The conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St.Petersburg Philharmonia, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation Vladimir Altschuler joined the orchestra in 1969 as viola player, one year before graduating from the Leningrad Conservatory (class of Yuri Kramarov, viola). In 1972 he created the Philharmonic String Orchestra and in 1982 became the leader of a viola section. At the same time, he began to study conducting and entered the department of opera and symphony conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory under professor Alexander Dmitriev, the chief conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra. In 1984 Vladimir Altschuler made his conducting debut.The same year he became an assistant conductor of the Academic Symphony orchestra.

Since 1994 Altschuler holds the post of conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra. With this orchestra he has performed all the symphonies by Bruckner, Händel's oratorio “Saul”, “Orpheus” by Monteverdi (an authentic version) for the first time in Russia. A subject of the conductor’s special interest is the music of the XX century. Thanks to Maestro Altschuler, St.Petersburg heard for the first time the «Child of our Time» by Tippet and «Bernauerin», the musical drama by Orff. He conducted the premières of the music by G. Ustvolskaya, Y. Falik, V. Basner and other St.Petersburg, Russian and foreign composers. The conductor actively tours in Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, the Baltic countries and the Republic of Korea.

The musician is also keen on scientific research – his PhD art history dissertation is dedicated to the history, theory and practice of conducting. But the Academic Symphony orchestra takes principal place in his life. Noteworthy is the fact that at the 70th anniversary's concert of the ensemble there were three conductors leading the ensemble: Yuri Temirkanov, Alexander Dmitriev and Vladimir Altschuler. 

For several years Maestro Altschuler has taught the quartet class of the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory; currently he teaches a class of symphony conducting.

During the 2011-2012 season under his baton will take place performances of Slonimsky's recital with the premiere of his Thirteenth Symphony. Traditionally diverse program of the conductor includes works by Weber, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Franck, R.Strauss, Moussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Mahler, Falik. Under his baton there will also be the traditional New Year’s Eve Concert at the Philharmonia.