Semyon Bychkov (conductor)

Semyon Mayevich Bychkov (Russian: Семён Маевич Бычков, Russian pronunciation: [sʲɪˈmʲjon ˈmaɪvʲɪtɕ bɨtɕˈkof]; born November 30, 1952) is a Soviet-born conductor.

Biography

Childhood and studies in Russia

Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to Jewish parents, Bychkov studied at the Glinka Choir School for ten years before moving to the Leningrad Conservatory where he was a student of Ilya Musin.^[1] While at the Conservatory, Bychkov played volleyball for the Leningrad Dynamos.^[1] In 1973 he won the Rachmaninov Conducting Competition and was invited to conduct the Leningrad Philharmonic, a great honour in Soviet Russia. His family suffered from official antisemitism and he decided to leave the country.^[1]

Studies and career in the United States

In 1974, he emigrated to the United States from the Soviet Union. Bychkov attended Mannes College The New School for Music and was director of the Mannes College Orchestra.^[1] From 1980 to 1985, Semyon Bychkov served as music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and as principal guest conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his debut conducting Carmen at the New York City Opera on September 30, 1981^[2] (the run of 6 performances were his only appearances with that company). He became music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic in 1985 and held that post until 1989. On 4 July 1983, he became a United States citizen.^[3] It was during his time as Music Director of Michigan's Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra that Bychkov's name came to international attention. In 1984, following a series of high-profile cancellations that resulted in invitations to conduct the New York Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, he was signed to a 10-year recording contract with Philips Classics Records, and made his debut recording conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.^[3][4][5]

Career in Europe

From 1989 to 1998, Bychkov was music director of the Orchestre de Paris. He became Principal Guest Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, Principal Guest Conductor of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 1992, Chief Conductor of Dresden's Semperoper in 1998 and chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne in 1997.^[6] He remained in Cologne until 2010, during which time he made a series of recordings including Brahms Symphonies No. 1-4, Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 4, 7, 8, 10 and 11, Mahler Symphony No. 3, Rachmaninov The Bells and Symphonic Dances, Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben and Ein Alpensinfonie, Verdi's Requiem, as well as Richard Strauss' Elektra and Daphne and Wagner's Lohengrin which won BBC Music Magazine's Record of the Year 2010.^[7][8]

Bychkov made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2003 with a new production of Elektra^[9] and returned later that year to conduct Boris Godunov. He conducted Queen of Spades (2006), Lohengrin (2009), Don Carlos (2009), Tannhäuser (2010)^[10] and La bohème at Covent Garden, and Boris Godunov (2004) and Otello (2007) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In Italy, Bychkov conducted Tosca (1996) and Elektra at La Scala, Milan; a new production of Don Carlo in Torino (2006); and numerous productions at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, including award-winning productions of Jenůfa (1993), Schubert's Fierrabras (1995) and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1997). Bychkov made his Paris Opera debut with Ballo in maschera (2007) and returned to conduct Tristan und Isolde (2009); and in Vienna he has conducted Elektra (2000), Tristan und Isolde (2001), Daphne (2003) and Lohengrin (2005), as well as Der Rosenkavalier (2005) at the Salzburg Festival.^[8]

2012 marks Bychkov’s 60th year which he will celebrate with performances with the Vienna Philharmonic in Vienna and Tel Aviv.^[11] In 2012, he assumed the newly created Günter Wand Conducting Chair with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.^[12] During 2012-13 he will also conduct Verdi’s Otello at the Metropolitan Opera,^[13] as well as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall,^[14] and concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra,^[15] Moscow Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Japan,^[16] Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,^[17] and San Francisco Symphony.^[18]

Semyon Bychkov holds the Otto Klemperer Chair of Conducting Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.^[19][1]

Personal life

Bychkov is married to the pianist Marielle Labèque. His brother was the conductor Yakov Kreizberg.^[1]

Selected discography

References

External links

• Semyon Bychkov official website
• Semyon Bychkov (conductor) at AllMusic
• Article 'Semyon Bychkov - The Maestro of Cologne'