With his unmistakable artistic signature, Daniel Raiskin has become one of the most recognised conductors of his generation, and has developed a broad repertoire beyond the mainstream in his strikingly conceived programmes. A son of a prominent musicologist, he grew up in St Petersburg and attended the celebrated conservatory in his native city, before continuing his studies in Amsterdam and Freiburg. Initially focusing on the viola, he was inspired to take up the baton as a result of an encounter with the distinguished teacher Lev Savich. In addition, he also took classes with maestri such as Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Milan Horvat, Woldemar Nelsson and Jorma Panula.
From the 2020/2021 season, Raiskin has been the Principal Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava. He has been Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra since 2018 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra from the 2017/2018 season. He was Chief Conductor of the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz (2005-2016) and Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Lódz (2008-2015), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife (2017/2018 season).
Raiskin makes regular guest appearances with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, Taiwan Philharmonic, Tonkünstler-Orchester, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Osaka Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, Sinfonia Varsovia, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. His appearances in opera productions include Carmen, Don Giovanni and Shostakovich’s The Nose. He appeared on tour with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra at the InClassica Dubai International Music Festival 2021 and 2022, as well as in Japan in 2023.
Raiskin is relentlessly committed to sharing his knowledge and passion with young musicians around the world. He devotes his time regularly to working with youth orchestras in Canada, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands and South Africa.
Among the major soloists with whom he has appeared are Emanuel Ax, Rudolf Buchbinder, Cameron Crozman, Xavier de Maistre, Renée Fleming, Nelson Freire, Martin Fröst, Alban Gerhardt, Vadim Gluzman, Natalia Gutman, Daniel Hope, Kari Kriikku, Simone Lamsma, Lang Lang, François Leleux, Jan Lisiecki, Alexei Lubimov, Tatjana Masurenko, Albrecht Mayer, Daniel Müller-Schott, Olli Mustonen, Julian Rachlin, Benjamin Schmid, Julian Steckel, Anna Vinnitskaya, Lukáš Vondráček and Alexei Volodin.
Recent recordings include Mahler Symphony No 3 and Shostakovich Symphony No 4 with the label AVI, both to great critical acclaim. His recording of cello concertos by Korngold, Bloch and Goldschmidt with Julian Steckel on the same label received an ECHO Klassik Award in 2012. Other recent recording projects include a Louis Glass symphony cycle and a cycle of the entire concertos and rhapsodies of Aram Khachaturian, both with the label CPO; Lutosławski’s vocal-instrumental works with the label Dux; and a recording of Alexandre Tansman’s Isaïe le Prophète and Psaumes with the label World Premiere Recordings.
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