Alde Alsanov is the current first violinist and lead administrator of the Ohmo Conservatory of Music. A virtuoso since childhood, he has made headlines with controversial views and accusations of pederasty. He is most famous for his emotional use of thutha (a pitch sliding from one note to another).
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Early Life
Alde was born somewhere in the south-eastern tip of Vael. At the time, the genetic conflicts were ravaging the area and he, along with his parents, fled from Marcwith entirely. By his early adolescence he was preforming in the street to subsidize his parent's income. He played a handmade erhu-like instrument that caught the attention of a local luthier in DaoBsk. Alde claimed that he learned more from working with luthiers than with famed musicians, and by his mid-teens had accomplished significant fame locally. At this point, he became engaged to his first wife, Sulaminth Henrik. Both grew up in a strictly Echtoan household, but otherwise, little is known of this union. Similarly, the names of his first teachers, the apprentices and master luthiers, have been protected by Alde in honor of their privacy. According to rumor, the famed artist Jewe Grayham was one of his principal mentors. Many recognize a similarity between Alde's early style and Jewe's characteristic 'emotional music' that she pioneered at the time.
Career
By age twenty-one, Alde was divorced and penniless. He gave up on familial ambitions in favor of his music career. He auditioned for the famed Ohmo Conservatory of Music eight times before he was accepted; the classical establishment did not care for his overly dramatic style nor his penchant for improvisation. "I was a rock-star personality in a composure's body, and they didn't like it." Alde stated in an interview. "I think that back then, they saw I was desperate and thought I would grow out of my male bravado. Unfortunately, the two [circumstances] were unrelated, and I only became more of an asshole." After his acceptance to the Conservatory, Alde immediately immersed himself into a higher socioeconomic environment than he had ever known. Young and single, he gained the reputation of a ladies' man among the social elite. At this time, he polished an immaculate personal style that he would later be famous for. His technique changed dramatically over his first few years at the OCoM. Aficionados note a drastic decline from the heavy emotional style of Gayham - a style many referred to a 'overtly feminine' - to a more classical and controlled style common to the Conservatory of Music. He never did conform completely to national standard, however. Both his greatest critics and his greatest fans will point out that Alde retained the roots of his training in string instruments as "a provincial player of folk-tunes". Lively displays of experimental technique (often used in common in pub or tavern music) still peppered the more controlled sound of his solos in his early OCoM career.
In spite of, or perhaps due to, his widely mixed reception, Alde quickly became a public figure. At this point his talent and dedication were unrivaled in the OCoM. Even those who did not approve of his background, his technique, or his arrogance could not deny his obsessive focus on personal improvement. This period of growth is considered the greatest years of Alde's musical careers.
Fame
After his promotion to first chair in the OCoM, Alde's eccentricities became the forefront of his fame. Audiences were drawn to see the man who had once claimed he would live forever, and the Conservatory took this media influence to an extreme. Soon, Alde had become wealthy not only from performances but as a famous personality. He quickly used his wealth and influence to take control over much of the conservatory's doings. Within the first year of his position as administrator, he had established a school and brought many of the world's foremost scholars to give lectures on Conservatory grounds. He also employed a private team of luthiers, whom he continues to give credit for his musical artistry.
Controversy
Unfortunately, Alde's school became the center of a flourishing rumor mill. Alde's arrogant, flamboyant, and occasionally abrasive personality led some critics to question his desire to gather young people around him. Despite the Conservatory student population being 73% female, accusations of pederasty with male students began to circulate. Without any victims coming forward and no evidence to indicate foul play nothing came of these rumors until the arrival of the missing boy Oliver Cassava. Oliver, who had been kidnapped from a long term care unit in Lath, appeared several weeks later in the company of Adle. The boy, who had been living in an induced coma for a seizure disorder, appeared miraculously cured. The claims of molestation stirred up once again, although the boy himself made no complaints. Several days after his appearance the fifteen-year-old was transported back to his parents in Lath, where he immediately fell ill once more. A violent seizure caused his parents to reconsider their opinion of Alde. They neglected to file charges against him and instead, moved to Ohmo to continue what he claimed was 'holistic treatment'. Vicious rumors surfaced once more, claiming that the musician was hoping to purchase a 'sex slave' from a needy family. Although the family faced much scrutiny by the media, they continued to allow their son to stay at the Conservatory where he regained consciousness after only a few days.