Maxim Emelyanychev
Biography
An outstanding representative of the younger generation of Russian conductors, Maxim Emelyanychev was born in 1988 into 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.
Early Career
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.
International Collaborations
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.
Highlights of the 2016/17 season feature 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 2017/18, 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.
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.
The 2019/20 season as particularly important for Maxim who became the Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 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.
Forthcoming 2020/21 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
Maxim has recorded several CDs for Warner Classics at the head of his orchestra Il Pomo d’Oro, among which a Haydn symphonies and concertos album and “In War and Peace, Harmony through music” with Joyce DiDonato which won the Gramophone Classical Music Award 2017.
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.
With the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, he has recorded Schubert Symphony No.9 – the symphony with which he made his debut with the orchestra – which was released on Linn Records in November 2019 and awarded 5 stars by the Guardian, The Times and The Scotsman.
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.
The inspirational conductor, Maxim Emelyanychev, is a man on springs: he directs from the keyboard with manic intensity, alert to every rhythmic nuance in the score, urging his players on like a coachman driving a team of mane-tossing thoroughbreds. The results are truly exciting.
Stephen Pritchard, Backtrack (2018)
If response and virtuosity is any guide, the SCO is already mesmerised by its new maestro, because the playing here was exhilarating from first note to last.
Richard Morrison, The Times (2018)
Maxim Emelyanychev is the superbly resourceful and stylish conductor.
Barry Millington, Evening Standard (2019)