Yuri Temirkanov

{{Short description|Russian conductor (1938–2023)}}{{Infobox person

| name = Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov

| image = Yuri Temirkanov 14 December 2013 (crop).jpg

| caption = Temirkanov in 2013

| native_name = Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов

| native_name_lang = ru

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1938|12|10}}

| birth_place = Nalchik

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|11|02|1938|12|10}}

| death_place = Saint Petersburg

| occupation = Conductor

| awards = People's Artist of the USSR

}}

{{Family name hatnote|Khatuevich|Temirkanov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov ({{langx|ru|Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов}}; {{langx|kbd|Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий}}; 10 December 1938 – 2 November 2023) was a Soviet and Russian conductor,{{cite web|url=https://operachic.typepad.com/opera_chic/yuri_temirkanov/|title=Yuri Temirkanov Named Music Director Of Teatro Regio di Parma|date=13 June 2008|publisher=Opera Chic|access-date=16 January 2019}} named a People's Artist of the USSR.

Early life

Born in 1938 in the North Caucasus city of Nalchik, Temirkanov attended the Leningrad School for Talented Children where he continued his studies in violin and viola. His older brother {{ill|Boris Temirkanov|lt=Boris|ru|Темирканов, Борис Хатуевич}} was also a conductor.

Career

In 1968, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the then-renamed Leningrad Symphony where he remained until his appointment as Music Director of the Kirov Opera and Ballet in 1976.

Temirkanov was the first Soviet artist permitted to perform in the United States after cultural relations were resumed with the Soviet Union at the end of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1988.

Temirkanov became artistic director and chief conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in 1988. He was music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 2000 until 2006. He served as principal guest conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. In 2015, the Teatro La Fenice awarded Temirkanov its prize 'A Life for Music' (unofficially known as the Nobel Prize for Musicians).{{cite web|title=Russian conductor wins 'Nobel Prize' for musicians |url=https://www.rbth.com/arts/2015/04/07/russian_conductor_wins_nobel_prize_for_musicians_45035.html |publisher=Russia Beyond the Headlines |date=7 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803132113/https://www.rbth.com/arts/2015/04/07/russian_conductor_wins_nobel_prize_for_musicians_45035.html |archive-date=3 August 2021}}

Death

Yuri Temirkanov died on 2 November 2023, at the age of 84.{{cite news |title=Умер худрук Петербургской академической филармонии Темирканов |url=https://m.gazeta.ru/culture/news/2023/11/02/21629149.shtml?ysclid=loh66dkhjz638325346 |trans-title=Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic Temirkanov Dies |website=Gazeta.ru |language=Russian |date=2 November 2023}}

Controversy

Temirkanov drew attention for saying that women are essentially weak and thus not well suited to be classical conductors.{{cite magazine|title=Юрий Темирканов: "Дирижер-женщина – это противоестественно..." |url=https://www.ng.ru/culture/2012-09-10/10_temirkanov.html |trans-title=Yuri Temirkanov: "A female conductor is unnatural..." |magazine=Nezavisimaya Gazeta |language=Russian |access-date=4 November 2023 |date=10 September 2012}} In a 2016 interview, he stated:

: "Yes, women can be conductors. I am not against them conducting. But I simply don't like it."{{cite news|title=Yuri Temirkanov on his BSO return and, yes, still disliking the idea of female conductors |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-ae-yuri-temirkanov-20160318-story.html |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |access-date=4 November 2023 |date=18 March 2016}}

Honors and awards

State Prize of the Russian Federation in Literature and Art in 1998 (4 June 1999) – for concert programs 1995–1998 Academic Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society named after Shostakovich
Russian Federation President Prize in Literature and Art in 2002 (13 February 2003)
The 6432 Temirkanov asteroid was named after the conductor (1975)
File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 3Class BAR.svg Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (2015)

Gallery

File:Yuri Temirkanov and Vladimir Putin - 14 December 2013 - 2.jpg|Yuri Temirkanov and Vladimir Putin at a gala concert dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the conductor (December 14, 2013)

File:Юрий Темирканов Израиль.jpg|Performing in Israel (2018)

File:Темирканов.jpg|Awarding of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st degree (2009)

File:Award ceremonies (2018-06-12) 17.jpg|Awarding of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (June 12, 2018)