Dima Slobodeniouk

Praised for his exhilarating approach and energetic leadership by musicians and audiences alike, Dima Slobodeniouk has become one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation.

Slobodeniouk works with the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Concertgebouworkest and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Last season, he was praised for giving "one of the most auspicious New York Philharmonic debuts of recent years" by the New York Times.

In the 2022/23 season, Dima Slobodeniouk has been invited to make his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. This season also sees him return to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, Minnesota Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Further highlights of the current season include re-invitations to the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester and special returns to the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, whose Music Director he was until 2022.

Soloists Slobodeniouk has worked with include Leif Ove Andsnes, Khatia Buniatishvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Isabelle Faust, Kirill Gerstein, Barbara Hannigan, Håkan Hardenberger, Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Beatrice Rana, Baiba Skride, Yuja Wang and Frank Peter Zimmermann.

Known for his musical expertise and interpretive depth, Slobodeniouk is also an acclaimed recording artist, with recent notable recordings of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicolas Altstaedt on Alpha, and an album of music inspired by the Finnish folk epic, the Kalevala, on BIS. Other releases on the BIS label include the works of Kalevi Aho with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, which won the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Award, a later disc of Aho's "Sieidi" and his Fifth Symphony as well as concert suites of Sergei Prokofiev's opera "The Gambler" and the ballet "The Tale of the Stone Flower" with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. For the Ondine label, Dima Slobodeniouk recorded works by Perttu Haapanen and Lotta Wennäkoski with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Moscow, Dima Slobodeniouk studied violin at the Moscow Central Music School with Zinaida Gilels and Jevgenuia Chugajev. He continued his studies with the Ukrainian violinist Olga Parkhomenko at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, where he graduated in 2001. It was there that he also took up his conducting studies with Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula, Atso Almila, Ilya Musin and Esa-Pekka Salonen. A passionate believer in widening opportunity, he started a conducting initiative whilst at the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, giving aspiring conductors podium time with a professional orchestra and the opportunity to work with Slobodeniouk on selected repertoire.

Slobodeniouk was Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia from 2013 to 2022, Principal Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2021, as well as the Artistic Director of the Sibelius Festival.

Last updated: April 13, 2023