Biographie Vladimir Ponkin

Born in Siberia (Irkutsk), Vladimir Ponkin graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky) State Conservatory and took post-graduate courses with Gennady Rozhdestvensky at the Moscow State Conservatory. The beginner won enormous plaudits having got Grand Prix at the 5th World Rupert Foundation Competition of Conductors (London, 1980). Soon after he successfully accomplished a music production at the Bolshoi Theatre (Mozart and Salieri by Rimsky-Korsakov) and also took part in producing probably the best performance of the 80-s at the famous Chamber Opera Theatre headed by Boris Pokrovsky (Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress and Shostakovich’s Nose).

In the early 90-s Vladimir Ponkin was appointed artistic director and chief conductor of the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra, and then a prominent composer Krzyztof Penderezki recommended Ponkin to the position of artistic director and chief conductor of the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra. One of Ponkin’s greatest works with the Polish orchestra was performance of the monumental and extremely difficult composition of Penderezki’s Jutrznia (Utrenia) for soloists, choir and orchestra which was prepared for a concert in Stockholm in the frameworks of the festival dedicated to the composer. Penderezki highly appreciated Ponkin’s skill: “After this concert I have no wish to conduct the composition myself”.

A concert at the Vatican residence of the Pope John Paul II can also be considered as an outstanding event. It was so successful that the Pope asked to play an encore and presented the conductor with the Medaglia Ufficiale Annuale del XVII anno di Pontificato di Sua Santita Giovanni Paolo II. For all his work with the orchestra, Vladimir Ponkin was awarded with the order “For Cultural Merits” by the Minister of Culture and Arts of Poland.

As a visiting conductor Ponkin worked with orchestras of many countries, among which are Australia, England, Germany, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the USA. He played with such well-known soloists as M.Fedotov, N.Gutman, V.Yampolsky, G.Sokolov, E.Virsaladze, N.Petrov, V.Krainev, O.Krysa, Polish bass R.Zukowsky, American pianist D.Pollak, Yugoslav Ivo Pogorelic and others.
“ Acknowledgments to the Russian conductor who made the Zagreb Philharmonic Society sound!”, a Liubsky newspapers reported after the performance of Tschaikowsky’s First Piano Concerto with the legendary Ivo Pogorelic.

Ponkin and the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra have performed enormous repertoire comprising the 17th - 20th century music. The orchestra possesses a rational sense of form side by side with vivid emotions and responds to every gesture of the conductor. As a result, all interpretations are marked by the finest flexibility of sound graduations and the abundance of expressive tinges which change each time becoming more and more refined.

The accompaniment skill of the orchestra is well-known - it is often invited to take part in international competitions. This was one of the reasons why in 1996 Ponkin was requested to become music director and chief conductor of the Moscow Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre. The conductor started with the preparation of Tschaikowsky’s Swan Lake and Verdi’s Othello. In October 1996 the latter had an overwhelming premiere.

“The new conductor Vladimir Ponkin brings into the performance the gift of a real musician and mastership of an experienced conductor - for a long time the orchestra hasn’t sounded so absolute and perfect”. (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow)

In summer 1996 the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra participated in the 42nd Puccini festival in Torre del Lago. Ponkin gave two symphony concerts of French and Russian music in the frameworks of this opera festival.

According to the Italian press they “significantly raised the emotional temperature of the festival. Ponkin knows huge repertoire. His interpretation of the authors belonging to different historical periods and styles is extremely diverse”. (Viareggio. La Nazione)

“Mussorgsky’s Night on the Bare Mountain, performed first, revealed the qualities of the orchestra. That was an ardent musicality combined with baton technique discipline and care of Vladimir Ponkin who conducted with confidence and clarity” . (Mannheimer Morgen)

“The Moscow Philharmonic under Vladimir Ponkin created a furor… starting with the overture to Wagner’s Rienzi. All the details of the piece which are never heard in other performances were delicately played”. (NRZ Oberhausen)

“Ponkin’s baton is superb… Mastership of this active, musically gifted, alert and perceptive conductor should be specially mentioned”. (Corriere della sera, Milan)

The range of Vladimir Ponkin’s repertoire is enormous, it includes both popular compositions by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Tschaikowsky and rare for the Moscow audience music such as Elgar’s or Stravinsky’s pieces. Ponkin dares to perform modern music as well. He presented Russian premieres of Penderezki and Lutoslawsky in the past. And it was under his direction that the Modern Music Ensemble made its first steps in the early 90-s. The conductor is also considered one of the best to accompany soloists including opera singers.

“Without exaggeration, the interpretation of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique can be regarded as an outstanding event. The conductor’s theatrical intellection and comprehension of the whole composition typical of a producer made a bewitching impression”. (Nezavisimaya Gaseta, Moscow)

In January 2005 Vladimir Ponkin was appointed artistic director and chief conductor of the National Academic Folk Orchestra of Russia named after N.P.Ossipov.

The Ossipov Orchestra, founded in 1919 as State Orchestra of Folk instruments, is the best folk company of the world that has ever existed. The Orchestra's precision, range, flexibility and the dynamics were the constant source of miracle. (Pittsburgh Press)