Conductor Lee Young-chil will raise his baton in front of the National Philharmonic of Russia (NPR) on October 13, becoming the first Asian to conduct the Moscow-based orchestra.

The NPR orchestra was launched by the Russian Ministry of Culture in 2003, and has positioned itself over the years as the country’s best symphony orchestra. Currently serving as artistic director and principal conductor of the orchestra is Vladimir Spivakov.


During the upcoming series of concerts to be held at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Lee will lead Ravel’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, and Elgar’s Cello Concerto, as Russian cellist Alexander Ramm and pianist Philipp Kopachevskiy join the orchestra on stage.

The conductor started music comparatively late, at the age of 19, when he specialized in the French horn at the Mannes College of Music in New York. He then chose to switch into the conducting course. He honed his conducting skills at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Rounding out his resume after graduation, Lee has led many prestigious orchestras, especially in Europe and Asia, including the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra for which he served as a tenured guest conductor.

In January both last year and this year, Lee also conducted the world-class Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra for its New Year's concerts.

By Wi Tack-whan, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr