„Roaring recognition from the audience who gave the symphony the greatest and most enthusiastic applause of the night forced Marius Stravinsky and the RPO to deservedly take five curtain calls.“
- Seen and Heard
Russian-British conductor Marius Stravinsky continues to make a name for himself in the European Orchestra scene. Having fallen in love with ballet works after his debut with the Mikhailovsky Theatre, he will be conducting Swan Lake with the Berlin State Opera and Giselle with the Staatskapelle Berlin in the 2015/2016 season, whilst also working with the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Shostakovich Philharmonic Orchestra in Saint Petersburg and giving stints as guest director of many different orchestras Europe-wide – always succeeding in his one most important goal: making contact with the audience and keeping it with him, and indeed surpassing expectations in doing so.
In the past years, Stravinsky has worked with numerous internationally outstanding orchestras, such as the Milan Symphony Orchestra, the Rome Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the National-Symphony Orchestra of Latvia, the Chamber Orchestra of the Russian Chamber Philharmonics in Saint Petersburg, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Great Britain, and as assistant conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Originally, it were violin studies that brought the young Marius Stravinsky to Great Britain: He studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School for three years, after taking his first music lessons at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. In the summer of 1989, he became the first student from the Soviet Union to be granted a stipend by the renowned Eton College in Windsor, and finished his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Though he was successful as a violinist, the Kazakhstan-born Marius Stravinsky's musical passions also included playing the clarinet, singing, and especially conducting. He obtained first professional experiences as the assistant of Claudia Abbado at the Festival Aix-en-Provence. After formative studies under Vladimir Ponkin, he worked as assistant conductor at the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonics and at the Helikon-Opera in Moscow. Marius Stravinsky was only 27 years old when he was appointed chief conductor and artistic director of the Karelia Philharmonic Orchestra in Petrozavodsk, near the Finnish border. He led the orchestra in about fifty different programs each season – notably introducing the audience to British composers like Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar – and was responsible for decisions regarding soloists, guest conductors, and programming. He also went on tour through Europe with the orchestra. In 2012, his debut with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in Saint Petersburg followed, where he conducted Igor Stravinsky's Mavra and Le Rossignol and was invited for further collaborations.
His unique musical vision, unusual background and empathetic conducting style make his work with the many different orchestras fruitful and live concerts as well as recordings a joy for any audience.