Around the Music Festival

The NHK Symphony Orchestra has announced that Tugan Sokhiev will become its music director starting in 2028. Sokhiev has collaborated with the orchestra frequently since his first guest appearance in October 2008, and his appointment will span a three-year term. He is also set to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert on New Year’s Day next year.

Sokhiev is 49 years old and was born in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia (in the former Soviet Union). He studied conducting at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Ilya Musin and Yuri Temirkanov. His previous positions include music director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse (2008–2022), chief conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (2012–2016), and music director of the Bolshoi Theatre (2014–2022).

In 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the mayor of Toulouse—a city that maintains a sister-city relationship with the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv—called for a clear statement distancing him from the Putin regime; in response, he resigned from his positions as music director of both the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse and the Bolshoi Theatre.

PHOTO：NHK Symphony Orchestra