Few musicians show more clearly the difficulties imposed by the new world order resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine than the Russian-born conductor Tugan Sokhiev (Vladikavkaz, 1977). His declaration against the war, but avoiding an explicit political condemnation of … Russia or Putin caused him to resign from his top positions. It was then that he gave up the musical direction of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the ownership of the Orchester National du Capitole de Toulouse. Sokhiev remained stuck between his “dear Russian musicians” and his “dear French musicians”.
Since then, the musician has been invited by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and many other greats in North America, where he imposed his technical solidity, his timbral imagination and his strong personality. Perfected at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he was one of the last students of the legendary pedagogue Ilya Musin and disciple of Yuri Temirkanov. He rose to international prominence after winning the Sergei Prokofiev International Competition in 2000.
His real platform has been the Orchester National du Capitole de Toulouse, of which he was appointed musical director in 2008. He has important recordings dedicated to Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky, among which we can highlight the award-winning recording dedicated to the “Fifth Symphony” and the “Scythe Suite” by Prokofiev with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. His presence at the 2027 New Year’s Concert, according to Daniel Froschauer, chairman of the board of directors of the Vienna Philharmonic, implies strengthening the collaboration with “a very close musical and personal friend of our orchestra since 2009”.
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