Vladimir Alexandrovich Ponkin |
Vladimir Ponkin
Vladimir Ponkin has the authority of one of the leading musicians in Russia. For his work, he was awarded the title of People’s Artist of Russia (2002), twice won the Golden Mask National Theater Award (2001, 2003). By decision of the Ministry of Culture and Art of the Republic of Poland, the maestro was awarded the medal “For Merit in the Field of Polish Culture” (1997). In 2001, he received the II degree medal “For Merit in the Development of the Kuban”. In 2005, the Council for Public Awards of Russia at the Russian Heraldic Chamber awarded V. Ponkin with the cross “Defender of the Fatherland, I degree” for services to the Fatherland in the field of cultural development in Russia and abroad. Among the maestro’s awards are also the Order “For Service to Russia” (2006), awarded by the Committee on Public Awards of the Russian Federation and the Cossack Order “For Love and Loyalty to the Fatherland” I degree (2006).
A native of Irkutsk (1951), Vladimir Ponkin graduated from the Gorky Conservatory, and then from the Moscow Conservatory and did an assistant traineeship in the class of opera and symphony conducting with Gennady Rozhdestvensky. In 1980, he became the first young Soviet conductor to win the Fifth World Conducting Competition of the Rupert Foundation in London. Over the years, the maestro led the Yaroslavl Symphony Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography, the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland), the State Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic, the National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments of Russia. N.P. Osipov.
Opera occupies a special place in the conductor’s work. In 1996, Vladimir Ponkin was invited to the post of chief conductor of the Musical Theater named after K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. His first works were productions of the ballets The Taming of the Shrew by M. Bronner, Romeo and Juliet by S. Prokofiev, Shulamith by V. Besedina, the operas Otello by G. Verdi and The Tale of Tsar Saltan by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, having enjoyed great success.
Since 1999, the maestro has been actively collaborating with the Helikon-Opera, and since 2002 he has been the chief conductor of the theater. Here, under his leadership, a number of opera productions were staged, including Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Berg’s Lulu, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Kashchei the Immortal, Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Prokofiev’s Fallen from Heaven, Siberia. Giordano.
From 2002 to 2006, V. Ponkin was the chief conductor of the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Center, where he took part in productions of many operas by Russian and foreign authors, including Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride, Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila, Verdi’s Rigoletto , “Faust” Gounod and others.
As a guest conductor, V. Ponkin worked with such well-known ensembles as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stockholm Radio Orchestra, the Jena Symphony Orchestra (Germany), Italian orchestras: the Guido Cantelli Milan Symphony Orchestra and the Bergamo Festival Orchestra, leading orchestras Australia – Melbourne Symphony, Western Australian Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra (Brisbane), Binghampton Symphony, Palm Beach Orchestra (USA) and many others.
He regularly performs with the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic (art director Y. Simonov). Artistic director and chief conductor of the Kuban Symphony Orchestra.
Vladimir Ponkin’s tours were successfully held in Australia, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Israel, Sweden, South Korea, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Argentina, Chile, USA. The maestro has performed with many famous performers, including singers Angela Georgiou, José Cura, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Evgeny Nesterenko, Paata Burchuladze, Zurab Sotkilava, Maria Biesu, Yuri Mazurok, Lucia Alberti and Virgilius Noreika, pianists Ivo Pogorelich, Evgeny Kissin, Grigory Sokolov, Daniel Pollak, Denis Matsuev, Vladimir Krainev, Viktor Yampolsky, Eliso Virsaladze, Edith Chen and Nikolai Petrov, violinists Andrei Korsakov, Sergei Stadler and Oleg Krysa, cellist Natalia Gutman.
Vladimir Ponkin’s repertoire is huge, it includes both classical opuses and works by contemporary composers. He presented to the Russian public a number of premieres of Ksh’s works. Penderecki and V. Lutoslawski.
Vladimir Ponkin treats the children’s audience with special sensitivity. Children’s concerts are very popular, in which the maestro takes on the role of a leader and invites young spectators to talk about music. The concert programs are a fascinating excursion into the world of Russian and foreign classics, during which children learn to listen to music, understand the orchestra and even conduct.
The discography of Vladimir Ponkin, along with the masterpieces of Mozart, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, includes works by Penderetsky, Lutoslavsky, Denisov, Gubaidulina.
Since 2004, Vladimir Ponkin has been teaching at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky (professor). He is also the head of the Department of Opera and Symphony Conducting of the GMPI. MM. Ippolitov-Ivanov. Along with teaching in his homeland, Vladimir Ponkin regularly gives master classes abroad. Since 2009, maestro Ponkin has been chairman of the jury of the All-Russian Competition for Young Conductors named after. I.A. Musina.
Source: Moscow Philharmonic website
