Maxim Emelyanychev
A flash of light has arrived to brighten up Scotland’s music scene, and his name is Maxim Emelyanychev.
MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV
PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR
Early career
An outstanding representative of the younger generation of Russian conductors, Maxim Emelyanychev was born in 1988 to a family of musicians. He received his music education in his home city Nizhny Novgorod (conducting and piano) and in Gennady Rozhdestvensky’s conducting class at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Shortly after his conducting debut at the age of 12, he was invited to conduct by several of the international baroque and symphonic orchestras in Russia. Then, in 2013, he became the Principal Conductor of the historically informed orchestra Il Pomo d’Oro and Principal Conductor of the Nizhny-Novgorod Soloists Chamber Orchestra.
In 2014, he conducted Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Sevilla and these critically acclaimed performances were swiftly followed by a series of symphonic guest engagements in Europe.
2016 / 2021
Highlights of the 2016/17 Season were a major international tour conducting Il Pomo d’Oro Orchestra with Joyce DiDonato, debuting at the Opernhaus Zürich in Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail, and debuting at the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Maxim continues to return to the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse each year, conducting three concerts for them annually.
In the 2017/18 Season, in addition to his fourth visit to Toulouse and to the Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla, Maxim made his debut with the following orchestras: Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano LaVerdi, Orchestre National de Belgique, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Bordeaux and the Saint-Petersburg Symphony.
Highlights of the 2018/19 Season included his debut with the Antwerpen Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic orchestras. Maxim also joined Il Pomo d’Oro for a three week tour of Asia and the Middle East with Joyce DiDonato.
In the 2019/20 Season, Maxim became the Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In the same Season he also conducted the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at two of the major international opera institutions: the Glyndebourne Festival (Handel Rinaldo, with Jakub Orlinski in the title role) and the Royal Opera House (Handel Agrippina, with Joyce DiDonato in the title role). He also returned to the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Other engagements included the Berliner Konzerhausorchester, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Latvian Symphony Orchestra, the Real Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria and the Seattle Symphony. He also won the Young Talent Award 2019 of the Music Section of the Critics’ Circle.
2020/21 Season engagements include conducting the opera of the Geneva Grand Theatre in Mozart’s Clemenza di Tito and the Toulouse Théâtre du Capitole in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro. Debuts with the Orchestre de Paris, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Münchner Philharmoniker, the London Philharmonic, the Luxembourg Philharmonic, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Accademia Nazionale of Santa Cecilia Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebourw Orchestra, the Hessischer Rundfunk Frankfurt Orchestra, the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra, and returning to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Recordings
With the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Maxim has recorded the Schubert Symphony No.9 - the symphony with which he made his debut with the orchestra - which was released on Linn Records in November 2019.
He has also recorded several CDs for Warner Classics at the head of his orchestra Il Pomo d’Oro, including an album of Haydn symphonies and concertos and In War and Peace, Harmony through music with Joyce DiDonato, which won the 2017 Gramophone Award.
For the label Aparté he has recorded a solo CD of Mozart Sonatas on fortepiano which won a Choc de Classica 2018 and the ICMA 2019, and a Beethoven Symphony No 3/ Brahms Haydn Variations CD with the Nizhny-Novgorod Soloists Chamber Orchestra.
Awards
Maxim was awarded The Golden Mask for his participation in 2013 as the forte pianist in a stage production of Nozze di Figaro at the Perm Opera Theatre conducted by Teodor Currentzis (Sony Classical). In April 2019, he received an international Opera Award in the Newcomer category for his performances with Il Pomo d’Oro, Joyce DiDonato and Franco Fagioli. He also won the 2019 Young Talent Award of the Music Section of the Critics’ Circle.
Regular collaborations
Maxim regularly collaborates with renowned artists such as Max Emanuel Cencic, Patrizia Ciofi, Joyce DiDonato, Franco Fagioli, Richard Goode, Sophie Karthäuser, Stephen Hough, Katia et Marielle Labèque, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Julia Lezhneva, Alexei Lubimov, Riccardo Minasi, Xavier Sabata and Dmitry Sinkovsky.
SCO 6th Principal Conductor
At the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, he follows in the footsteps of just five previous Principal Conductors in the Orchestra’s 46 year history; Roderick Brydon (1974-1983), Jukka-Pekka Saraste (1987-1991), Ivor Bolton (1994-1996), Joseph Swensen (1996-2005) and Robin Ticciati (2009-2018).
The orchestra played out of their skins for him, showing just how much they have bonded already … we should all be excited about what they have in store.
He is dynamic, energetic and exciting to watch, exhilarating for musicians and audience alike
Scottish music-lovers have something special in store. They need to wake up and savour the talent.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra completely embraced Emelyanychev’s enthusiasm and responded with vigour. It is going to be a very exciting partnership to watch.
It’s time for Scottish audiences to buckle their seatbelts: Emelyanychev’s tenure is going to be an exciting ride.