Meyrick Alexander

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Meyrick Alexander (born May 18, 1952) is a British bassoonist who currently plays with the Philharmonia Orchestra, based in London.

Meyrick Alexander has been Principal Bassoon of the Philharmonia Orchestra since 1980, having previously been Principal Bassoon of the Northern Sinfonia. He has appeared as a soloist on numerous occasions including performances of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto under Vladimir Ashkenazy. He has made two solo recordings with the London Chamber Orchestra. Alexander is a specialist in the performance of the Baroque bassoon in which capacity he plays in John Eliot Gardiner's Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the English Baroque Soloists.

He is a Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and the Birmingham Conservatoire. Alexander rose to international recognition after his legendary performance of Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps ("Rite of Spring") at the Royal Festival Hall in 1987.

"...the bassoonist played with effortless and mesmerising fluidity and grace; the audience was held in raptures as the piece opened with his melifluous, almost supernatural tones!"

(Tarquin Walter-Hamilton, Culture Review.)