Alexander Gordon

Viola

Alexander Gordon is one of the most versatile musicians of his generation, celebrated internationally as both violist and conductor. At just 23, he became Principal Viola of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, before turning to conducting with his 2014 debut with the Lappeenranta Symphony Orchestra in Finland.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he changed his surname from Zemtsov to Gordon in protest against the war and the regime’s “ZOV” symbols. As a conductor, he has led orchestras including Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic, National Opera of Ukraine, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Mischa Maisky, Simon Trpceski, and Tabea Zimmermann. In 2016 Alexander Gordon was appointed artistic advisor and conductor of the International New Symphony Orchestra (INSO) in Lviv, giving this multinational German-Russian-Ukrainian-Jewish musician the role of an “Ambassador of Peace” in Ukraine.