It was in Ireland and England that the Russian-born conductor Vladimir Jurowski first showed his exceptional abilities both as a conductor and an orchestral trainer. His interpretations—whether in opera or in symphonic repertoire—are never predictable but always fresh reconsiderations of the work at hand, demonstrating his orchestra’s superb responsiveness to his flexible tempos. Born in Moscow in 1972, he initially studied at the Moscow Conservatory (1987-90), though arguably his greatest experience was the culture shock of hearing touring West German orchestras play avant-garde works by Stockhausen, Rihm, Henze, and Zimmermann. Fortuitously, his family then moved to Germany where he completed his music education. His successful 1995 debut at Ireland’s Wexford Festival, conducting Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night (1879), led directly to his debut, aged 23, at London’s Covent Garden conducting Verdi’s Nabucco (1841). Appointed Music Director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera (2001-13), he also had a long and successful relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming its principal guest conductor in 2003, then its principal conductor (2006-21). Most of his recordings have been with that orchestra, although he has also recorded Beethoven with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Strauss with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. While he has mostly recorded Russian repertoire, he has also recorded some contemporary works, including an album devoted to the British composer Julian Anderson (rec. 2013) and the world premiere of Utopia (2019) by the Russian composer Vladimir Martynov.