St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra

The history of the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra began in 1882 when Alexander III decreed the establishment of the Imperial Music Choir. Transformed into the Court Orchestra at the beginning of the 20th century, the orchestra gave the first Russian performances of Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben and Thus spake Zarathustra, Mahler's First Symphony, Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy, and Stravinsky’s First Symphony.

Nikish and R Strauss have both conducted the orchestra. In 1917 the Court Orchestra became the State Orchestra, headed by Koussevitzky, and in 1921, the orchestra was incorporated into the newly founded Petrograd Philharmonia, the first of its kind in the country. Outstanding Russian musicians tested their conducting skills with the orchestra, and legendary Western conductors including Weingartner, Fried, Kleiber, Monteux and Klemperer have all performed with them, as well as soloists such as Horowitz and Prokofiev. The orchestra has mastered a vast contemporary repertoire, and major premieres include Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony and Shostakovich’s First Symphony.

1938 ushered in the ‘Age of Mravinsky’ - years of hard work, which earned the orchestra a place among the most prominent orchestras in the world. In 1946 the orchestra embarked on its first foreign trip, giving the first overseas symphonic performances in the country’s history. This was followed by regular tours around the world, performing at the most prestigious European festivals. Mravinsky and the orchestra performed five Shostakovich's symphonies for the first time. Great artists who have worked with the orchestra include conductors Jansons, Maazel, Mehta, Mazur and Rozhdestvensky; composers Britten, Copland, Kodály, Lutosławski, Berio and Penderecki, and soloists van Cliburn, Gould, Michelangeli, Stern, Richter and Oistrakh.

Yuri Temirkanov has led the orchestra since 1988. Plans for 2016/2017 include collaborations with such conductors as Venzago, Casadesus, Marin, Sinaisky, Sanderling , and soloists Matsuev, Buchbinder, Lugansky, Argerich, Fischer, Khachatryan and Kutcher.

Artistic Director & Chief Conductor: Yuri Temirkanov

Yuri Temirkanov has led the orchestra since 1988. Plans for 2016/2017 include collaborations with such conductors as Venzago, Casadesus, Marin, Sinaisky, Sanderling , and soloists Matsuev, Buchbinder, Lugansky, Argerich, Fischer, Khachatryan and Kutcher.Since 1988 Yuri Temirkanov has been Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he regularly undertakes major international tours and recordings.

He studied at the Leningrad School for Talented Children and the Leningrad Conservatory, and after winning the All-Soviet Conducting Competition in 1966 toured Europe and the USA with David Oistrakh and the Moscow Philharmonic.

He made his debut with the SPPO in 1967, then joined the orchestra as Assistant Conductor to Yevgeny Mravinsky. In 1968 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until his appointment as Music Director of the Kirov Opera and Ballet (now the Mariinsky Theatre) in 1976.

Maestro Temirkanov has appeared with leading European orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and La Scala, Milan.

In 1979  he was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and was then Principal Conductor from 1992-1998. Other positions include Principal Guest Conductor, Dresden Philharmonic (1992-1997); Principal Guest Conductor, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (1998-2008); Music Director, Baltimore Symphony (2000-2006); Principal Guest Conductor, Bolshoi Theatre (until 2009), and Music Director, Teatro Regio di Parma (2010-2012).

Recordings include collaborations with the SPPO, New York Philharmonic, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the RPO.

For 12 days over Christmas Maestro Temirkanov hosts the annual International Winter Festival Arts Square in St Petersburg.

Awards include the Order For Merit for the Country in all four degrees; the Abbiati Prize for Best Conductor (2003, 2007); Conductor of the Year (Italy, 2003);  Honorary Academician of Santa Cecilia; Commander of the Order of the Star of Italy (2012); the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize (2014); the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan, 2015); Una vita nella musica Prize (Italy), and Honorary Conductor of the Academia Santa Cecilia Choir and Orchestra (2015).

Pianist: Boris Berezovsky

Boris Berezovsky is often invited to the most prestigious international recital series in London, Paris, Rome, Zurich, Munich, Salzburg, Amsterdam, Montréal, Vienna, Bern, Budapest and Tokyo; at the Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw International, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Paris Philharmonie, Royal Festival Hall in London, Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Megaron in Athens… In 2006, he was awarded "Best Instrumentalist of the year" by the BBC Music Magazine Awards.

Boris Berezovsky is regularly invited to numerous Festivals such as the Gstaad, La Roque d'Anthéron, Verbier, Bergamo, Brescia and Salzburg festivals. He is also invited by the most prominent orchestras including the National de France Orchestra, Dallas, Bolchoï and Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Santa Cecilia Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra… He performed with conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Yuri Temirkanov, Alexander Vedernikov, Leif Segsertam, Dmitri Kitaenko, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Dimitri Liss and Kurt Masur…

Boris Berezovsky plays chamber music with Vadim Repin, Julian Rachlin, Alexandre Gindin, Michael Collins, Henri Demarquette, Alexandre Melnikov, Dmitri Makhtin and Alexander Kniazev, and Borodine, Britten, Endellion and Takacs quartets. For many years, he was the faithful partner of Brigitte Engerer, for recordings as well as on stage.

Boris Berezovsky recorded at Teldec Classics International, Philips, Simax and Warner Classics pieces by Chopin, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Liadov, Tchaïkovsky, Shostakovitch, Medtner, Liszt, Beethoven and Mendelssohn trios with Dmitri Makhtin and Alexander Kniazev. For most of his recordings, he received Diapason d'or, Choc de la Musique, Gramophone, Echo Classic…awards.

In 2014 he was appointed Artistic Director of the "Music of the Earth" Festival in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Born in Moscow in 1969, Boris Berezovsky studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Eliso Virsaladze and privately with Alexander Satz. He made a stunning debut in London in 1988 at the Wigmore Hall and in 1990 won the Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow where he played with Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yuri Temirkanov.

In 1991 Boris Berezovsky made his American debut at Fort Worth in Texas and in France at the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris.

Future highlights in 2016/2017 include recitals at Carnegie Hall in New-York, Royal Festival Hall in London, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, Moscow Conservatory, Bratislava Festival… and tours with St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Yuri Temirkanov, Philharmonia Orchestra…