Stanislav Kochanovsky
Conductor

Stanislav Kochanovsky, Chief Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover since the 2024/2025 season, is recognised as one of the most refined and insightful conductors of his generation. With a distinctive interpretative voice and a natural authority on the podium, he brings together musical depth, stylistic clarity and a sincere respect for orchestral collaboration.

Equally at home in symphonic and operatic repertoire, Kochanovsky has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Oslo Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Dresdner Philharmonie, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, The Cleveland Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, among others.

In the operatic field, Kochanovsky has conducted over 30 works, including The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin at Opernhaus Zürich, Iolanta at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Prince Igor at the Dutch National Opera. His interpretations often emerge from close collaborations with visionary stage directors and a deep understanding of vocal nuances.

Since 2017, Kochanovsky has been a regular guest at the Verbier Festival, conducting both concert performances of operas such as Eugene Onegin, Rigoletto, Hänsel und Gretel and Die Zauberflöte – and symphonic programmes with soloists such as Lucas Debargue and Mikhail Pletnev.

While firmly rooted in Classical and Romantic repertoire, Kochanovsky is also known for his curiosity toward lesser-known works and contemporary music. His repertoire includes Ligeti’s Requiem, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Scriabin-Nemtin’s Mysterium, Weinberg’s Symphony No 21, “Kaddish” and recent compositions by Brett Dean, Andrea Tarrodi, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Giovanni Sollima and others.

In the 2025/2026 season, Kochanovsky leads the NDR Radiophilharmonie through major touring, recording and artistic projects, and returns to conduct orchestras such as the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie on tour at the Elbphilharmonie and Vienna Konzerthaus, alongside new débuts with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

In 2025, the first in a cycle of recordings for Harmonia Mundi by Kochanovsky and the NDR Radiophilharmonie was released. He chose to explore a repertoire he knows intimately – the hidden gems of the great Russian repertoire of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. This first release, dedicated to Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No 3, was selected as one of Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and included in their list of “The Best Classical Albums of 2025 (So Far)”.

A graduate of the Glinka Choir School and St Petersburg Conservatory where he studied choral conducting, organ and opera-symphonic conducting, Kochanovsky began his career at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and served as Chief Conductor of the North-Caucasus State Philharmonic Safonov. He gained remarkable experience conducting over 60 opera and ballet productions before the age of 25. In the course of his career, he has also conducted the major orchestras of his native country, including the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and Mariinsky Orchestra.