When you think of a Russian violinist, do you picture someone in a tuxedo, rendering compositions by Mozart or Paganini? Or do you instead imagine someone in tight leather pants, rocking out with a 24-karat-gold-plated electric six-string? With Alexander Markov, you get both.

Markov, who will perform on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Church of the Palms, has an impressive background in classical music. He was trained first by his father, violinist and composer Albert Markov, then attended Juilliard and made his Carnegie Hall debut while still in his teens. His mother, Marina, has also had a long career, playing for the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra and New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. 

But after the Markovs emigrated to the West from Moscow, things took a turn. “When I came to America in the 1970s, I discovered rock ‘n’ roll,” Markov says. “I used to hate rock ‘n’ roll, can you believe it? But when I went to high school here, I discovered this whole new musical expression. I was attracted to the fact that the groups wrote their own music and had complete creative freedom. Because of my classical roots and serious background, it was an interesting contrast.”

Markov started off listening to The Beatles, he says, but gradually leaned toward “a darker sound,” influenced by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix, among others. “When I decided to be part of rock ‘n’ roll, it made no sense to me to learn guitar, bass or drums,” he says. “I already had my chops as a classical performer, so I thought, ‘Why reinvent the wheel?’ Another reason was that there was a void—everybody played guitars and hardly anyone played violin. There is no Jimi Hendrix of the violin.”

According to Markov, it took him years to master the electric violin, and things only came together when he asked a friend, James Remington, to design an instrument that would match his new sound. “He came up with this very interesting design, and every time I take it onstage people just look,” says Markov. “It hadn’t been done much before. But now, it’s become my schtick.”

Markov’s performances typically begin with classical music, often alongside his parents, as will be the case in Sarasota. “Then,” he says, “I change into this rock ‘n’ roll monster.” With more than 20 million views on YouTube, Markov has found what he calls his “sweet spot with this violin, being friendly enough for traditional classical audiences and fresh and edgy enough to attract younger generations, as well.”

While the first half of Markov’s Sarasota concert will feature classical masterworks, the second will be devoted to his own composition: the rock ‘n’ roll oratorio Caesar!, based on the life of Julius Caesar. Originally slated to be presented last year as part of the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota season but delayed by Hurricane Ian, this rendition of the five-part piece can be considered a U.S. premiere, Markov says, since it’s the first time his final version will be heard onstage.

“It’s like Bach meets Led Zeppelin,” he says. “It’s very Gothic at first, with a choir and organ.” In fact, both Key Chorale and the Booker High School Visual and Performing Arts choir will join him onstage. “Then,” Markov says, “the second part is more melodic and romantic, with just the electric violin and the piano. The third is very energetic and rhythmical—that’s where the rock ‘n’ roll band kicks in and the party starts. The fourth is mainly showing off the gold electric violin, and the fifth goes back to melodic violin, with an epic finish.”

This won’t be Markov’s first visit to Sarasota. When his father Albert, now 90, performed here in the late 1970s, a young Markov tagged along. Albert’s life story would make for an incredible movie, starting with emigrating from Ukraine with his mother in 1941, training with superstars of the Russian musical world and then going on to an illustrious career. He says he and his son have “always played together, since he was a child. For 20 years, I created and led a chamber orchestra, so we played duos and trios in many different states. But with the electric violin, the idea came to create something very beautiful looking and producing a big variety of sounds. And he’s had a very warm reception from the public.”
 
For more info, call (941) 306-1202 or visit artistseriesconcerts.org.