Vladimir Jurowski & Lucas und Arthur Jussen

Vladimir Jurowski has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the RundfunkSinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB) since 2017. In 2023/2024, his concerts, tours and recordings were the highlights of the ‘RSB100’ anniversary season. His current contract in Berlin runs until 2029,
while he has also been General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich since 2021.

Vladimir Jurowski, one of the most sought-after conductors of our time, who is celebrated worldwide for his innovative musical interpretations and equally for his courageous artistic commitment, was born in Moscow in 1972 and completed the first part of his music studies at the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory. He moved to Germany with his family in 1990 and continued his studies at the music academies in Dresden and Berlin. In 1995, he made his debut at the Wexford Festival in Ireland with Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Mainacht’ and in 1996 at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden with ‘Nabucco’. He was then First Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin (1997-2001).

Vladimir Jurowski worked as Chief Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) for fifteen years until 2021 and has since been appointed Conductor Emeritus. In the UK, he was Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera from 2001 to 2013, leading a wide range of highly acclaimed productions. His close connection to British musical life was recognised by King Charles III in spring 2024 when he appointed Vladimir Jurowski an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). In April 2024, Vladimir Jurowski returned to London as a guest conductor to complete the concert performance cycle of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ with ‘Götterdämmerung’ with the LPO at the Royal Festival Hall.

He was Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra ‘Yevgeny Svetlanov’ of the Russian Federation until 2021 and Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in Great Britain, as well as Artistic Director of the International George Enescu Festival in Bucharest. He has also worked with the unitedberlin ensemble for many years. Vladimir Jurowski has suspended performances in Russia since February 2022. Ukrainian works are and will remain part of his repertoire, as will works by Russian composers.

Vladimir Jurowski has conducted concerts by the most important orchestras in Europe and North America, including the Berlin, Vienna and New York Philharmonics, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig. He is a regular guest at the music festivals in London, Berlin, Dresden, Lucerne, SchleswigHolstein and Grafenegg. Although Vladimir Jurowski is invited as a guest conductor by top orchestras from all over the world, he now concentrates his activities on those geographical areas that he can easily reach with reasonable effort from an ecological point of view.

The joint CD recordings by Vladimir Jurowski and the RSB began in 2015 with Alfred Schnittke’s Symphony No. 3, followed by works by Britten, Hindemith, Strauss, Mahler and again Schnittke. Vladimir Jurowski has been honoured many times for his achievements, including numerous international record awards. In 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Philharmonic Society from the hands of the current King Charles III. In 2020, Vladimir Jurowski’s work as Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival was honoured by the Romanian President with the Order of Cultural Merit.

In recent years, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Children’s Choir has made a name for itself as an ensemble on the opera stage and in concert appearances in Germany and abroad. Repeated invitations to guest tours (to Dresden, Hamburg, Italy, France, Luxemburg, Poland, the Baltic States, and to Vietnam) and prizes at several competitions (including the gold medal at the international competition »Siauliai Cantat« in Lithuania, First Prize, Landeschorwettbewerb Berlin 2013, first prize at Deutscher Chorwettbewerb in Weimar 2014 and two gold medals at the international Choral Competition in Hoi An/Vietnam 2015) attest to the growing artistic quality of the choir, which has been under the direction of Vinzenz Weissenburger since 2007.

For some time now, the musical repertoire and the public presence of the chorus has been constantly expanding. Central are the chorus’ regular appearances on the stage at the Staatsoper in operas such as La Bohème, Un ballo in maschera, Tosca, Turandot, Boris Godunov, Pique Dame, Der Rosenkavalier and Carmen. In addition, the chorus also appears in its own concerts, with a cappella programs and a concert with the Staatskapelle Berlin once every season.

The chorus meets twice a week for rehearsal, and offers a thorough basic musical training for its young singers. Vocal training takes place with several experienced vocal teachers, who together with the choir conductor and his assistants work at improving the artistic standards. Recent concert tours have taken the chorus to Argentina, China and to the U.S.

The conductor and choirmaster Vinzenz Weissenburger works with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons and Sir Simon Rattle and conducts orchestras such as the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Lautten Compagney in concerts and operas.

At the Staatsoper in the Schiller Theater, he conducted the workshop productions of “Puss in Boots” by César Cui, “Eisenhans!” by Ali N. Askin and Wolf-Ferrari’s “Cinderella” as well as the traditional Christmas concert with the Staatsoper’s children’s choir and the Staatskapelle Berlin since 2011. In Dresden, he conducted Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” in 2010 and Lortzing’s “Der Wildschütz” with the Neue Elbland Philharmonie in 2011. In June 2012, he made his debut at Theater Hof with Rossini’s “Il barbiere di Siviglia”.

He has conducted the children’s choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin since 2007 and has since developed it to such an extent that it won the gold medal at Siaulia Cantat in Lithuania in 2013 and first prize at the German Choir Competition in 2014. At the international choir competition in Hoi An (Vietnam), the children’s choir was awarded two gold medals and Vinzenz Weissenburger was awarded the Conductor’s Prize for outstanding achievement. In September 2015, he founded the youth chamber choir Junges Consortium Berlin, which won three gold medals at the Grand Prix of Nations in 2017. Here, he also received a special prize for “excellent conducting”. In November 2016, he took over the artistic direction of the Junges Ensemble Berlin choir.