Alexander Vynograd Contributor

Alexander Vynograd was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and began his musical education there with nine years of piano study. In 1983 he turned his attention to the guitar, studying with the Ukrainian guitarist I. M. Balan, and in 1985 moved to Moscow to attend the Gnessin Music College. He won first prizes in competitions at the Gnessin College and for Russian folk instruments and also received recognition at the USSR Music Festival. From 1990 to 1998 he was first guitarist of the Kharkiv Philharmonic’s Guitar Quartet and also appeared frequently as a soloist.

Seeking a wider compass than the conventional six-string guitar could provide for classical transcriptions, Vynograd developed an eight-string guitar in 1990 by adding both a higher and a lower string. He also devised a playing method he called the “chin technique” to accommodate the expanded instrument and thereafter performed solo recitals exclusively on it. He composed several works to demonstrate its capabilities while continuing concert tours, broadcasts, and recordings. Vynograd later settled in Munich, bringing an inventive performer’s approach to the extension of classical-guitar technique and repertory.

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Born in Kharkov, Ukraine, Alexander Vynograd began his musical education at the Kharkov Music School, where he studied piano for nine years. His focus shifted to the guitar in 1983 and he began studying with the prominent Ukrainian guitarist, I.M. Balan. In 1985 he moved to Moscow and matriculated at the Gnessin Music College. Vynograd was First Prizewinner at the Gnessin College Competition, the Russian Folk Instrument Competition, and the USSR Music Festival.

At some point he became aware that the range of the traditional 6-string guitar made it impossible to play transcriptions of many classical works. And so, in 1990, Vynograd invented an 8-string guitar to increase the instrument's range through the addition of both a higher and a lower string, and developed a new technique (the chin technique) to help play the new instrument. From this point on, he performed solo concerts exclusively on this guitar, and composed several few pieces to highlight the new instrument's capabilities.

From 1990-98, Vynograd was First Guitar of the Kharkov Philharmonic's Guitar Quartet. He also performed monthly solo concerts at the Central Concert Hall in Kharkov, and appeared on numerous television and radio programs and recordings in that city. His concert tours have included Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. Alexander Vynograd has lived in Munich since 1998.