Yevgeny Mravinsky

Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky

a Russian conductor

Born: 4 June (O.S. 22 May) 1903 - St.Petersburg
Died: 19 January 1988 - Leningrad

In 1918 he began to work backstage at the Mariinsky Theatre.
He first studied biology at the university in Leningrad, before going to the Leningrad Conservatory to study music.
He served as a ballet repetiteur from 1923 to 1931.
His first public conducting appearance was in 1929.
Through the 1930s he conducted at the Kirov Ballet and Bolshoi Opera.
In September 1938, he won the All-Union Conductors Competition in Moscow.
In October 1938, Mravinsky took up the post that he would hold until 1988: principal conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he had made his debut appearance as a conductor in 1931.
Under Mravinsky, the Leningrad Philharmonic gained a legendary reputation, particularly in Russian music such as Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. During World War II, Mravinsky and the orchestra were evacuated to Siberia.