Musicיורי אהרונוביץ'

Yuri Ahronovitch

Yuri Ahronovitch was a Soviet-born Israeli conductor who led orchestras in the Soviet Union, Cologne and Stockholm.

1932 to 2002Chief conductor in CologneChief conductor of Stockholm PhilharmonicOpera conducting in Europe and America

Born: 13 May 1932, Saint Petersburg
Died: 31 October 2002, Cologne
Occupation: conductor
Education: Saint Petersburg Conservatory

Yuri Ahronovitch was born in 1932 in Saint Petersburg

Ahronovitch was born in Leningrad in 1932. He began studying music and the violin at the age of 4.

He finished his conducting studies at the Leningrad Conservatory in 1954. His teachers included Nathan Rachlin and Kurt Sanderling.

After work in Petrozavodsk and Saratov, he led the Yaroslavl Symphony Orchestra from 1956 to 1964. In 1964 he became chief conductor of the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until he moved to Israel in 1972.

He was chief conductor of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne from 1975 to 1986 and of the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra from 1982 to 1987. He also conducted opera at Covent Garden, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Bavarian State Opera and other houses. He made recordings with the London Symphony, the Stockholm Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

He received honors in Sweden, Israel and Italy. He conducted his last concert with the Orchestre de Paris in October 2002 and died that month.