Guest Conductor
One of Russia's foremost conductors, Alexander Lazarev studied with Leo Ginsbourg at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating with first-class honors. In 1971 he won first prize in the Soviet Union's national competition for conductors, and the following year went on to take top honors in the Karajan Competition in Berlin.
From 1987 to 1995 Mr. Lazarev served as chief conductor and artistic director of the Bolshoi Theatre, the first person in more than 30 years to hold both positions concurrently. Under his leadership the Bolshoi Opera pursued an unprecedented program of foreign tours, including Tokyo (1989), La Scala, Milan (1989), the Edinburgh Festival (1990 and 1991), and the Metropolitan Opera (1991). Several productions, including Glinka's A Life for the Tsar, Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Mlada, were filmed for video. During this time the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra made a number of highly acclaimed recordings for Erato, including such milestones of the Russian symphonic repertoire as Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2 and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8. He now holds the title of Conductor-in-Residence.
From 1992 to 1995 Mr. Lazarev was principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. From 1997 to 2005 he served as principal conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, where he conducted the complete cycle of Shostakovich symphonies. In recent years Mr. Lazarev has been a regular guest with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, appearing with them in London, Paris, and Vienna. Other orchestras he has conducted include the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre National de France, Oslo Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, NHK Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, and London Philharmonic, and he has appeared with opera companies including the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Arena di Verona, Opéra Bastille, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Bavarian State Opera, and Netherlands Opera.
His repertoire is particularly enterprising in its scope, ranging from the 18th century to the avant-garde. In 1978 he founded the Ensemble of Soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre, whose most important aim was the programming and wide dissemination of contemporary music by both Soviet and foreign composers.
Mr. Lazarev is a prolific recording artist, appearing on such labels as Erato, Melodiya, Virgin Classics, Sony Classical, Hyperion, BMG, BIS, and Linn Records. Since 2008 he has served as principal conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. His work with the orchestra is extensively represented on Octavia Records.