Born in Moscow in 1945, Michail Jurowski grew up in a circle of internationally acclaimed artists of the former Soviet Union. Shostakovich was a close family friend, and Jurowski is today one of the leading interpreters of his music. Jurowski studied at the Moscow Conservatory, and during his last years in the Soviet Union frequently conducted performances at the Bolshoi Theatre. From 1978 Jurowski was regular guest conductor at the Komische Oper Berlin and in 1989 he left the USSR after accepting a permanent post with the Semperoper Dresden. He has held titled positions with orchestras across Germany and Austria, and as a guest conductor has led the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra among many others.
His discography includes the world premiere of Rubinstein’s opera Moses with Sinfonia Iuventus, a project which was awarded prestigious UNESCO patronage on Warner Classics, and alongside televised concerts and radio recordings across Europe, he has recorded with orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
Jurowski was awarded the German Record Critics’ Award in 1992, 1996 and 2017, and in 2001 received a GRAMMY nomination for his recording of orchestral music by Rimsky-Korsakov with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.