People's Artist of Russia, Deputy Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia Nikolay Alekseev graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory as a choral and symphonic conductor (classes of A. Mikhailov and A. Jansons), and trained at the Kirov Theatre with Y. Temirkanov. Winner of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation’s International Competition (1982), V. Talich Competition (Prague, 1985) and Min-On (Tokyo, 1985), the musician leads a very eventful artistic life. He headed the orchestra of the Zagreb Philharmonia; has performed with the Moscow Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky Symphony and Russian National orchestras; has worked with such foreign companies as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam, Dresden, Stuttgart, and Copenhagen Philharmonic orchestras, the Berlin and Baltimore Symphony orchestras, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and the New Japan Philharmonic.

In 2001–2010 he led the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (in 2006 he was awarded the 3^rd degree Estonian order of the White star for his work with the orchestra and in 2010 – the Estonian State Culture prize).

Currently, the artist's concert activities cover the countries of Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Slovenia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania), Latin America, South Korea, Japan and the U.S.A. In 2008 Nikolay Alexeev became the Principal Conductor of the Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra (Republic of Korea) – the first foreigner in the history of the orchestra to lead it. Since 2000, Nikolay Alekseev has been the conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Nikolay Alexeev and the orchestra performed all of Brahms' symphonies, a number of works by Stravinsky and Prokofiev, including a rarely performed Cantata for the 20^th Anniversary of the October Revolution, Mahler's Eighth Symphony, called “Symphony of a Thousand”, Schoenberg’s “Gurrelieder” and Messiaen’s “Turangalila”. Maestro regularly introduces new works to the public. He conducted a number of premiere performances: Tishchenko’s Second and Fifth Dante Symphonies, Slonimsky’s Thirteenth Symphony, Korolev’s Figure of Speech and Heretic, Korchmar’s Tsar's Chants; Russian premieres of Borisova-Ollas’s First Symphony The Triumph of Heaven and Wunderbare Leiden, Varenbergh’s Romeo and Juliet fantasies for piano and orchestra, inspired by Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 1, St. Petersburg premieres of Shchedrin's “Concerto Cantabile” and Paganini’s Fifth violin concerto.

In 2017, the conductor was awarded the Prize of the Government of St. Petersburg for concert programmes of 2016. In February 2022 by the presidential decree Nikolay Alexeev was awarded the “Order of Friendship” for his great contribution to the cultural and artistic development of the country and for the years of fruitful activity.

In the anniversary Philharmonic 2020/2021 season Nikolay Alexeev conducted the opening and the closing of the season, as well as the historic concert dedicated to the 100^th Anniversary since the day of the Petrograd Philharmonia opening ceremony and the first concert held there, performed with pianists N. Lugansky, B. Berezovsky, S. Trpčeski, F. Kopachevsky and violinist S. Dogadin. The season 2021/2022, also dedicated to the Philharmonia's 100^th Anniversary, the conductor started with the performance of the Leningrad Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich. In December 2021 the Anniversary Gala concert within the XXI International Winter Festival Arts Square took place under the baton of Nikolay Alexeev, with such musicians participating as E. Virsaladze, N. Lugansky, A. Kantorow, J. Lezhneva, G. Capuçon, S. Shoji and S. Krylov. On August 9^th 2022, the conductor led the performance of the Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony by the united St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra within the framework of the Memory Score, a music and history project dedicated to the 80^th anniversary of the siege premiere of the symphony.

The 2022/2023 Season's programme includes: the opening concert with A. Ramm (performing Shostakovich and Prokofiev); the performance of the Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony to commemorate the 85^th anniversary of its premiere; the opening ceremony of the XXII International Winter Festival Arts Square; a performance of Beethoven and Gershwin pieces with D. Matsuev; monographic programmes dedicated to the Rachmaninov's anniversary (The Isle of the Dead, the Second Symphony, The Bells, and piano concerts with N. Lugansky and Y. Favorin); a concert commemorating 120^th anniversary of E. Mravinsky's birth; performances with D. Shishkin and J. Stancul. With Nikolay Alexeev conducting the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra performed in Sochi in September 2022, and they are planning to go on a tour to China in 2023.

This is the fifth season of the conductor's active cooperation with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, with them opening and closing the orchestra's seasons, performing with such soloists as pianist B. Douglas, violinist S. Dogadin and cellists N. Hakhnazaryan and Z. Jung and going on tours. In the Season 2019/2020 they toured twice: to China (September 2019) and Latvia (March 2020, together with Eifmann Ballet). This new season Nikolay Alexeev one again opens and closes the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra's season. Pianist E. Leonskaja performed with the conductor for the season opening concert.

St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the oldest symphony orchestra in Russia, in the season 2022/2023 continues to celebrate the 140^th Anniversary of its foundation. History of the Orchestra which, according to foreign reviews, “is among the world’s elite and, without a doubt, historically the most important orchestra in Russia”, began with the decree of Alexander III on 16 July 1882, which initiated the creation of the Court Musicians Choir. Transformed into the Court Orchestra at the beginning of the 21^st century, for the first time in Russia, the orchestra performed the symphonic poems Ein Heldenleben and Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, Mahler's First Symphony and Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy and Stravinsky’s First Symphony. A. Nikisch and R. Strauss conducted the orchestra as well as A. Glazunov, who dedicated the “Festival Overture” to the orchestra. In 1917, the Court Orchestra became the State Orchestra, and was headed by S. Koussevitzky.In 1921, the orchestra, given the hall of the former Noble Assembly at its disposal, opened the country's first Philharmonia. The unprecedented in scale activities of the orchestra drew a new and sometimes far removed from classical music audience to its Grand Hall. Outstanding Russian musicians underwent a rigorous test of their conducting skills with the orchestra. Such legendary Western conductors as B. Walter, F. Weingartner, H. Abendroth, O. Fried, E. Kleiber, P. Monteux and O. Klemperer; soloists V. Horowitz and S. Prokofiev, performed with the orchestra. The orchestra mastered a vast contemporary repertoire. In 1918, it presented the premiere of Prokofiev’s “Classical Symphony”, and in 1926 – Shostakovich’s First Symphony. In 1934, the orchestra – the first in the country – was awarded the title Honoured Ensemble of Russia.

1938 ushered in a half-century of the “Age of Mravinsky” – years of hard work, which earned the orchestra a place among the most prominent orchestras of the world. In 1946, the orchestra embarked on its first foreign trip – and gave its first overseas performance in the country’s symphonic performance history. This was followed by regular tours around the world, performing at the most prestigious European festivals. A unique and creative alliance formed between D. Shostakovich and E. Mravinsky, to whom the composer devoted the Eighth Symphony. The conductor and the orchestra performed five Shostakovich's symphonies for the first time. In fact, a tradition of an original interpretation of famous scores was born. Music of the twentieth century as a whole assumed a significant role in the orchestra’s repertoire. Alternating as the second conductor of the orchestra were K. Sanderling, A. Jansons and M. Jansons; at the podium were L. Stokowski, L. Maazel, Z. Mehta, K. Masur, E. Svetlanov, G. Rozhdestvensky and composers B. Britten, A. Copland, Z. Kodály, W. Lutoslawski, L. Berio, K. Penderecki, and soloists: V. Cliburn, G. Gould, A. Benedetti Michelangeli, I. Stern, S. Richter, E. Gilels, D. Oistrakh, E. Virsaladze, N. Petrov, G. Sokolov, V. Tretyakov, L. Kogan, N. Gutman, V. Krainev, V. Spivakov and A. Lyubimov.

Since 1988, Yuri Temirkanov has headed the orchestra. From year to year, the results of the musicians’ collaboration receive enthusiastic press reviews. “The orchestra is a Russian national treasure, conductor Yuri Temirkanov one of the best in the world” (The Washington Post, 2014). “If the St. Petersburg Philharmonic’s all-Russian first Prom was a hard act to follow, its second, also under chief conductor Yuri Temirkanov, brought yet another feast of idiomatic Russian playing” (The Guardian, 2015). “This is a unique orchestra with a special, “Leningrad” sound ...” (Codalario, 2016). “The performance of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony was “the culmination of that high, Petersburg sound culture, for which the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is famous. (...) A brilliant scherzo and a spectacular, technically perfect finale brought the audience into a total frenzy, which is completely natural: a grandiose sound fresco appeared before it, which hardly any other conductor or orchestra in the world could create” (Corriere della sera, 2017). “No matter what was happening in Russia over the last thirty years, this orchestra has always remained in the top-ranking categories” (Seenandheard-international.com, 2019).

The orchestra's extensive touring activities during last seasons have included concerts at the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (where the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is the only Russian resident orchestra) and the Vienna Musikverein, the Berlin, Munich, Elbe, Luxembourg Philharmonics and Frankfurt Alte Oper, the Royal Festival Hall in London, The Usher Hall of Edinburgh, The Bridgewater Hall of Manchester and The City Hall of Leeds, The Victoria Hall in Geneva, Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona and the Santa Cecilia Hall in Rome, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Taipei Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Centre, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. In September 2019 the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Ion Marin, Vassily Sinaisky and Yuri Temirkanov gave concerts in Italy and Switzerland (soloists O. Mustonen and N. Freire), Bucharest and Paris (soloists V. Repin, B. Rana, B. Berezovsky), visited Estonia (conductor N. Alexeev, soloist S. Dogadin), in January 2020 – gave four concerts in Spain under the baton of maestro Temirkanov (soloists N. Lugansky, B. Abduraimov), participated in the MITO SettembreMusica and George Enescu festivals.

In January 2022 Yuri Temirkanov resigned as Principal Conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, still remaining Artistic Director of both the orchestra and the St. Petersburg Philharmonia – he has been occupying this position for more than two decades. Nikolay Alexeev, who has been collaborating with the Orchestra for over twenty years, has subsequently become the orchestra’s Principal Conductor.

The orchestra’s repertoire is constantly updated with new, including modern compositions – among them they have performed for the first time in Russia: the First Symphony The Triumph of Heaven and fantasy Wunderbare Leiden by Borisova-Ollas, the nocturne Sur le meme accord and La nuit etoilée by Dutilleux, and the Piano Concerto Century Rolls by Adams, as well as Giya Kancheli’s Letters to Friends, and the Widmann’s Babylon-Suite.

The highlights of the past season include historic programmes within the cycles dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the Philharmonia; performances of Brahms’ complete symphonies under the baton of E. Inbal and Mahler’s 3^rd Symphony under the baton of Z. Mehta (with E. Manistina soloing); concerts dedicated to the anniversaries of Scriabin’s and Schubert’s births; collaboration with such musicians as Ch. Dutoit, A. Lazarev, H. Graf, E. Virsaladze, N. Lugansky, B. Berezovsky, and A. Ghindin.

In December 2021 the orchestra participated in the XXI International Winter Festival Arts Square, which was also dedicated to the Philharmonia’s anniversary. Within the forum the orchestra has performed with N. Alexeev, E. Inbal, A. Schiff, I. Marin, R. Buchbinder, S. Shoji, G. Capuçon, J. Lezhneva, A. Kantorow, and S. Krylov.

On August 9^th 2022 under the leadership of N. Alexeev the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra participated in the Memory Score, a music and history project dedicated to the 80^th anniversary of the siege premiere of Shostakovich’s Seventh symphony.

This season the orchestra’s traditional subscription cycles, such as “Yuri Temirkanov and His Orchestra” and “Russia’s First Symphony Orchestra”, are dedicated to the orchestra’s 140^th Anniversary. The season’s playbill includes Shostakovich’s Fifth symphony (the premiere’s 85^th Anniversary); symphonies by Mozart, Brahms, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Prokofiev, Sibelius, and Borodin; piano concertos by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Beethoven, Ravel, Grieg, and Scriabin; Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (with the jazz cadenza by double bass and percussion); violin concertos by Prokofiev, Bruch, and Dvorak; ballet music by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Glazunov, and Milhaud; Mozart’s Requiem, Ibert’s Bacchanale, Dutilleux’ Metaboles, Satie’s Gymnopédies, and V. Jurowski’s Russian Artists suite.

In the year of 150^th anniversary of S. Rachmaninov’s birth the works of the Russian Maestro figure prominently in the orchestra’s playbill. An entire subscription concert cycle “Rachmaninov. Diary Pages” is dedicated to his music, as well as monographic concerts under the baton of N. Alexeev; his piano concertos, The Bells, the symphonic poems The Isle of the Dead, The Rock, Caprice bohémien, the First and Second symphonies will also be performed. In December 2022, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra participates in the International Winter Festival Arts Square. The list of guest conductors includes A. Lazarev, P. Bubelnikov, V. Polyansky, D. Botinis, F. Korobov, A. Rudin, and V. Uryupin.

Among the soloists are N. Lugansky, D. Matsuev, E. Leonskaja,V. Rudenko, D. Shishkin, J. Stancul, A. Korobeinikov, V. Repin, S. Dogadin, N. Hakhnazaryan, A. Knyazev, and H. Gerzmava.