Ilan Volkov ( he, אילן וולקוב; born September 8, 1976,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

) is an Israeli

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l conductor.

Biography

Volkov's father, Alexander Volkov, was a concert pianist. He studied with the conductor

Mendi Rodan Mendi Rodan (Hebrew: מנדי רודן) (born 17 April 1929; died 9 May 2009) was an Israeli conductor and educator. Biography Mendi Rodan (Rosenblum) was born in Iaşi, Romania, one of three children of Solomon and Miriam Rosenblum. Mendi began p ...

at the Rubin Academy in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, before continuing at the Royal Academy of Music in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. At age 19, he was named Young Conductor in Association to the

Northern Sinfonia Royal Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, founded in Newcastle upon Tyne and currently based in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave most of its concerts at the Newcastle City Hall. Since 2004, the ...

. He later served as conductor of Young Sinfonia, the youth orchestra of the Northern Sinfonia. In 1997, he became Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. In 1999, Seiji Ozawa named Volkov the Assistant Conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Volkov first conducted the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional r ...

(BBC SSO) in 1998. He became Chief Conductor of the BBC SSO in January 2003, the youngest chief conductor appointed to a BBC orchestra at the time. He was named the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Young Musician of the Year in 2004, in recognition of his work with the BBC SSO. In September 2007, the orchestra announced Volkov's departure from the BBC SSO chief conductorship in September 2009.Tim Cornwell, "Top conductor to leave Scottish Symphony Orchestra" ''The Scotsman'', 2007-09-18. In December 2008, the BBC SSO announced the appointment of Volkov as its principal guest conductor, to commence after the conclusion of his tenure as chief conductor, with an initial contract of 3 years, with 4 weeks of scheduled guest-conducting appearances. In January 2011, the

Iceland Symphony Orchestra Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík, Iceland. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution under the aus ...

named Volkov as its 9th chief conductor and music director, effective with the 2011-2012 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. His initial contract was for 3 years, with 6 weeks of scheduled appearances in his first season and 9 weeks of concerts in subsequent seasons. Volkov concluded his tenure with the

in August 2014, following the orchestra's debut at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. Volkov first guest-conducted the

Brussels Philharmonic The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian radio orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public ...

in March 2021. He returned for two additional guest-conducting appearances with the orchestra. In February 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of Volkov as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2022–2023 season. Volkov has made a speciality of recording long-unperformed or never before recorded works by neglected artists. He himself has spoken of his affinity with music written "between 1909 and the 20s". Volkov has made several recordings for the Hyperion label. Volkov and his partner Maya Dunietz have a daughter, Nadia, born in August 2007 in Israel. In

, Volkov and the jazz musician Assif Tsahar have established the performing venue Levontine 7.

References

External links

Maestro Arts agency page on Ilan Volkov

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra website, page on affiliated conductos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkov, Ilan Israeli conductors (music) Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music People from Tel Aviv Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 1976 births Living people Jewish classical musicians 21st-century conductors (music)