Alex Gurfinkel
Guest Artist
Born in 1992 in Tel Aviv, Alex Gurfinkel began his musical training at the age of eight. At twelve, he was invited by Zubin Mehta as a soloist for the annual concert for young musicians with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
In recent seasons he has performed again with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as with orchestras including the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon Le Zion, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt.
In 2015, Alex was invited to join the Verbier Festival Orchestra, where he performed under the baton of Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, and Gianandrea Noseda.
Alex has also brought several contemporary compositions to world premiere in recent seasons, including Rashid Kalimullin’s Concerto for Two Clarinets and Orchestra (at the Gewandhaus with the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra) and “Images of the Soul” – Concerto for Two Clarinets and Orchestra by Benjamin Yusupov with the Seville Theatre Orchestra. In 2018, Alex and his twin brother Daniel recorded their debut CD “Duo Concertante” with the Staatstheater Orchestra Cottbus.
In March 2020, Alex was invited to perform with the Graz Recreation Orchestra in a series of concerts where he performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto to great acclaim.
Alex masters both the French and German clarinet systems. He is currently completing his master’s degree at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin under the guidance of Prof. Martin Spangenberg and Prof. Ralf Forster.
From 2022 to 2024, Alex served as deputy principal clarinetist of the Münster Symphony Orchestra. Since January 2025, Alex has been principal clarinetist with the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra in a parental leave position.