Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio Orchestras and Tours

Vladimir Fedoseyev

Vladimir Fedoseyev was born in St Petersburg and studied in Moscow at the Gnesins Musical Academy and then at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Professor Leo Ginzburg. In 1971 he was invited by the legendary Evgeny Mravinsky to guest conduct the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. Such was the success of this concert that many invitations followed and Fedoseyev’s conducting career was launched.

In 1974 Fedoseyev became Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, now known as the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra. During a period of almost 30 years in this role he has formed a very special relationship with the musicians and developed a distinctive profile for the Orchestra. Under his leadership the Orchestra has made many successful tours of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Great Britain, Spain, the USA, South America, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Australia.

Vladimir Fedoseyev was Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to the end of 2004 and toured extensively with them around the world, as well as conducting them regularly in Vienna at the Musikverein and at the Konzerthaus. Highlights of his time with the Vienna Symphony were his outstanding performances of Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, Verdi’s Requiem, and a complete cycle of Beethoven’s symphonic works at the Musikverein which culminated in a performance of the Missa Solemnis. He will be back in the Musikverein and Konzerthaus to celebrate the Shostakovich centenary, and also the 75^th anniversary of his Moscow orchestra.

During recent years Maestro Fedoseyev has, as guest conductor worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Bayerischer Rundfunk, Köln Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berlin Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle (where he conducts every season) and all the major orchestras in Paris. He enjoys a fine reputation in Japan and in 1996 was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

A highly acclaimed operatic conductor, Fedoseyev is Principal Guest Conductor at the Zurich Opera where his performances of Verdi’s Attila, Un Ballo in Maschera and Otello, Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar, and Mussorgsky’s Khovanschina have been among his major successes. Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin in 2004 was hailed as an outstanding triumph by audiences and critics alike. Vladimir Fedoseyev will return to Zurich in May 2005 to conduct the premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar's Bride, a new ballet choreographed by Heinz Spoerli featuring Mahler’s music, and later in the year Shostakovich’s Katerina Ismailova.

Other notable operatic engagements have included Rubenstein’s Demon at the Bregenz Festival in 1997 and L’Amore dei Tre Re by Montemezzi in 1998. He has conducted at La Scala, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Rome and Bologna. In summer 2003 Maestro Fedoseyev conducted a new production of Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen and the premiere of Massenet’s Don Quichotte.

Future engagements include concerts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for the reopening of the historic Salle Pleyel in Paris, debuts with the Cleveland Symphony, Detroit Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony, concert versions of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta in Lisbon and Lugano, as well as extensive European tours with the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra.

Amongst Fedoseyev’s numerous recordings, his discography encompasses the symphonies, operas and ballets of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Brahms and Beethoven. His recordings of the Mahler Symphonies No. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 9 are being released throughout the 2004/5 season.

In 1996 Fedoseyev was awarded the prestigious Russian award for “Services to the Motherland” and the same year he received from the Austrian Republic the Silver Cross for his services to culture in Austria. In 2002 the City and Federal State of Vienna presented him with its highest honour, the Gold Star, and honorary citizenship.