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Recent events

June 23 to July 5, 2018 – The 4-th Moscow Master-Course (please look at Master Classes page)
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On 25 May 2018, also in Saratov, Maestro conducted the “Prince Igor” by Borodin at Sobinov Festival.

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On 17 April 2018, in home town Saratov, Maestro gave his Prize to this year best student-graduate of the Central music school which he was a graduate back in 1956. The recipient – fifteen years old cellist Maria Klimenko.

Also, earlier that day, Maestro gave a master-class to the Orchestra of Saratov State Music Conservatory.

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Guest conducting the San Carlo Theater Orchestra in Naples marked 50-years-occasion of Maestro’s triumph in Roma - winning the Fifth Santa Cecilia conductors competition in 1968.

“The programme was guided by the excellent Yuri Simonov, a conductor of first-class vintage style, and harbinger of a culture unhampered by irrational intellectual biases… two works made a rare outing, the Symphony No. 26 (‘Lamentation’) by Haydn and the ‘Russian Easter Festival Overture’ by Rimsky-Korsakov. Majestically directed by an artist seeped in the spirit of the grand overture… [the Rimsky-Korsakov] was the high point of the evening… This concert was certainly one of the highlights of the Theatre’s symphonic season.” – Massimo Lo Jacono, ROMA

The soloist for Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto was Esther Yoo.

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“Two in one” concert on 4 March 2018, was dedicated to Maestro’s 77-th birthday and “20 years together” with MPO. The concert program included “Eine kleine Nachtmusic” by Mozart, Triple Concerto by Beethoven and First symphony by Brahms. (And sweet pastry – afterwards!)

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The China/S.Korea tour of MPO was in November 2017 and took Maestro and the Orchestra to Guanchgou, Hong-Kong, Seoul and Daegu. The concerts in Shenjen and Chinju were conducted by Yuri Botnari.

The soloists were famous Lu Shikun and Sergei Krylov.

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Maestro Simonov was a guest conductor to the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nizhny-Novgorod and played all-Shostakovich-program on 3 November 2017 – in order to celebrate the 110 anniversary of the great composer (1906 - 1975).

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In October 2017, Maestro and MPO visited the Ural region city Cheliabinsk.

Beside a regular concert at the Philharmony, they played a special educational concert at Ural Univercity.

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MPO’s Japan tour was from 28 June to 9 July 2017.
Maestro Yuri Simonov led 7 concerts (in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Mito, Musashino, Nerima, Osaka) and Maestro Yuri Botnari led 4 concerts (Niigata, Fukuoka, Iwakuni, Miyadzaki).

UK tour of 16 concerts took place from 10 to 30 May 2017 and it ended first time in Dublin

Yuri Simonov name prize was awarded to Liza IVANOVA, the graduate of Saratov Central Music School on 29 April 2017

29 April 2017 - the Second master class for the Orchestra of Saratov Conservatoire

Maestro Simonov was invited to lead the 10th Orchestra Academy of two biggest music high schools of Switzerland – Zurich High School for Arts and Geneva Conservatoire. The Third Symphony by Gliere was chosen for this big event.

November 2016 – Saratov – 100-year-jubilee of music school

October 2016 – Hong-Kong

June 2016 – concerts in Kaliningrad, Svetlogorsk and Yaroslavl

March 2016 – Jubilee concert in Saratov

March 2016 – Jubilee concert in Moscow – «Yuri Simonov 75»

November 2015 – Second All-Russian Conductors Competition.

February 2015 – two programs with Symphonic Orchestra of India (SOI) in Mumbai.

December 2014 - opening of Virtual Concert Hall.

November 2014 – opening of new Concert Hall.

2nd Moscow International Master Class for young conductors took place at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall from 26June to 8 July 2014.

For more information, please look at Master-classes page.

One more UK tour took place during May 2014 with concerts in 17 cities (M* Simonov - 9 concerts and M* Botnari – 8 concerts)

In the season 2013/14 Maestro Simonov conducted:

George Enescu Philharmonic (Bucharest) Savaria Philharmonic Sofia Philharmonic Croatian Radio and TV Orchestra (Zagreb)

1^st Moscow International Master Class for young conductors took place at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall from 5 to 17 July 2013.

For more information, please look at Master-classes page.

The Order “For the services to the Fatherland”

On 28 July 2011 during the award-giving-ceremony in the Kremlin, Maestro Simonov was decorated with the Order “For the services to the Fatherland”

Jubilee tours

The year 2011 is filled with jubilee tours all around the world. Started with New Year concerts in China, it was continued in Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, with UK and Korea coming in the autumn.

70 Jubilee

Maestro turned 70 in March 2011. He celebrated it with a special jubilee program in Moscow Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. The program consisted of Dvorak’s Symphony 9 “From the New World” in first part and Wagner’s Prelude to “Tristan and Isolde” plus Stravinsky’s Suite “The Firebird” (1919).

Two greeting-telegrams from the President Dmitry Medvedev and from the Prime-minister Vladimir Putin were being announced before the concert by the minister for Culture Mr. Alexander Avdeyev.

The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra met the New Year 2011 in China.

They played three New Year Concerts: two in Beijing (under baton of Maestro Simonov) and on in Tianjin

(under baton of Maestro Botnari).

On 18 December 2010, at Moscow Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Maestro Simonov and MPO gave a World Premiere

of Sergey Slonimsky’s Symphony No. 27. The composer himself was present at premiere.

In May 2009 MPO performed six concerts on

Spain

tour, under batons of maestro Yuri Simonov and maestro Iurii Botnari.

In November 2008 MPO made a nine-concert-tour to Japan. They performed in Tokyo, Shizuoka, Yamagata, Fukushima, Iwate and Aomori. One of the concerts was in Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall with famous soprano Sumi Jo as a soloist.

In October 2008 MPO toured

Great Britain

. Maestro Yuri Simonov conducted concerts in London, Leeds, Bristol, Reading, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Sheffield. The other five concerts were conducted by Jonathan Brett

In September 2008 M* Simonov has led the Youth Orchestra of Commonwealth Countries.
The rehearsal period started in Moscow on the 6 September and the first concert took place at the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatoire on the 13 September. After that, they went to a four-concert-tour to Baku (Azerbaijan), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and Alma-Ata (

Kazakhstan

). There was two-day-break at Issyk-Kul lake – still with short rehearsals! All the concert were a great success and enthusiasm with the audience.

12 - 20 May 2008 Maestro Simonov has led The St.-Petersburg Philharmonics on their European tour. There were eight concerts: three in Spain, three in Switzerland, one in Vienna and one in Prague at Prague Spring Festival.

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On 10 April 2008 Maestro Simonov and the MPO have played an opening concert for the “Moscow Season in Gdansk” festival.

The program has consisted of Beethoven’s Egmont Overture; Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 (soloist Dmitry Gordin) and Tchaikovsky’s Large Suite from “Sleeping Beauty” (compiled by Yuri Simonov).

During MPO 2007 Japan tour Sumi Jo sang a TV show and two concerts. One of pieces in the program was famous air "C'est bien lui" with two fluts from G. Puccini's opera "L'Etual du Nord"

Firstly, I am very thankful and grateful to Maestro. I was delighted to work with Maestro, and very impressed by him. He is the best conductors I have worked with in my career. Maestro is the “energy maker” of the orchestra. What I mean by this is, his presence and conducting creates the world of music and his energy is so influential that it brings the orchestra and soloist together in a very special way. The “energy” of Maestro radiates to all musicians and without him, the music we made cannot be created.

Secondly, I am very thankful to have worked with the flutists (both the two young musicians, and the elder one(principal) ). The emotions and feelings are in the sounds they make. I was also amazed at how each and every one of the musicians in the orchestra was prepared to perform any piece of music. This orchestra’s capacity of each player in adapting the music is exceptional. For example, they can play the Rachmaninov very well, but they can play the Rossini as good as Rachmaninov also. They have the ability to adapt to any music.

Lastly but not least, I truly wish to work with the Maestro and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra again, many many times to come in the future. Also, I want to go to Russia to perform with them.
Sumi Jo
2007. Dec. 10

On the 1 October 2007 Maestro opened his season number ten with MPO in Moscow.

The program contained Mendelssohn overture to “The Fair Melusine”, Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante” (version for Violin and Cello) and Tchaikovsky’s Large Suite from “Sleeping Beauty” compiled by Y. Simonov.

On 29 June 2007 the MPO and Maestro Simonov took part in Tchaikovsky competition.

They accompanied to singers at their third leg of the competition:

On 24 May Hungarian Opera celebrated 30 years jubilee of collaboration with Maestro Simonov.

His first performance there – “Karmen” (Bizet) took place on 17 April 1977.

During those thirty years Maestro has appeared in Opera almost every year; he made new productions of all Wagner operas as well as Tchaikovsky’s “Queen of Spades”.