YURI TEMIRKANOV became the artistic director and chief conductor of St.Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra in 1988. Looking back into Temirkanov’s early career, a key event was his victory at the 2nd National Conductors’ Competition in 1966. From that moment onwards, Temirkanov, a graduate student of the Leningrad Conservatory (class of Professor Ilia Musin) overnight entered the ranks of the most sought-after conductors of his generation. Together with Kirill Kondrashin and David Oistrakh he toured internationally and performed with orchestras from the US, France and Germany. In early 1967 Temirkanov conducted a concert in the Philharmonic Hall and after this performance Evgeny Mravinsky offered him the position of assistant conductor. From 1968 the maestro was head of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonia. He widened the orchestra’s repertoire and took them on tour to Europe, Japan and the US.

In 1976 Temirkanov became the artistic director and chief conductor of the Kirov (Mariinsky) Theatre. Here he created classic productions of «War and Peace» by Prokofiev, «Eugene Onegin» and «Queen of Spades» by Tchaikovsky as well as and «Peter I» by Petrov and «Dead Souls» by Shchedrin. At this time Kirov also started actively performing abroad. The theatre toured the US, Japan and many countries of Europe, including England, for the first time in history. Temirkanov initiated symphony concerts by the theatre orchestra both in Russia and abroad.

In the same period Temirkanov began his collaboration with many world famous orchestras. In 1978 Temirkanov worked for the first time with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1992 becomes its chief conductor. From 1992 until 1997 he was also principal guest conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. In 1998 he moved from the RPO to Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra where he remains principal guest conductor. For 6 seasons (in 2000 -2006) Temirkanov was the chief conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and from 2007-2008 he is principal guest conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre.

The main focus, however, of his career for almost 20 years has been the St.Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. The Maestro regularly performs in St.Petersburg to conduct the traditional opening and closing concerts of the season. He also tours extensively with the orchestra and took them to NY in 2005 for the concert in the UN General Assembly in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of the second world war. Under the direction of Temirkanov, St.Petersburg Philharmonic became the first Russian orchestra to perform at the opening concerts of the season in Carnegie Hall.

Temirkanov’s activities have been recognized by numerous awards and titles. Yuri Temirkanov holds the title of the People’s Artist of the USSR, he has received several State Awards and Orders (including the Order of Merit of the 2nd grade). The year of his 65th anniversary brought to Temirkanov the President of Russia award and the Abbiati award, The Best Conductor of the Year. Last season the maestro was elected Honorary Member of the Academy of Santa Cecilia and was honoured by the government of St. Petersburg.

Despite the intensity of his concert schedule, Temirkanov has made the preservation and nurturing of St. Petersburg’s spiritual and cultural inheritance the subject of an International Foundation for Cultural Initiatives in his name. In 1998 he created the Temirkanov award for talented young musicians, granted annually to outstanding students both of the Musical School of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and of the Conservatory itself.

In 1999 Temirkanov founded a new international winter festival in «Arts Square», from which the festival takes it’s name. This series of prestigious concerts which runs from the end of December into January, presenting the world’s greatest soloists with the orchestra, has become a cultural highlight of life in St Petersburg.

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