 44 years
Read: Violist Hartmut Rohde joins Spain’s Forum Musikae faculty
No comments yet