Yuri SIMONOV
(Conductor)

Yuri SIMONOV was born in Saratov, studied in Leningrad with Rabinovich and assisted Mravinsky at the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his debut at the Leningrad Conservatoire conducting The Mermaid by Dargomizhsky. Following first prize in the Santa Cecilia Conductors' Competition in Rome in 1968, he made his debut at the Bolshoi opera (Aida) in 1969 and was immediately appointed Chief Conductor (1970 - 85). Highlights of this period included the re-introduction of Wagner to the repertoire and several memorable tours which he led to Paris, Japan, Vienna, New York, Milan and Washington. He also regularly conducted the Leningrad and Moscow Philharmonic and USSR State orchestra including foreign tours.

In 1982 he made his debut with a Western operatic company, conducting Eugene Onegin at Covent Garden, and also made his British concert debut, conducting London Symphony orchestra. Since then, he has given numerous further concerts with the LSO in London and on tour including a Tchaikovsky cycle at the Barbican Hall. In October 1986, he opened the season at the Royal Opera House conducting La Traviata. There followed debuts with the Philharmonia with whom he also toured to Belgium, Hong Kong and Australia, the Royal Philharmonic (in London and Paris), and London Philharmonic orchestras.

Further debuts followed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Opera (Don Carlo with Domingo), San Francisco Opera (Khovanshchina), Florence Opera (with Salome), Genoa (Cosi fan Tutte), Paris Opera Bastille (Pique Dame), Marseille Opera (La Forza del Destino), Hamburg State Opera (Don Carlo), made concert tours all over Europe and to Argentina, Mexico and Japan (NHK) and conducted further Wagner performances (Tannhaeuser, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and Der Fliegende Hollaender) in Budapest. Since 1994, he has been Musical Director of the Belgian National Orchestra and is now Guest Conductor at the Hungarian State Opera.

He has recorded with the Bolshoi company for Melodia, for Collins Classics with the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic and the Philharmonia, the Royal Philharmonic for Tring and with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for EMI.

In 96/97 he conducted the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and Montreal Symphony and led the first tour of the UK by the Belgian National Orchestra. At the beginning of the 1997/8 season he reappeared with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and toured his own orchestra to Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

In 1998 he became Chief Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Guest Conductor of the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra in addition to his position with the Belgian National Orchestra. Future plans include international tours with his orchestras, reappearances in Japan with the NHK Symphony and performances of the completed Ring in Budapest.