Maxwell Alemán is a Spanish-American violist based in Leipzig, Germany. Since moving to Germany a few years ago, he has performed with camerata lipsiensis and the GewandhausChor in Leipzig and Switzerland, the Pauliner Barockensemble at Bachfest Leipzig, the lautten compagney BERLIN in various venues including Händel-Festspiele Halle, and is a guest violist with the Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen. Prior to living in Germany, he collaborated in a copious array of artistic projects while based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, including those as principal violist of the Ciconia Consort and Libero Strijkorkest. Alemán performed on many of Holland's most respected stages, including the Royal Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ Amsterdam under the direction of Ed Spanjaard, TivoliVredenburg Utrecht, and De Doelen Rotterdam. Further international projects of note include concertizing in Belgium with the Intercontinental Ensemble, France with Génération Baroque of Le Parlement de Musique, and Sweden with the Royal Swedish Opera under the direction of Andrew Litton.

 

Originally a student of Debra Moree at Ithaca College, Alemán continued his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with respected soloists and chamber musicians Sven Arne Tepl and Richard Wolfe, and with numerous masterclass technicians, including and Nobuko Imai, Jürgen Kussmaul, and Francien Schatborn. A venture back to the US after these studies brought Alemán through years of extensive training under Michelle LaCourse, the longest-tenured teaching assistant to legendary viola pedagogue, Karen Tuttle. He has since continued to investigate Tuttle's "Coordination Method" in masterclasses with renowned former pupils Susan Dubois, Edward Gazouleas, Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, and Karen Ritscher.

 

Ever curious and in seeking a broader range of colors on the instrument, Alemán later studied historically-informed performance (HIP) practice with Jane Rogers of the Academy of Ancient Music and Royal College of Music in London. This undertaking of HIP, as it relates to both the modern and period viola, allows him to more holistically and deliberately place the mind, body, and viola on one axis. 

 

Historically-informed performance has taken Alemán internationally to projects directed by leading experts in the field, including Rachel Podger, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Martin Gester, and George Kennaway. Other masterclasses and coachings of note include those with Danielle Farina, Naum Grubert, Emilie Hörnlund of the Chiaroscuro Quartet, Dorothee Mields, Maria Milstein, Helena Zemanová of Collegium 1704, Margaret Urquhart, Donald Weilerstein, and the New Zealand String Quartet.

 

More recent mentorship in Germany has included Nadja Zwiener of The English Concert, Robert Lis of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Tahlia Petrosian of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Lisa Klotz of the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Bennet Morrice Ortmann of the Philharmonische Orchester der Hansestadt Lübeck, and Professor Muriel Razavi of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig.