Evgeny Svetlanov

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Evgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (September 6, 1928 - May 3, 2002) was a conductor and composer.

He was born in Moscow and studied conducting at the conservatory there. From 1955 he conducted at the Bolshoi Theatre, being appointed principal conductor there in 1962. From 1965 he was principal conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra (now the Russian State Symphony Orchestra). In 1979 he was appointed principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

In 2000 Svetlanov was fired from his post with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra by Vladimir Putin's minister of culture, Mikhail Shvydkoi. The reason given was that Svetlanov was spending too much time conducting abroad and not enough time in Moscow. [1]

Svetlanov was particularly noted for his interpretations of Russian works - he covered the whole range of Russian music, from Mikhail Glinka to the present day.

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Preceded by
Alexander Melik-Pashayev
Music Director, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
1963–1965
Succeeded by
Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Preceded by
Konstantin Ivanov
Music Director, State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation
1965–2000
Succeeded by
Mark Gorenstein
Preceded by
Hans Vonk
Chief Conductor, Het Residentie Orkest
1992–2000
Succeeded by
Jaap van Zweden
Preceded by
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Principal Conductor, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
1997–1999
Succeeded by
Manfred Honeck