Ural Philharmonic Orchestra (UPO, Russian: Уральский академический филармонический оркестр) is one of the most recognized Russian orchestras with 87 years of history. The collective of 101 musicians is based in Sverdlovsk Philharmonic,

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

along with the Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Choir and the Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra. UPO was founded in 1936 by Konstantin Saradzhev's student, Mark Paverman on the basis of the Orchestra of the Sverdlovsk Radio Committee. It is the winner of the national Music Critics Association Prize (2020), and the 440Hz Big Orchestral Award (2022).

Overview

Ural Philharmonic Orchestra performs over 100 concerts and more than 70 programs per year, its concerts are regularly broadcast via the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic's digital concert hall. Led by their Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Dmitry Liss for over 25 years, the orchestra is famous for its particular sound and performance excellence, both of classical and contemporary repertoires. UPO is the main resident orchestra of all the festivals and special projects of the Sverdlovsk State Philharmonic. UPO touring history includes over 20 countries and such venues as the Pleyel, Arsenal de Metz, Théâtre Claude Debussy,

Corum (Montpellier) Montpellier's Corum is a building that houses both a conference centre and an opera house (Opéra Berlioz), and is located in the centre of the city in southern France. It was designed by Claude Vasconi and opened to the public in 1988. The build ...

, Palais des congrès de Paris, Berliner Philharmonie,

Elbphilharmonie The Elbphilharmonie (; "Elbe Philharmonic Hall"), popularly nicknamed Elphi, is a concert hall in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg, Germany, on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River. The new construction resembles a hoisted sail, water wave ...

, Essen Philharmonic,

Konzerthaus, Vienna The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

, Brucknerhaus Linz, Royal Concertgebouw, Auditorio de Murcia, Beethovenhalle, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan,

Tokyo International Forum The is a multi-purpose exhibition center in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The complex is generally considered to be in the Yūrakuchō business district, being adjacent to Yūrakuchō Station, but it is administratively in the Marunouchi district. Toky ...

, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, the Swiss Culture and Congress Center, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,

Tonhalle, Zürich The Tonhalle is a concert hall in Zurich, home to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, one of Switzerland's leading orchestras. The 1455-seat hall, located at Claridenstrasse 7 in Zurich, was inaugurated in 1895 by Johannes Brahms. The hall is consid ...

and

Victoria Hall (Geneva) The Victoria Hall is a 1,700-seat concert venue in Geneva. Mainly it is home to the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande but it also hosts performers in song, jazz and world music. History It was built in 1891–1894 by architect John Camoletti an ...

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

, Grand Hall of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

Saint Petersburg Philharmonia Saint Petersburg Philharmonia (), officially the Saint Petersburg Academic Philharmonia Named After D. D. Shostakovich (), is a music society located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and is the name of the building where it is housed. Also there is ...

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

, and others. Ural Philharmonic Orchestra's their discography includes more than 40 albums marked with high ratings, prestigious awards and nominations, such as OPUS Klassik (former

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize ...

) and International Classical Music Awards. Ural Philharmonic Orchestra collaborated with conductors Dmitri Kitayenko,

Gennady Rozhdestvensky Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, pianist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. His parents were the noted conductor and pedagog ...

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

Leif Segerstam Leif Selim Segerstam ( , 2 March 1944 – 9 October 2024) was a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist, and pianist, especially known for writing over 300 symphonies, along with other works. From 1963 onward Segerstam conducted a vari ...

, Mikhail Pletnev,

Vladimir Fedoseyev Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev (; born 5 August 1932, in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian conductor, accordionist, teacher. People's Artist of the USSR (1980). Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1989) and the Glinka State Prize of ...

, Alexander Lazarev,

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...

, Klaus Tennstedt, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Inoue Michiyoshi, Hansjörg Albrecht, Fabio Mastrangelo,

Eliahu Inbal Eliahu Inbal (; born 16 February 1936, Jerusalem) is an Israeli conductor. Inbal has enjoyed a career of international renown, conducting leading orchestras around the worlHe has conducted a wide variety of works. He is best known for his interpr ...

Andrey Boreyko Andrey Boreyko (, ; born 22 July 1957) is a Polish people, Polish-Russian conductor. Biography Boreyko has Polish ancestry on his father's side and Russian ancestry on his mother's side. Boreyko was born in Saint Petersburg. At the Rimsky-Korsa ...

Gintaras Rinkevičius Gintaras Rinkevičius (born February 20, 1960) is a Lithuanian people, Lithuanian conductor, who was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts in 1994. In 1989 he founded the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra. Life and career R ...

, Dimitris Botinis and soloists

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Nikolai Petrov,

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Abram Borisovich Bashmet and Maya Zinovyeva Bashmet (née Kri ...

, Viktor Tretyakov, Elisso Virsaladze,

Natalia Gutman Natalia Grigoryevna Gutman (; born 14 November 1942), PAU, is a Russian cellist. She began to study cello at the Moscow Music School with R. Sapozhnikov. She was later admitted to the Moscow Conservatory. She later studied with Mstislav Rostrop ...

, Liana Isakadze, Alexander Knyazev, Boris Andrianov, Peter Donohoe, Olga Borodina, Alena Baeva,

Benjamin Grosvenor Benjamin Grosvenor (born 8 July 1992) is a British classical pianist. Education Grosvenor was born and brought up in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Essex. He is the youngest of five brothers. His father is an English and Drama teacher, a ...

, Henri Demarquette, Olga Peretyatko,

Behzod Abduraimov Behzod Abduraimov (born 11 September 1990) is an Uzbek pianist. A former student of Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University's International Center for Music (ICM), he was described by ''Th ...

, Boris Berezovsky, Vadim Repin, Nikolai Lugansky, Denis Matsuev, Freddy Kempf, Sergey Krylov, Olga Peretyatko,

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ens ...

, Dmitry Masleev, Vadym Kholodenko, and other distinguished artists. The orchestra regularly performs contemporary music and commissions works from the modern composers. In different years, UPO collaborated with

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

, Ivan Fedele, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Leonid Desyatnikov, René Koering, Eun-Hwa Cho, Anton Batagov, and Olga Viktorova. The orchestra's repertoire has included works by Yuri Falik,

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...

Valentin Silvestrov Valentyn Vasylyovych Sylvestrov (; born 30 September 1937) is a Ukrainian composer and pianist, who plays and writes contemporary classical music. Biography Valentyn Vasylyovych Silvestrov was born on 30 September 1937 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, th ...

, Avet Terteryan,

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...

, Galina Ustvolskaya, Nikolay Myaskovsky,

Sergei Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

Kaija Saariaho Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; 14 October 1952 – 2 June 2023) was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the En ...

Gia Kancheli Gia Kancheli ( ka, გია ყანჩელი; 10 August 1935 – 2 October 2019) was a Georgian composer. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and resided in Belgium in later life. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kancheli ...

, Rodion Schedrin,

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

Gabriel Prokofiev Gabriel Prokofiev (born 6 January 1975) is a Russian-British composer, producer, DJ, and founder of the Nonclassical record label and nightclub. He has been nominated for two Ivor Novello Awards and his works have been performed internationall ...

. The orchestra performed at numerous international festivals, including

Music Biennale Zagreb Music Biennale Zagreb (, MBZ) is an international festival of contemporary classical music, contemporary music in Zagreb, Croatia, organized by the Croatian Composers' Society. The wikt:biennale, Biennale, founded by Milko Kelemen and held every s ...

Beethovenfest The Beethovenfest ('Beethoven Festival') is a festival of classical music in Bonn, Germany, dedicated mostly to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven who was born there. It dates back to 1845, when the composer's 75th anniversary of birth was celebra ...

, Ludwigsburg Festival, Bodensee Festival,

Europalia EUROPALIA (stylized in capital letters since 2025) is a Brussels-based, international biennial arts festival that highlights the cultural heritage and art scene of one invited country. On multiple occasions, the festival has also dedicated edition ...

, Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron, and La Folle Journée in France, Russia, Spain and Japan. The Russian edition of La Folle Journée has taken place at UPO's home, the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic, Yekaterinburg since 2015.

Conductors

Principal conductors

Co-leaders

Principal guest conductors

External links

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(suspended from 2022) {{Authority control, state=collapsed Russian symphony orchestras Musical groups established in 1936