Ignat Solzhenitsyn

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Ignat Solzhenitsyn is an American conductor and pianist who is the music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. He is a son of famed Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

He joined the Orchestra in 1994, while still a student at the Curtis Institute of Music. He served as Assistant Conductor and then as Associate Conductor, before being appointed Principal Conductor in 1998. Over his years as conductor, he has led the Orchestra to program more works from the late Classical and early Romantic periods, as well as twentieth-century works. He became musical director in January 2004.

The Washington Post characterized him as “an interpreter of probing intellect as well as an avid risk taker.” Ignat Solzhenitsyn was a 1994 winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and since 2004 has been on the piano faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Born in the Soviet Union but leaving there at a very young age due to his father's exile, Ignat made his debut appearance as a concert pianist at the age of 11, performing with the Vermont Professional Orchestra in Brattleboro in his home state of Vermont (see [1]).

In 2000, he performed as a pianist on tour with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and gained some favorable notices (see [2]).