Alexander Frey

This article is about the conductor. For the Finnish politician, see Alexander Frey (politician). For the German author, see Alexander Moritz Frey.
Alexander Frey
Background information
BornChicago, Illinois,
United States
Occupation(s)Conductor, pianist, organist, harpsichordist, composer, recording artist.
LabelsDeutsche Grammophon, Decca, Sony, RCA Red Seal, Koch International Classics, eOne Music, Bach Guild

Alexander Frey, KM, KStJ, is an American symphony orchestra conductor, virtuoso organist, pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Frey is in great demand as one of the world's most versatile conductors, and enjoys success in the concert hall and opera house, and in the music of Broadway and Hollywood.[1] Leonard Bernstein referred to him as "a wonderful spirit".[2]

In addition to his regular appearances as a conductor on major concert series, Frey is very frequently called upon to replace conductors who have canceled their engagements, often at the last minute, and is known for being able to completely learn entire concert programs virtually overnight and follow with performances of great depth.[1]

In January 2008, during an interview broadcast on Radio Cairo while conducting in Egypt, Frey stated that "Music is a peaceful island in a river of sadness."[3]

Frey has been described as "a witty, urbane figure whose wide-ranging genius is evident in the immense breadth of his accomplishments and activities in so many musical genres, and in his performances onstage and in conversation offstage".[1] The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Studs Terkel referred to him as "a Renaissance Man".[4] In a later interview in The Guardian celebrating his 95th birthday, Terkel discussed his own "diverse and idiosyncratic taste in music, from Bob Dylan to Alexander Frey, Louis Armstrong to Woodie Guthrie".[5] Frey has also been called "a raconteur, a young Oscar Levant" by American writer and Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor,[6] "his generation's Noël Coward",[7] "everybody's favourite dinner guest",[8] and that "he seems like a classic character from the golden age of the Broadway musical".[9]

He often plays his solo piano recitals with a lamp next to or on the instrument providing the only stage light (and often the only lighting in the concert hall as well), and an oriental rug underneath the instrument to "create an intimacy between my audience and the music, as if everyone were in my living room listening together".[10]

A resident of Berlin, Germany, Frey has been frequently invited by the city's diplomatic community to perform for heads of state including President Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama, and former German chancellors Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schroeder, among others.[11] He is a prominent member of Berlin's intellectual and artistic communities.[1]

He is Artist-in-Residence of the Gaulitana Festival, a major month-long international music festival held on the island of Gozo in Malta.[12]

Frey is also an Honorary Citizen (Cittadino Onorario) of the city of Bari, Italy. He received this honor in a ceremony immediately following a performance he conducted with the Orchestra Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari in 2009.[13]

In 2022, Alexander Frey received three knighthoods: Knight of Malta (KM, SMOM), Knight of the Order of Saint John (KStJ), and Knight of the Guardians of Peace (Cavaliere dei Guardiani di Pace), Italy.[14]

He is an official Steinway Artist.[15]

Alexander Frey is of Greek and Swiss (Alsatian) descent with family currently residing in Greece, Mulhouse and Paris.

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