Yuri Temirkanov

Conductor Yuri Temirkanov was born in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia on December 10, 1938. The son of the Minister of Culture of the Soviet Union, he grew up surrounded by artists who had taken refuge in Naltchik during the second World War. He studied the violin and attended the Leningrad School for Talented Children, where he also learned to play the viola. He became interested in conducting and studied under Ilya Musin and Nikolai Rabinovitch. After graduation, he won the National Conducting Competition, which led to him becoming conductor and pianist Yevgeny Mravinsky's assistant at the Leningrad Philharmonic. In 1968, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the re-named Leningrad Symphony and retained that position until 1976. He then became musical director of the Kirov Opera and Ballet while also touring internationally and conducting other ensembles including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Orchester national de France , the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1988, Yuri Temirkanov became the artistic director and chief conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. When the Soviet – Afghan War ended in 1988, he became the first Soviet artist to perform in the US after cultural relations finally resumed. Yuri Temirkanov served as music director for the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Royal Philharmonic. His recorded legacy included acclaimed releases such as Khachaturian: Spartacus - Gayaneh (Suites from the Ballets) (1986), Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 (1990), Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6 (1994), Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky (1995), Shostakovich/Prokofiev: On Guard for Peace (1998), Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 "Babi Yaar" (2008), Russian Composing School: Andrei Petrov (2011), Yuri Temirkanov Conducts Tchaïkovski (2016), and Verdi: Messa da Requiem (2018). During his lifetime, he was the recipient of the Order of Lenin (1983), the Order of Merit for the Russian Fatherland (2003) and Commander of the Order of the Star of Italy (2012). He also won State Prize for the Russian Federation in 1999 and the Russian Federation President Prize in Literature and Art (2002). Yuri Temirkanov died on November 2, 2023, at the age of 84.

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