Vladislav Chernushenko |

Vladislav Chernushenko

People’s Artist of the USSR Vladislav Aleksandrovich Chernushenko is one of the greatest contemporary Russian musicians. His talent as a conductor manifests itself multifacetedly and equally brightly in choral, orchestral and opera performances.

Vladislav Chernushenko was born on January 14, 1936 in Leningrad. He started playing music at an early age. He survived the first blockade winter in a besieged city. In 1944, after two years of evacuation, Vladislav Chernushenko entered the Choir School at the Chapel. Since 1953, he has been studying at two faculties of the Leningrad Conservatory – conductor-choir and theoretical-composer. After graduating with honors from the conservatory, he worked for four years in the Urals as a music school teacher and conductor of the Magnitogorsk State Choir.

In 1962, Vladislav Chernushenko again entered the conservatory, in 1967 he graduated from the faculty of opera and symphony conducting, and in 1970 – postgraduate studies. In 1962 he created the Leningrad Chamber Choir and for 17 years led this amateur group, which received European recognition. In the same years, Vladislav Alexandrovich was actively engaged in teaching activities – at the conservatory, the Choir School at the Capella, the Musical School. M.P. Mussorgsky. He works as a conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Karelian Radio and Television, performs as a conductor of symphony and chamber concerts, puts on a number of performances at the Opera Studio at the Leningrad Conservatory and for five years has been working as the second conductor of the Leningrad State Academic Maly Opera and Ballet Theater (now the Mikhailovsky Theater) .

In 1974, Vladislav Chernushenko was appointed artistic director and chief conductor of the oldest musical and professional institution in Russia – the Leningrad State Academic Capella. M.I. Glinka (former Imperial Court Singing Chapel). In a short time, Vladislav Chernushenko revives this famous Russian singing ensemble, which was in a deep creative crisis, returning it to the ranks of the best choirs in the world.

Vladislav Chernushenko is the main merit in lifting the bans and returning Russian sacred music to the concert life of Russia. In 1981, Vladislav Aleksandrovich organized the traditional festival “Nevsky Choral Assemblies” with a series of historical concerts and a scientific and practical conference “Five Centuries of Russian Choral Music”. And in 1982, after a 54-year pause, the “All-Night Vigil” by S.V. Rachmaninov.

Under the direction of Vladislav Chernushenko, the Capella’s repertoire is regaining its traditional richness and diversity for the leading Russian choir. It includes works of major vocal and instrumental forms – oratorios, cantatas, masses, operas in concert performance, solo programs from works by Western European and Russian composers of different eras and styles, works by contemporary Russian composers. A special place in the choir’s repertoire over the past two decades has been occupied by the music of Georgy Sviridov.

From 1979 to 2002, Vladislav Chernushenko was the rector of the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Conservatory, thus uniting the activities of the two oldest musical institutions in Russia under his leadership. For 23 years of leadership of the conservatory, Vladislav Chernushenko has made a huge contribution to the preservation and development of the best traditions of the St. Petersburg music school, to the preservation of the unique creative potential, which is its teaching staff.

Awarded with the highest national and a number of foreign awards and titles, Vladislav Chernushenko is one of the leaders of contemporary musical art in Russia. His original creative image, his outstanding conducting skills have received worldwide recognition. Vladislav Chernushenko’s repertoire includes symphonic and chamber concerts, operas, literary and musical compositions, oratorios, cantatas, programs for a cappella choir, dramatic performances with the participation of the choir and orchestra, etc.

Vladislav Chernushenko is the initiator and organizer of many music festivals in St. Petersburg and abroad. Vladislav Alexandrovich is making every effort to revive the St. Petersburg Chapel, turning it into one of the major centers of European musical culture.