Maestro Mark Gorenstein (Conductor)

Born in Odessa, Mark Gorenstein began his violin studies at the legendary Stolyarsky School of Music. While still a student at the Kishinev Conservatory, he was named concertmaster of the city's symphony orchestra. For several years he worked as a violinist with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and then with the State Symphony Orchestra of the Sovjet Union E. F. Svetlanov. Later he began studying conducting at the Novosibirsk Conservatory, and, while still a student, won a prize at the conductors' competition of Russia.
 
In 1985, he was appointed Principal Conductor of Budapest's MAV Symphony Orchestra, which critics say he developed into one of the major orchestras in Hungary. His range of duties with this ensemble included more than 100 concerts over three seasons in Budapest. According to Hungarian press, his work had “turned a new page in the history of Hungarian symphony music”. From 1989, Mark Gorenstein had been Chief Conductor of the Pusan Symphony Orchestra of the South Korea. South Korea`s Music Magazine, wrote that “for South Korea, the Pusan Syphony Orchestra has become what the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra has been for the US. However, to achieve it`s high status the Cleveland Orchestra needed eigth years, while for the Pusan Orchestra it took just eight months. Gorenstein is an outstanding conductor an teacher!”
 
In 1993 being head of the Russian Symphony Orchestra, Gorenstein, by artistic reasons, had to change practically all the musicians in the orchestra and invite very young musicians from different cities of Russia and CIS. A combination of tireless work and great artistic talent very soon brought the results. Russian Symphony Orchestra had it's face, it's audience and it's space in the musical life of this country. The orchestra went on worldwide tours earning great critical acclaim, performed with most brilliant soloists and conductors, and recorded 18 CDs on the Russian Seasons, Harmonia Mundi, and PopeMusic labels.
 
In 2002 Mark Gorenstein accepted the position of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the leading Russian Orchestra - State Academic Symphony Orchestra (formerly - State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the USSR / Maestro Svetlanov). And already in autumn 2002 the orchestra went on tour to Italy with the final concert in the summer residence of the Pope, Castel Gandolfo, at the Vatican with Roberto Alagnia and Angela Gheorghiu soloists. The arrival of Gorenstein revitalized the orchestra’a creative life. Under his leadership it started participating in major public events (“Rodion Sсhedrin: A Self-Portrait”, “Mozartiana”, “Musical Offering” festivals, “1,000 Cities of the World” concerts, and the international charitable program “World Stars of the Children”) and made many audio recordings of works by Bruсkner, Kancheli, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, and other composers.
 
Since 2002, the orchestra visited Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. In 2008 it completed triumphant tour of the US. In 2011, for the first time in fourteen years, the group made an appearancein japan earning the special gratitude from the Japanese government and concert audiences alike. The State Orchestra was the first Russian symphomik orchestra to perform in Japan after the earthquake of 11 March 2011.
 
Mark Gorenstein has collaborated with such world famous soloists as: violinists Viktor Tretyakov, Vadim Repin, Yuliy Rakhlin, Maxim Fedotov, Liana Isakadze, Frank Peter Zimmerman, Maxim Vengerov, cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, Nataly Gutman, Antonio Meneses, Gustav Rivinius, Alexander Knyazev, pianists Nikolai Petrov, Eliso Virsaladze, Denis Matsuev, Nikolai Lugansky, Vadim Rudenko, Konstantin Livshits, Zoltan Kocsis, Dmitry Bashkirov, Barry Douglas, Pietro de Maria, Lazar Berman, Boris Berezovsky, Dmitry Alexeev, Ayako Uehara, clarinetists Paul Meyer, Yulian Milkis, singers Elena Obraztsova, Roberto Alagnia, Angela Gheorghiu, Kathleen Battle, Dmitriy Hvorostovsky.
The list of countries he has performed in includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Finland, France, the Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, USA.