Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Juraj Valčuha is Music Director of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples and First Guest Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He was Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai from 2009 to 2016.

He studied composition and conducting in Bratislava, St Petersburg (with Ilya Musin) and Paris where he made his debut with the Orchestre National de France in 2005. He has since led the Philharmonia, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony, Dresden Staatskapelle, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome and Milan's Filarmonica della Scala. In North America Juraj Valcuha has led the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Pittsburgh, Boston, San Francisco, Cincinnati, National, Minnesota, Cleveland and Montreal symphony orchestras. Touring with Orchestra della Rai took them to the Abu Dhabi Classics, Cologne, Zurich, Munich, Musikverein in Vienna and Philharmonie in Berlin.

From 2017 to 2019, he made debuts with the Chicago Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra and return engagements with the New York Philharmonic in New York and at Bravo!Vail Festival. He joined the Minnesota, Montréal, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cincinnati and Dallas symphony orchestras. In Europe, he was acclaimed on the podium of the Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Czech Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, the BBC Symphony and Philharmonia London. With the Konzerthausorchester Berlin they made a tour to Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Baltic nations.

On the opera stage, he recently conducted Faust in Florence, Jenufa, Peter Grimes and Saloméin Bologna, Elektra, Carmen, Bluebeard's Castle, Valkyria, The Girl of the Golden West, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Katja Kabanova at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli.

In the current season he conducts operat productions of Tristan and Isolde at Teatro Comunale Bologna, Turandot at the Maggio Musicale Festival in Florence, Pique Dame and The Love for three oranges in Naples, as well as concerts with the Konzerthaus Orchester in Berlin and on tour, Filarmonica della Scala Milano, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia Rome, NDR Hamburg, Radio Francfort, Philharmonia London, Detroit and Minnesota Orchestra

Juraj Valčuha is the recipient of the Premio Abbiati 2018 in the category Best Conductor.

“With prodigious technique and rhapsodic flair, Mr. Abduraimov dispatched the work’s challenges, including burst upon burst of arm-blurring octaves, with eerie command.” (The New York Times)

Behzod Abduraimov performs with renowned orchestras worldwide including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Concertgebouworkest and with prestigious conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Lorenzo Viotti, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hrůša, Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Gustavo Dudamel.

In recital Behzod has appeared a number of times at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and has recently been presented by Chicago Symphony, Kölner Philharmonie and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Festival appearances include Aspen, Verbier, Rheingau, La Roque Antheron and Lucerne Festivals.

Forthcoming engagements include Chicago Symphony under Lahav Shani, returns to the Concertgebouworkest, St Petersburgh Philharmonic, Seattle and Dallas Symphonies as well as Oslo and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras. Behzod will be returning to the Barbican Hall, 92nd Street Y, Spivey Hall, Vancouver Recital Series as well as The Conrad Center, La Jolla.

2020 saw the release of two recordings: Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under James Gaffigan, recorded on Rachmaninov’s own piano from Villa Senar for Sony Classical and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 with Concertgebouworkest under Valery Gergiev, for the RCO live label. Both recordings were nominated for the 2020 Opus Klassik awards in multiple categories. A film of his BBC Proms debut in 2016, with the Münchner Philharmoniker under Valery Gergiev, was released as a DVD in 2018.His 2012 debut CD of Liszt, Saint-Saëns and Prokofiev for Decca won the Choc de Classica and Diapason Découverte and his first concerto disc for the label featured Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No.1. 

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Behzod began the piano aged five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent. In 2009, he won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3. He studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University, Missouri, where he is Artist-in-Residence.