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Alexander Frauchi was born in the family of a musician in the ancient town of Rostov the Great on January 4, 1954. Now he is Honoured Citizen of the town. His father, a violinist, was a pupil of Elizabeth Gnesina and a graduate of Gnesins’ Institute. Later he became an outstanding teacher.
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Alexander Frauchi made his first steps in music under his father’s leadership. He gained his further professional skills from the famous guitar player A.M. Ivanov-Kramskoy and his daughter N.A. Ivanova-Kramskaya at the Musical College under Moscow Conservatory. Then he continued his studies at Sverdlovsk State Academy of Music named after Mussorgsky under Professor V.M. Derun. There was no class of guitar in Moscow and Leningrad Academies of Music at that time. Opening of the class of guitar in Gnesins’ Institute is connected with the name of Frauchi in 1980. Since then he got more than 100 laureates of All-Russian and International contests.
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In 1979 A.K. Frauchi became the winner of the All-Russian contest of folk instrument performers in Leningrad; in 1986 he wins the Grand Prix, the first prize, the viewers’ interest prize and Radio France Prize at Leo Brauer’s Third International Contest in Habana.
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His creative life rich in touring in Russia, recordings at TV and radio, teaching has been complemented with the concerts in Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, England, Greece, Cyprus, the USA, Belgium, Switzerland. Alexander Frauchi performed both solo and with orchestras. He took part in the work of the jury at the All-Russian and International contests and festivals. He conducted master classes.
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A.K. Frauchi added the plays for duet of clavecine and piano to his repertoire. His regular partner in the duet was M. Latinskaya. Alexander Frauchi’s name is included in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. He contributed much to opening of the classes of guitar in such cities and towns as Vilnius, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Kharkov, Minsk, Rostov-on-Don, Konigsberg. In 1993 A.K. Frauchi opened both the class and the department in Maimonides State Classical Academy, in the Gnesins’ Secondary School and in the Sudan where his pupils teach now.
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In 2004 Alexander Frauchi was awarded with the First Class Order of the Defendant of Motherland for his outstanding service in the performing art and pedagogical activity.
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In 2009 First Frauchi International Contest of Classical Guitar Performers was established and held. It was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and Gnesins’ Academy of Music.
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This contest is a unique phenomenon. The respected jury consisted of the representatives of the brilliant pleiad of Frauchi’s pupils who came from different countries and towns of Russia. Most of them are repeated winners of the international contests, famous performers and teachers: D. Reginos (Cyprus), D. Illarionov (Russia), E. Finkelstein (Russia), J. Kurauskas (Lithuania), A. Murin (Kazakhstan), D. Tatarkin (Russia), V. Kuznetsov (Russia), V. Mitjakov (Russia), the composer and performer Roland Dyens, and N. Komoljatov (Russia), A. Gorbachev (Russia). The founder of First Frauchi International Contest in Moscow is M. Latinskaya-Frauchi, a musician and clavecine and piano performer.
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<i>Maria Latinskaya-Frauchi</i>
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Once Alexander Frauchi said to one of his students after his concert, “You look like an artist who has already started to paint but hasn’t decided yet what the subject of the picture is: autumn or winter, or perhaps, a portrait? You know, the decision what to portray is imposed by the choice of paints.” In Alexander Frauchi’s art the image was the centerpiece, the clarity of character and mood. The whole of technology was subordinated to this.
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<i>Eugene Finkelstein, </i>
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laureate of International contests, Associate Professor of Maimonides State Classical Academy, Head of the classical guitar sub department</i>
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He possessed some special inner energy that I could not explain to myself and understand. Perhaps, it was just warmth that came from the bottom of his great generous heart?
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<i>Julus Kurauskas, </i>
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performer, Associate Professor of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Lithuania)</i>
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Alexander Frauchi was doing his best to teach us not to be lenient towards ugly notes, to be emotionally impressive in every kind of music! He set the example for us both on the stage and in real life. Being his pupil, associating and making friends with him, was a gift of destiny.
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<i>Dmitry Tatarkin, </i>
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laureate of International contests</i>
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As a performer, Frauchi inspired young musicians to treat the classical guitar from the position of humanity, from the position of music and culture, to pay attention to the charm and uniqueness of the guitar sound. As a teacher, Frauchi always taught to be in constant search for new, penetrate into the very essence of the artistic concept of the composer, not to withdraw in the narrow circle of highly specialized problems but tirelessly to expand the horizon of the guitar performance.
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<i>Vadim Kuznetsov, </i>
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Professor of Moscow State Institute of Music named after A.G. Schnittke, </i>
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laureate of All-Russian and International contests</i>
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